CARLOS VELASCO
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contents 4 web & social media 10 branding / ad / strategy 26 print & art
about me My portfolio represents my strongest curated selection of designs from jobs, research opportunities and coursework. My work is an intersection between commercial artwork and conceptual artwork that branches through various categories such as branding, publication design, front-end web design, product and packaging design, urban research and mapping design, digital art and illustration, typography and photography. My style is one that is influenced by sustainability, culture, technology, interaction and engagement and my personal goal of bringing beautiful aesthetics into the every day life. I invite you to look at my portfolio and delve into the different pieces I have created for various clients, organizations and courses.
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UNL Design Category: Undergraduate Research Project, Web Design, CMS design Project Part of Undergraduate Research
UNL Design is the online portal that students in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Art and Art History department’s can use to find internship and job opportunities, scholarship and grants, and other useful news and resources. The project was begun two years ago as an Undergraduate research ‘UCARE’ project with different team members. This year I am leading the project alongside faculty sponsor, professor Colleen Syron. My role with UNL Design has been both the continued management of the website, updating it with new editorial content, but also the aesthetic redevelopment of the website. Using wordpress, the website was redesigned from its former iteration to have a more consistent color and typographic scheme and also allows for more interactive features such as a prominent calendar and social media interaction. In redeveloping the site an evaluation of what content was used the most was looked at and ultimately the website was skimmed down to focus more on editorial content, upcoming events and an engagement between students and professional events hosted by AIGA.
Accent Color HEX:#db3539
Heading
Raleway Bold
Paragraph Georgia Book
Mobile The redevelopment of the website also meant a stronger focus on how the website would respond on mobile devices. The website is completely responsive and optimized for mobile use as well as desktop.
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myBlock Category: Web Design, Branding Client Formerly myBlock, currently LiveBy
myBlock is a front-end web design and branding strategy that I created for the Jumpstart Challenge Lincoln 2015 Competition for Matan Gill and Cory Scott of LiveBy (at the time, myBlock). myBlock is the “Yelp of Neighborhoods” and is useful for both people looking for a neighborhood to live in, people who are rating their current or past neighborhood, real estate agents and also Home Owners Associations looking to improve neighborhoods and communities. The design strategy of myBlock focused on a mainly Salmon and Navy color scheme, large typographic elements, use of expansive galleries, vertical scrolling, clean design, sticky menus and an intuitive user experience to allow for any user to quickly learn and use the website. The main target is both current homeowners looking to improve their neighborhood or promote it, people looking to sell their home, people looking for a new home and neighborhood, Home Owners Association groups that can utilize the data gathered for finding problem areas and good areas in neighborhoods, and finally, Real Estate agents who can use the website to promote their listings or neighborhoods. myBlock went on to become realestate tech start up LiveBy after Jumpstart Challenge Lincoln 2015.
Top: Logo : The myBlock logo is set in type that is meant to resemble the subtle curves of roads, there is a certain energetic and calligraphic nature to the type as well that adds a level of personality. Top: Right :The main homescreen of myBlock allows you to search for where you want to move, things you’d be interested to have in your neighborhood and also allows you to log in as both a user, broker or HOA. Bottom: Right :myBlock “Community Ratings section takes ratings from different sections in the neighborhood and presents them in easy to read data and graphs.
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TEDx Lincoln Project: The Green Guide to Lincoln Category: Social Media Campaign / Branded Photography Client: TEDx Lincoln under the direction of Communications
Under the direction of Brianne Bayer and Mariah Nimmich, communications leaders for TEDx Lincoln, I worked on creating a social media campaign comprising of branded images for the October 1, 2015 event. My main task with the campaign was to create awareness of the event on social media platforms to drive sales, alongside spotlight individual speakers and their favorite places in Lincoln for the entire month leading up to the event. Using a red wooden letter x based on the Helvetica Bold ‘x’ letter-form and red color used in TEDx’s branding, I went to the various designated spots in Lincoln and took photos of the letter in the environment. From there photos went through post-production work on Lightroom and social media graphics for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were created using Photoshop. The campaign was well-received with each post receiving positive responses, ticket sales were higher than usual and a consistent social media posting schedule kept the project on track and held deliverables accountable.
Examples of the Branded Images
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Prairie Pines Category: Branding, App Interaction Design Photography, Signage, Videography, Animation, Motion Graphics Client / Course: Prairie Pines, Graphic Design Independent Study Course
During the summer of 2015 I enrolled in an independent study studio course for graphic design that was centered around the theme of branding ‘Prairie Pines’ a property in the edge of Lincoln that serves as a research site for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Prairie Pines Fashion Photography: Photography by Carlos Velasco. Models Dorsey Kauffman & Halle Bowman, Masks by Aaron Sutherlen
In the class I produced a variety of material ranging from wooden signage, photography, and, a short film that used both animation, videography, motion graphics and kinetic typography to tell the history, mission, and future of Prairie Pines through the words of Prairie Pines founder, Walter Bagley.
Signage System: The signage system created for the Prairie Pines park is made of untreated wood that was laser-cut into a rounded corner rectangle with two variations, one with a hollow back and one with a moss back. The type and graphics were created with black vinyl on top of the wood. 11
(Top) Prairie Pines Mobile Application: Concept Screens of Prairie Pines Mobile Application, showing the use of different trails, navigation, and an icon system developed for the trails.
(Right) Eyes Open: Prairie Pines: Screenshots of the video created for Prairie Pines titled ‘Eyes Open’ Eyes Open was a video that told the story of Walt Bagley, his vision for the property and the mission statements through a use of videography, motion graphics, animation and type. Watch the Film
http://tinyurl.com/ne37z7y
Live action pan of miniature set constructed on tree branch with shallow depth of field, on top is a cutout of Walt cutting a tree taken from the image and moved across the scene.
Split Screen, right photo depicts young Virginia Bagley, Left depicts older Virginia Bagley; camera pans out slowly as watercolor typography on left fades in. Lower right serif typography is fixed.
Artificial set constructed with cut out image of young Walt on horse riding across landscape, digital water-color splotches to colorize the image and a spotlight on the moving horse were complimented by a slow zoom-out.
Live-Action tracking shot of the a-frame home in the background with shallow depth-of field zooming out of the artificial camera to a stop motion of a historical photo of the a-frame home blending in.
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Bus+ Category: Public Transportation Design & Systems / Trans-disciplinary Research Event: a2ru: Emerging Creatives Summit ‘Cities in Flux’
In January, 2015, I had the opportunity to attend the a2ru: Emerging Creatives Summit: ‘Cities in Flux’ conference at VCU. The conference focused on transdisciplinary collaboration and research for creating solutions to the cities of the future. I was a member of the Public Transportation group that, through a few short team meetings, developed the concepts behind a more effective bus system for medium sized cities. Our team consisted of designers, urban planners, mechanical engineers, sociologists, interaction experience designers and more, working together to create the bus system.
Bottom: Outer bus design features wrap around LED Station Information, wrap around windows, curved aerodynamic design, emergency storage, solar panels for collecting energy to power inside technology.
Top: Bus+ Inside Layout Plan, Collapsible Wrap-Around seating, Wheelchair accessible entrances, Commuter Central Section and Horizontal Bars instead of Vertical Bars. This design builds on ideas of communication and creating a social and redesigned bus experience. Technology within the bus includes blue-tooth operated projectors, self-cleaning hose system, Apple Pay ‘pay as you go system’ and ‘Bus on demand’ feature for suburban areas of mid-sized cities. Bottom: Population Diagram of recommended bus density about 61 people. This design allows for a good amount of people to comfortably fit inside the bus and have space. Should collapsible seating be lifted, the bus could hypothetically fit around 30 more within the space provided ceiling arm handles are used.
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ASUN Student Government Category: Branding, Social Media, Print and Web Design, Advertising Client ASUN Student Government
I work as UNL’s ASUN Student Government Graphic Designer, creating various collateral for the organization including logos, advertisements, rebranding efforts and social media graphics. Re-branding efforts have been an extremely important part of the general job. Projects have included the creation of various Committee Logos to compliment the Re-branded ASUN Logo that was designed by the Jacht Ad Lab in an effort to create more visibility and awareness of the overall brand and the committees within. Projects have ranged from event advertisements, to longer campaigns including a Wolfgang Weingart inspired “It’s on Us” campaign that featured lithographic halftone images, an extensive Homecoming campaign that featured collateral ranging from advertisements and stationaries and invitations. Exploring different techniques is an extremely important part of the work created for ASUN. Projects have been created with everything from Chalk to 3D modeling programs. Media is also an extremely important consideration for the projects themselves, everything from Ads on large screens, small Environmental Cards, and social media campaigns are important in order to insure that both re-branding efforts and awareness of the ASUN brand continues to grow and innovate.
Committee Rebranding: To coincide with the rebranding that was completed in Fall 2015 by Jacht Ad Lab for the main ASUN logo, I developed a system and set of guidelines for individual committee logos that would complement the newly developed logo style.
ASUN @GreenUNL: Part of the social media presence of ASUN Student Government has been the growth of @GreenUNL, the social media home of sustainability efforts across committees. The brand of @GreenUNL follows consistent design scheme of flat, neutral colored iconography and graphics, Typography set in Bebas Neue and the use of a white corner square with the current month or season.
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Greetings Campaign: During the summer of 2015 to begin recruiting students for future openings ASUN Communications and I met to decide upon a strategy for a campaign and created a ‘vacation’ direction to the campaign. The graphic collateral for this campaign came in the form of post-cards with vintage graphics reminiscent of vintage city and state post-cards. The result of the campaign was successful.
Homecoming: The Evolution of the Homecoming Campaign from 2014 to 2015 (Top) is a unique multiyear project. Homecoming 2014 had two main illustrative posters created for both the general week of events and for the parade, while 2015 featured one Parade poster and a larger photographic event poster. (Right) The main piece of collateral created for the 2015 season was a revitalized logo that featured half of a football with clean typography.
Poster Campaign Selections Top Left: Holiday Mail For Heroes Print Campaign, 2014. Top Right: It’s On Us Campaign, 2014 Bottom Left, Laura Cockson Memorial Scholarship Bottom Right, Election Season Campaign, 2015 19
Earthstock Category: Branding, Advertising, Social Media Client: ASUN Student Government, Environmental Sustainability Committee
Earthstock is a month long celebration of the Earth that was started in April 2014 by the Environmental Sustainability Committee of ASUN Student Government at UNL. Earthstock is an event in campus and community sustainability that has drawn many followers to events, heightened awareness of living a sustainable and socially conscious lifestyle and has also helped in strengthening the role of Sustainability Organizations within the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My role within the Earthstock Team was as chief Graphic Designer. I was able to collaborate with Creative Directors Nick Gerken and Melissa Bakewell on the general branding and advertisement direction that would run for the entire month of the event. During the event I also worked closely with Environmental Sustainability Committee members Lizzie Mensinger and Alyssa Cody on establishing the social media identity of Earthstock and later on @GreenUNL. Earthstock’s branding is reminiscent of a paper-cut style used in the Woodstock Music Festival branding, this style translated into consistently bold and eye-catching designs. As the Earthstock brand has grown and changed in two years it has become more earth toned, focused on texture, white lines and simple composition while still reflecting and honoring the Woodstock influenced origins of the brand.
Earthstock Logo The Earthstock Logo was developed in a papercut style alongside collaboration with thenEarthstock Creative Director Nick Gerken. The icon has a windmill on top of Lincoln’s location, inclusive colored hands, and a style that hearkens the Woodstock aesthetic that the event is based on.
Earthstock Music Festival: Collateral created for the Earthstock Music Festival at VEGA Nightclub, included a large poster and clothing merchandise. The visual identity of the Earthstock Music Festival has kept the same visual identity
Policy for the Plains: Collateral created for the Policy for the Plains, political forum on sustainability issues included handouts, table-tents, posters, business cards, and small event calendars. 21
Student Legal Services Category: Brand Identity Client: University of Nebraska – Lincoln Student Legal Services
Student Legal Services, the studentfee funded legal services at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln contacted me in order to brand their image for the 2015-2016 school year. The issue was that many students didn’t feel like they could approach Student Legal Services and that the brand had begun to become forgettable. Youthful, Approachable, Recognizable were the words that were discussed the most when meeting to discuss the future of the brand. The following identity is the base of the brand, a two-tone color-scheme, a refreshed set of typography and iconography and a different language for copy.
Patterns and Color: For collateral such as posters, pamphlets, and more, handling white space is incredibly important to making sure that no one tosses material away. For SLS a Brand Texture of thick alternating pin stripes was created so be used as a background element for graphics. The texture came from the pin stripe pattern typically found on suits. Creating the correlation between a professional pattern and the youthful colors of SLS’s branding was important, especially when used with solids and large typography so that the brand could become more approachable to students. The Main Color used in the branding is a pop of orange-red. Orange as a color is perceived to be both more energetic, approachable and many times youthful, while red exudes a certain authority and dominance that made the colors blend well together.
YO U A L R E A DY H A
VE ONE.
rvices Student Legal Se ion 335 Nebraska Un (402) 472 3350 s unl.edu/asun/sl
Copy & Type: What was once collateral with very heavy copy was reduced down to quick to read and more attention-grabbing headlines and information. Separation of elements made the viewer scan collateral easier than before. The typography was changed to be a consistent ‘Bebas Neue’ to reflect a younger and more energetic quality while also being legible and no ultra loud in smaller or thinner variations.
The Mark: In medieval and modern heraldry eagles are often said to indicate that the armiger (person bearing the arms) was courageous, a man of action and judicious. Where an eagle’s wings were spread it was said to indicate the bearer’s role as a protector. This mark was presented alongside several other iterations including traditional scales of justice but was ultimately chosen after discussion due to it’s different symbolism that would be a bit distinct for the legal services brand.
mypn Category: Brand Identity Client: Multicultural Young Professionals Network
mypn, the Multicultural Young Professionals Network branding project consisted of visualizing and creating a visual identity system that the organization could use. The Multicultural Young Professionals Network advocates for an inclusive campus and fosters personal and professional growth for young professionals of color.
The Mark
The mark was constructed as an exploration of taking a classic calligraphic letter ‘m’ and transforming it geometrically to have architectural elements resemble the idea of an abstracted modern office building. Material, the idea of transparency and how color could convey emotion were taken into consideration in the making of the mark. The colors were chosen to convey both authority and also to convey the idea of transparency in both organization ideals and in material.
mypn red 1 r190g30b45 c15%m100%y90%k10% #BE1E2D
mypn red 2 r92g28b36 c0%m100%y100%k0% ED1C24
mypn red 2 r109g110b112 c0%m0%y0%k70% 6D6E70
mm yy pp nn
The Colors
The main colors of the mypn branding are two shades of red, mypn red 1 + red 2 that are meant to be fiery, lively colors that convey both authority and at the same time invite one to become involved. The red colors also play with opacity with red 2 being a derivative of red 1 that passed through a different blending mode, this was created to have a two-tone red that would add dimension to the mark and also convey a sense of transparency. 70% grey was chosen because it adds lightness to display and print type that is easier on the eye, reflects a slight casualness and youth and looks elegant against the mark.
The Type
Gotham, the mypn typeface, was originally designed to reflect the qualities of lettering in urban environments, reflecting the signage that thousands of professionals walk by and interact with each day. Gotham was also designed to transcend the characteristics of material that lettering is set in, whether it be cast iron door numbers in offices, neon signs in stores or painted on names on trucks. Gotham is truly a typeface that reflects hard work, professionals, and the vast diversity of different neighborhoods, buildings, cultures and individual stories which make it an ideal typeface for use in a multicultural young professional organization. Gotham also has an unassuming authority to it and is clean and legible to read.
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A Spot of Tea Category: Branding, Web Design, Package Design, Advertising, Art Direction Course: Graphic Design II
Web Concept The most important aspect of ‘A Spot of Tea’ for its online presence was the heritage and story of the brand. Upon entering the website you are greeted with a large hero image of the latest tea-collection, meanwhile the navigation bar highlights the history, news and collections, leaving boutiques and shop online last so you are more likely to learn more about the heritage of the brand before jumping into your purchase.
A Spot of Tea is the hypothetical brand created for a Branding assignment in an Intermediate Graphic Design course, Spring 2015. A Spot of Tea is positioned as a luxury Tea company. Graphics created for this project include a Packaging system, Print advertisements, and a Web / Online retail presence concept.
Print Advertisements The advertisements that were developed for the brand included dominant headlines indulging the audience for a special tea-time. Hypothetical boutique locations are on the bottom of the ad, further establishing where this brand would be positioned in the retail landscape. The images for the ads focused on the unique packaging and the concept of tea time being a special indulgence in the day.
Packaging The packaging of ‘A Spot of Tea’ had to encompass the entire essense of the brand as the customer would first experience the brand through opening their products. The Ash and dried blue color scheme makes a prominent appearance throughout the packaging. Shopping Bags come with Metallic Pearl tissue paper, dark black canvas handles, and a pearl gloss to the main bag structure. Special items such as receipt holders and ticket cards are delicately set on matching metallic pearl paper with a slight texture. The tea packages themselves come in a 12-sided shape in a matte finish that are completely stackable and hold a high density of tea bags in a smaller footprint. The miniature boxes can be decorated with the plain two-tone aesthetic that is seen througohut the packaging, or, in the case of seasonal flavors such as the featured ‘Hibiscus’, vibrant illustrations of flowers and other prominent flavors can wrap around the entire box.
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Nebraska Innovation Campus Sustainability Collateral Category: Signage Systems, Publication Design, Report Design, Environmental Design Client: Epoch Labs
The collaboration between Epoch Labs Sustainability Firm and Nebraska Innovation Campus is one that includes collateral ranging from environmental signage (both aluminum site-specific and window vinyls), an internally published ‘Green Guide’, sustainability reports and internal documentation for caterers and event hosts to comply with zero-waste policies.
Internal Green Guide: The publication was designed in a simple two column layout (1/3 of the page devoted to a side bar) with typography set in the ‘Neutra’ typeface that is core to NIC brand standards. The publication was designed to be a clean, emphasizing the photography and statistics in aesthetically pleasing manners. Sections are introduced with a large image taking up the width of the page, a header is over-layed ontop of the image for section heads. Copy inside of the publication is typeset in the NIC gray color with small pops of color throughout the flat graphics that correspond to NIC colors for specific topics such as waste or energy.
Aluminum Signage : A core goal of NIC is to reduce landfill waste and to promote recycling and composting. With Epoch Labs, we developed a system of three aluminum signs to be placed around NIC using easily recognizable graphic images, clear typography and recognizable color schemes that would also encourage the use of composting and recycling.
Window Signage : NIC uses extremely sustainable practices and materials and part of the collaborative effort included highlighting these facts in a series of window signs. These signs are duo-toned and each highlight individual parts of buildings such as LEED certification or the use of Alternative Energy. 27
University of Nebraska– Lincoln, 2015-2016 Academic Planner Category: Cover Illustration Client: University of Nebraska–Lincoln Admissions / New Student Enrollment
Working with the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and New Student Enrollment I was offered the opportunity to design the cover for the official 2015 – 2016 student planner. The planner is distributed to around 5,000 freshmen and sold in the campus bookstore afterwards. The design honored both past geometrical trends while also moving forward in a newer direction that embraced wire-frame illustration, warmer colors and a sense of literally ‘planning’ out one’s year through the use of grid lines and sketch lines that are prominent in the sketching-planning process.
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The Green Guide to Lincoln Project: The Green Guide to Lincoln Category: Publication Design Client: ASUN Student Government & Environmental Sustainability Committee
The Green Guide to Lincoln is a publication created for ASUN’s Environmental Sustainability Committee that focuses on promoting sustainable lifestyles among both college students, faculty, and residents of Lincoln, NE. The guide focuses on presenting information through easy to read copy, engaging graphics and a friendly, approachable voice to the presented information. The book was developed throughout the academic year with all editorial content written by Environmental Team member, Daniel Hauschild and design by myself. It is currently available to read online in the University Sustainability page with current plans on mass distribution through both online and print outlets.
Infographics in the Book Flat Graphics, Earth-toned color schemes and large multi-spread infographics helped to make the information of the Green Guide to Lincoln easy to understand, visually engaging and
Aesthetics in the Book The typography of the book is a mixture of Akzidenz-Grotesk Bold / Medium / Book and Didot Italic. The typography was chosen to be neutral, aesthetically pleasing and large enough to be read and approached. The book was published using recycled paper and soy ink, making it an equally sustainable publication. 31
Fashion Monster Category: Fashion Photography, Art Direction, Fashion Film
Fashion Monster is an independent Fashion Photography & Film project that I began in the Spring of 2014 as a personal project. Fashion Monster started and continues to focus on the personal growth of people, the darkness within people and the crosscultural hybrid of both Mexican culture obsessed with iconography of death, nature and an overall celebration of life, and contemporary Western culture that is obsessed with glamorous fashion, material and perception of beauty. The first episode of Fashion Monster, Episode ZĂŠro features model Deiony Moreno in a paper dress designed by myself. The narrative is one focused on the intersection of growth, sensuality and innocence. This episode was featured in Adobe Student Social Media as a highlight of Student Work for Spring 2014 and was also a part of the Elgas Promise Gallery in the Hixson Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Episode One: Le Sacre Du Printemps further explored darkness taking over people, maturity, and an overall mourning and fascination of what is lost as one progresses through life. Episode One was featured in a local First Friday at the Night Owl Pub in Lincoln, NE. Episode Two: La Belle Au Bois Dormant is an episode that further delves into the realms of consciousness, reality, and the world of dreams versus the world of conscious life. Intertwined with both imagery and narrative of the classic fairy tale and past episodes. Episode Two has two film appearances, the first, NAF at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film is a short Fashion Film, while the full episode, a Sleeping Beauty themed film, at RAW: OMAHA.
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