Shine Bright

Creative Musing

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Shine Bright
A happy little illustration for you all today.

 

Ancestry DNA – Visual Design System

Client Project

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Ancestry DNA – Visual Design System
We helped Ancestry DNA, a leader in genealogy and genomics, define and develop a unified visual language system for their trait products using an iterative, user-driven framework.

The initiative focused on two primary objectives: to create a cohesive system of conceptual trait illustrations that helped users explore how their genes influence physical, nutritional, and sensory traits, and to ensure the visuals remained appropriately abstract, avoiding implications of scientific precision or universal accuracy for every individual.

The project followed our user-centered, iterative process—encompassing foundational research and discovery, qualitative research, and conceptual exploration informed by user feedback. This process guided the development of a visual language that brought consistency and clarity across Ancestry’s trait products, while layering illustrations over diverse, human-centered photography to deepen storytelling.

Additionally, the product’s visual system emphasized social engagement, education, and fun—combining scientific insight with approachable design, storytelling, and custom photography to deliver an engaging and memorable user experience. Informed by the completed live visual system and user analytics, the Traits product section achieved a 75% customer satisfaction rate and a 40% take rate among users, while weekly visits across all DNA products increased by 326%.

Note: The graphic above is a coalescence of artifacts—including research, design, illustration, iconography, and photography. Together this board shaped the overall visual language for Ancestry’s digital products.

 

  • Ancestry DNA
    Biotechnology & Information Services

  • + Concept Development
    + Illustrative Storytelling
    + Product Research
    + Qualitative Research
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Visual Identity System

  • MKN Design Team:
    + Michael Nÿkamp, Design Director

    KitchenAid Stakeholders:
    + John Wayne Hill, Senior UX Lead
    + Caroline Vejvoda, UX Designer

Mmm Soup

Creative Musing

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Mmm Soup
A simple illustration and animation that came to life from a sketch I sketched last year.

 

Lion

Creative Musing

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Lion
Lion's majestic mane illustrated with eight concentric circles.

 

Word Visualizations

Creative Musing

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Word Visualizations
An exercise defining words visually. The custom typeface was designed specifically for this exercise.

 

Sleepy Cat

Creative Musing

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Sleepy Cat
My goal for this small illustration and animation was to depict a simple sleeping cat while maintaining its circular shape. During the sketching and ideation phase, I created numerous variations to ensure the effectiveness of how the animation behaved.

 

Patagonia

Client Project

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Patagonia
Patagonia, a renowned outdoor clothing and gear company, embodies a commitment to environmental sustainability and ethical business practices while offering high-quality products for outdoor enthusiasts. I was hired by Patagonia to create several sketches and illustrations based on their prompt, "Eat Local."

I created a range of concept sketches inspired by the "eat local" theme and collaborated with Patagonia, iterating until we achieved mutual satisfaction. From these skteched concepts, Patagonia chose a refined illustration titled "Eat Local, Watering Can," which was selected and printed on their tees.

 

  • Patagonia
    Outdoor Apparel & Gear

  • + Concept Development
    + Illustration
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Qualitative Research


  • MKN Design Team:
    + Michael Nÿkamp, Illustrator

    Patagonia Stakeholders:
    + Geoff Holstad, Senior Art Director
    + Chris Teig, Director of Graphics & Illustration

Pelican On Water

Creative Musing

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Pelican On Water
Bold fill and rolling lines of a pelican on the water.

 

Happy Holidays!

Creative Musing

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Happy Holidays!
Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. The logo’s mark is paired with the typeface DIN Condensed designed by Manvel Shmavonyan and Tagir Safayev from Paratype.

 

Trio

Creative Musing

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Trio
Wordmark exploration with hand-styled lettering with some simple animation.

 

Factory Icon Set

Product

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Factory Icon Set
Some fun minimal vintage factory icons.

 

  • Factory Icons Set is available for purchase, email me for licensing and cost.

Wool Made

Creative Musing

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Wool Made
A simple mark for a Wool Made brand identity concept.