Author: mkadmin

PSEA CAPS: Career and Tech Ed

Work done at Martin Communications ⎘

To build awareness of the unique opportunities made possible by Pennsylvania’s career and technical education (CTE), we worked with PSEA Council for the Advancement of Public Schools (CAPS) to organize extensive interviews and video shoots in two specially chosen schools in Bucks and Montgomery counties.

What we captured was a series of inspiring stories from both students and instructors showing the transformative force CTE can have in the lives of our communities’ next generation.

My Roles

Art Direction
Interviewing
Video Editing
Motion Design

Credits

Production: Steve Moyer
Media Planning: Colleen Jones
Account Management: Matt Caylor

My role in this project was both logistical and creative. I worked with stakeholders at our chosen schools to identify programs, students, and teachers who would best represent what CTE provides. I also scheduled video shoots for interviews and b-roll, coordinated travel, and conducted the interviews.

The campaign’s audience was two-fold — we planned to appeal to both students and parents. As such, I crafted a bold, high-energy style for the campaign that would aid in the swift and straightforward delivery of its message.

The videos were used in a variety of paid social channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Nextdoor) as well as Youtube pre-roll and CTV (Disney+, Hulu, and sports programming).

To support paid media efforts, peripheral creative was used on CAPS’ social media accounts to drive traffic to a page on the CAPS website dedicated to CTE. This creative included trimmed versions of the campaign’s video assets as well as infographics highlighting key facts about the value of CTE.

Hutch Homes Visual Identity

Work done at Martin Communications ⎘

Hutch Homes builds bespoke, one-of-a-kind homes built around the unique needs of each homeowner they serve. Having been in business since 1983, the brand’s positioning no longer aligned with what truly makes Hutch Homes valuable in today’s marketplace.

We helped the owners, Jim and Cort, identify business challenges and envision the future of Hutch Homes, giving us insight into the core character of the brand as we developed strategic positioning, messaging, and content. What emerged was an authentic understanding of who Hutch Homes is. From there, we were able to develop a messaging framework that speaks to Hutch Homes’ heritage and tradition of craftsmanship. We also built upon the brand’s visual identity through premium sales collateral, custom photography, and branded social media content.

My Role

Brand Strategy
Art Direction

Credits

Design: Lindsay Aucker and Gwen Almeida
Account Management: Noah Templin
Portrait Photography: Steve Moyer
Real Estate Photography: Nieri Creative

Next, we sought testimonials from Hutch Homes’ clients and created a series of social media graphics to supplement the brand’s organic content. We also worked with Cort to develop materials for their featured open house for Parade of Homes, highlighting key aspects of the home and welcoming visitors.

Hutch Homes has already gained significant awareness within the local market through the strategic refinement of their branded materials and social media presence. As we continue to partner with Jim and Cort, we envision further growth and success for this one-of-a-kind heritage homebuilding brand.

Good Light Theatre Co.

Good Light Theatre Co. is a collective of interdisciplinary artists that provides and promotes arts opportunities, access, and advocacy for and with the people in local communities. With the goal of reaching an expansive, vibrant audience, the collective sought to create a visual identity that was equally vibrant.

After my usual exploration process, I landed upon two possible directions.

For the first direction, the letterforms (all hand-lettered, of course) are inspired by Cooper Black, a style that brings with it such a nostalgic, child-like wonder, which I felt was a significant and fitting element to tap into. The colors are strong and diverse, signaling depth, energy, and comfort.

Deliverables

Brand Identity System

The second direction is decidedly more buttoned up, but it maintains a playful character that is necessary for this project. Here, red and purple are used as two primary colors on white. The lettering is similar in structure to that of the first option, but more refined and mature.

After discussing with the client, we decided to move forward with the first option, noting that its palette and style will be more accessible and captivating for young and diverse audiences.

I further refined some details of the logo, created iconography based on the design elements from the logo, and developed a brand identity guide to ensure the client can easily adhere to the intended vision of the brand identity.

Juice & Dirt Beverage Co.

With a curious name and a wealth of experience, Juice & Dirt came to me for a unique identity to help them break into the marketplace.

Leveraging their years of experience in the wines and spirits market, Juice & Dirt is a boutique beverage brokerage offering a higher caliber of wines and spirits to Pennsylvanians. Their name speaks to the hands-on relationship they maintain with their producers, a partnership guided by a simple love for the craft.

The objective with this project was to create an identity that helps Juice & Dirt stand out amidst other brokerages as a high-end, craft-focused partner in the wine and spirits industry. Because this craft requires such hands-on work coming from a place of passion and dedication, I felt an important aspect to represent in the brand identity was Juice & Dirt’s experience in helping producers get the most out of their product and their business at an intimate level.

Deliverables

Brand Identity System
Stationery
Website

To represent this approach, I opted to strike a balance between a French-inspired, Art Deco style and a rustic, Victorian, “heritage” aesthetic that creates an earthy, elevated visual identity. This style is achieved through an entirely hand-lettered logo using condensed, medium-contrast letterforms and a Victorian layout. A bold, angular serif headline typeface was paired with a geometric sans-serif body typeface to highlight the desired contrast of rustic and elevated aesthetics. Multiple graphic treatments, textures, and colors were used to create a degree of depth and complexity for the brand, similar to the complex wines and spirits they work to support.

The result is a unique visual identity that sets Juice & Dirt apart from other Pennsylvania brokerages, instantly marking them as a capable contender in the market.

Rodeo Austin 2023

Rodeo Austin came to me seeking an illustrative, hand-lettered poster design for their 2023 rodeo events. We placed emphasis on representing the breadth of activities Rodeo Austin has to offer, making it clear that it’s more than just a rodeo.

Previous posters for the rodeo used a full-color design, so I felt it was important to diverge from that approach to give Rodeo Austin a fresh treatment by using a three-color palette.

To reflect the “gritty good time” that Rodeo Austin offers, I used a primitive illustration style and multiple vector textures to achieve a tactile depth without any image-based textures or other elements.

Following the pandemic, The 2023 Rodeo Austin poster helped reconnect Texans with a love for rodeo and a newfound sense of community in Austin.

Deliverables

Poster

Mountains In My Heart Cabins

Mountains In My Heart Cabins offers a rustic cabin and ATV experience in the Ouachita National Forest in Mena, AR, just east of the Texas border. With six creeks running through the trail that leads you to cabins, a stay at Mountains In My Heart is about as secluded as you can get.

During the discovery process of the project, we agreed that it was important to impart a very hand-crafted, almost primitive style to the visual identity. Since the main attraction of the area is the abundant, world-class ATV trails, hiking trails, and hunting spots, we also felt the identity needed to exude a feeling of playfulness and adventure.

Deliverables

Brand Identity System
Apparel Design
Website

Through my early logo exploration, it was clear that a heart shape would be very appropriate and achieve what I call an “ah-ha moment” as the consumer reads the name of the business. I tried several different ways of incorporating this shape, but ultimately the primitive script style felt the most distinctive and best matched the mood we were going for.

The color palette was derived from the colors you’ll see in the wilderness of Ouachita National Forest, with a focus on a deep, welcoming green and rustic, natural white. The headline typeface lends a whimsical look with it’s chunky, hand-drawn strokes, and the body typeface counters that with a rough, industrial typewriter-like style.

The Ouachita National Forest has its fair share of cabins and attractions, but all of them rely on the natural features of the area to attract customers — hiking, hunting, ATV trails, etc. By building the MIMHC around the owners and their unique relationship with that part of the forest, I was able to create a brand identity that stands out against other destinations in the area and represents the MIMHC experience.

Duct Gurus Visual Identity

As a new HVAC duct cleaning service, DuctGurus was seeking a bold, unique visual identity to squash the status quo and stand out amongst competitors in the home services market. With their unconventional name already chosen, we decided to go all in on their magical identity.

Deliverables

Brand Identity System

I focused on promoting the “magic” of their services — making neglected, underperforming air handling systems look like they were installed yesterday — reinforcing the theme of the brand’s name and identity. I used graphics and treatments that represent an almost mystical quality, pairing those with custom lettering inspired by both Victorian and Art Nouveau styles and a vibrant, invigorating color palette.

I rounded out the visual identity with patterns and hand-lettered lockups that will be used on the brand’s website, vehicle graphics, apparel, and sales materials.