Relentless Design: Graphic Design Portfolio of Aaron O'Brien

The Graphic Design Portfolio of

Design is so immersed in my life that sometimes I feel like I cannot get away from it. As I write this on the thirty-eigth hour of being awake, I think about what my life would be like had another profession chosen me. Maybe I’d be a carpenter, or a mechanic, those sound interesting. Though in the end, the interest would fade and I would get tired of it.

That is why I know this is the right profession for me. Not only do I not get tired of design, I actually crave more of it.

Even though finishing up the odds and ends of my portfolio is the reason why I am still keeping my eyes open, still I have the two design blogs open.

In the end, design is my purpose. This is the only thing I can see myself doing and being happy throughtout my life.

Yes, I will become tired and at points sick of it, but I will always love it.

CHAPTER 1: Simple Shoes

6

advertising campaign with collacterial

CHAPTER 2: Render

14

logo design, website, and packaging

CHAPTER 3: National Parks

20

book cover and poster

CHAPTER 4: Stone Pony

26

posters for music venue

CHAPTER 5: Peanut Better

36

advertising campaign as well as packaging

CHAPTER 6: Alphabet Redesign

alphabet re-design and dialect communication study

CHAPTER 7: The New Modernists posters and announcement yer

CHAPTER 8: Notes on Visual Communication re-design of a great graphic design book

CHAPTER 9: Learning Disabilities Association advertising campaign

CHAPTER 10: Sea 2 See

screen printed gift set for art gallery

CHAPTER 11: Within Magazine print magazine about culture & design in sports

CHAPTER 12: Relentless

self promotional work

44 52 58 68 76 86 96

WEB PRINT PACKAGING ADVERTISING

1.1 challenge Create an ad campaign for the company Simple Shoes.

Since the current trend of all corporations is to use the selling point of being “green”, Simple must escape the overdone and show how they are actually the real deal in the eco friendly market.

1.2 approach By sticking out of the mundane overused “green” term, Simple Shoes will target the up and coming generation of environmentalists, as well as keeping the loyal consumer base they have had for years.

1.3 solution Using the idea that Simple Shoes is so eco minded that plants will literally grow right out if them, shows how much the company cares about our environment.

Using many muted color variations of green, as well as striking pinks, purples, and yellows with an abused, scratched stylizing of the ads, delivers the desired goal.

SIMPLE | AD CAMPAIGN

SIMPLE | AD CAMPAIGN

2.1 challenge Create and brand an apparel company that focuses on semi casual clothing for both men and women.

The company name is Render. The brand will focus on outerwear and sweaters but also have a strong t-shirt line. As well as the logo, a website that conveys the same message and feel of the line must be created.

2.2 approach The logo has to have a sophisticated as well as well as a contemporary feel to it. It needs to be recongnized easily and stand out from the similar companies and competition. The website also needs to keep the aesthetic feel of the brand while having easy navigation.

2.3 solution A seal around an italic serif letter “R� was chosen as the logo. It shows tradition but also reflects a contemporary feel. Using a muted palette that has a mix of browns, vanillas, and light blue, the website has a warm, homey feel to it. The site has easy navigation as well as an incorporated blog about design and clothing.

R render

TM

RENDER | BRANDING

RENDER | BRANDING

3.1 challenge Design a book cover for Don Libowitz’s book National Parks. It is a coffee table book that has amazing photography works as well as great writing about the wonders of many of our nation’s treasures.

3.2 approach Rather than going with the basic landscape shot cover as with most coffee table books, a new idea look needed to be achieved. A cut paper installation could shred light in an aesthetic way, as well as create a cover that would stand out from the crowd.

3.3 solution Uniqueness was achieved by creating a pop up book piece depicting a park and expanding into a whole installation. Using rich greens and yellows gave the feel of warmth and pleasance throughout the cover.

Adding little type just to show the name and author does not draw eye away.

N.P. | PRINT

N.P. | PRINT

4.1 challenge Design a set of posters for the venue Stone Pony.

The three different artists performing during the month are very dis-similar in styles of music.

Each poster must relate to one another.

4.2 approach Since the performing artists vary so greatly in styles, the only way to maintain cohesion within is to use similar tones and imagery. Minimalism within the poster as well as the use of white space helps them look like a series.

4.3 solution The illustrations in each poster abstractly represents the artists in the poster. A soft off white vanilla is utilized for the background. The final posters are hand screen printed. The type is very clean and simple to not distract from the main image.

STONE PONY | PRINT

STONE PONY | PRINT

5.1 challenge In collaboration with Danielle Brewer and Chris Straelha, an idea about a new type of peanut butter spread was created, packaged, and campaigned. The only content that was required was the name (Peanut Better) as well the need to have three flavors in the line.

5.2 approach Given that the target audience was young children, as well as the parents that buy the products, the route of creating a loveable character to sell the products was conceived. This idea needed to stand out from all the other characters that currently sell products; therefore, the ad campaigns were not the usual advertisements in magazines like most campaigns.

5.3 solution “Clumsyâ€? the elephant and a circus them were created to showcase the creation of each unique flavor, as well as using the cartoon to capture the young children Ă­s attention. The ad campaign was essentially comic strips showing how each of the flavors was created. They run along side the comics in the newspaper so that there will be no evidence that it is not merely just another comic in the paper. The packaging utilizes a new bottle type, which prevents mess when squeezed.

PEANUT BETTER | AD CAMPAIGN

PEANUT BETTER | AD CAMPAIGN

PEANUT BETTER | AD CAMPAIGN

6.1 challenge Take an ancient lost alphabet, redesign and modernize it to make it appropriate to the English phonemes. Next, create a spread for a magazine using the new and old typefaces, and explain the reasoning behind the redesign.

6.2 approach Choosing a long lost alphabet from the Celtic era, it was necessary to rework the marks and clean them up so that they will be more aesthetically pleasing to the current world. Once achieved, the spread’s main objective is to show how the new alphabet can be used in the modern world.

6.3 solution By taking some of the actual characters in the new alphabet and using them as the frames for the photographs, a way to tie the whole spread together is created. The look and feel of the whole spread is clean and modern, showing how the new world can adopt the new alphabet.

ALPHABET REDESIGN | PRINT

ALPHABET REDESIGN | PRINT

ALPHABET REDESIGN | PRINT

7.1 challenge Create a set of posters to show the opening of a new architecture and design firm called The New Modernists.

A small studio based in New York City needed to spread the word about its company. As implied by its name, it deals with using the modern style to solve the design problems it is faced with.

7.2 approach Understanding what the company represents was the key goal of each poster. Getting the attention of onlookers along with curiosity of the group was key. Drawing from modern inspirations, the posters will show an abstract work along with limited type.

7.3 solution A play on angles, depth and proportions helped create this illustration. Subtle layers of transparent colors create an interesting poster that is aesthetically pleasing. Upon closer examination, the viewercan see that the initials of the studio are inside the illustration. The only type on the poster is the name and location. Since the posters only are distributed in very close proximity of the studio, one must walk over and check out the place.

the new modernists 6 W. 18th St., Ste. 2B New York, NY

MODERNISTS | PRINT

MODERNISTS | PRINT

8.1 challenge Re-design the graphic design book entitled Notes on Visual Communication written by Greg Berryman in 1942. Though written over a half a century ago, the content is surprisingly valuable to todayĂ­s designers.

8.2 approach The original book was all handwritten, and though some interesting layout options were used, the overall feel was extremely cluttered. By taking a new direction of modernizing the flow of the content, it gave the book more context in todayĂ­s world.

8.3 solution Since the original was handwritten, the central idea of pencils is incorporated throughout the new book design. Orange hue is the central color that correlates through the chapters. New type solutions and new workflow that helps guide the viewer across the pages pleasantly was essential. The new design ends with over 140 pages and a complete redesign of the over 100 new illustrations.

TYPE BOOK | PRINT

TYPE BOOK | PRINT

TYPE BOOK | PRINT

TYPE BOOK | PRINT

9.1 challenge Create an ad campaign for the Learning Disabilities Association. Since the association deals with so many different disabilities, the campaign must target them as a whole. The goal is to raise awareness of the association and how the disabilities affect people.

9.2 approach To target such a large audience, the ads must utilize something that most people do on a daily basis without even realizing. Being able to read is something that most people take for granted, and they do it every day of thier lives. By tying this idea into the campaign, it will cause the audience to actually pay attention.

9.3 solution By using the idea that words are relatively legible as long as the first and last letters are in the same place, simple known phrases are presented on a poster. At first glave the viewers see just jumbled up words; however, once a closer look is taken they are able to figure out the sentence. The sentence is put into quotation marks, and underneath, where normally the author’s name would be, the sub eader is shown to call attention to disabilties.

an is olny nog as its set lnik.

Imagine having this much trouble reading every sentence.

Imagine having this much trouble reading every sentence.

LDA | AD CAMPAIGN

LDA | AD CAMPAIGN

LDA | AD CAMPAIGN

10.1 challenge Design a gift package to hand out at the end of a RVCA sponsored gallery showing. Tie in the phrase of the whole event called “Sea2See.” Given that this is a very end gallery opening, make sure that everyone feels like they are walking away with more than a ‘thanks for coming’ card.

10.2 approach By creating a series of hand screen-printed pieces and tying in the whole concept of the show, the audience will take home a collectable item as well as a memorable experience. Each print will have a letter incorporated into it, and when laid out, one will be able to read the whole phrase.

10.3 solution Each illustration is a two-color print. The concept behind them is simple. The pieces for the letters S.E.A incorporate different ideas of the ocean and water. The letters S.E.E deal with abstract fun illustrations involving sight and the eye. To put together the works, they are enclosed in a handmade box that has a pattern containing all of the illustrations printed all over it.

SEE2SEA | ILLUSTRATION

SEE2SEA | ILLUSTRATION

SEE2SEA | ILLUSTRATION

11.1 challenge Design a magazine for the artistic aspects of the extreme sports culture. Target the audience of mostly eighteen to thirty year olds who have interest in the extreme sports world but also have an artistic appeal as well. The term ĂŹwithinĂŽ was conceived for the masthead because this is not the average sporting magazine. This, rather, is about a certain sect within the sporting community; however, there also must be a line to make sure an average sporting enthusiasts would not be alienated.

11.2 approach Everything about the design of the magazine must be thought out perfectly, starting from the cover and contents page all the way through each and every spread.

By doing this, one is assured of the legitimacy of the artistic value of the body of work. To tie in both the sports culture and design culture within, articles involving both aspects are chosen.

11.3 solution The masthead is created with a more loose and deconstructed type design. Every cover, however, is one single strong image that juxtaposes the masthead and gives the feel that the contents within are of the same high quality. The magazine is printed on high quality paper comparable to a coffee table book for the same reasoning.

WITHIN | PRINT

WITHIN | PRINT

WITHIN | PRINT

12.1 challenge Create and design a whole package to represent you as a designer. Choose a word to describe yourself and create a solution with that word to be your logo.

Once solidified, design your direct mailer, corporate package, and leave behind.

12.2 approach Coming up with the word relentless was the easy part of the project. Deciding what would come next was much more difficult. Understanding how to represent myself through the logo was a big challenge. The final approach taken was one that would deconstruct then rebuild the type into a unique wordmark.

12.3 solution Print out the word relentless in Helvetica, cut it up in various ways, glue and put it together to create an interesting, yet structured logo. From there, all the other pieces of the package were constructed. Keeping the origin of the mark involving the handmade, cut quality was the essential tie in to the work.

RELENTLESS | IDENITITY

RELENTLESS | IDENITITY