Jeff Nichol Graphic Design Portfolio by Jeff Nichol

FOLIO TYPOGRAPHY / POSTER Typography is something that can easily be taken for granted. Most people

on a typeface of our choosing. I have always been a fan of the typeface Folio

have little knowledge of what goes into designing a typeface or type family.

and, therefore, paired it with a classical excerpt from William Shakespeare’s

Some typefaces take years to design and fine tune. As a class project for

Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act I Scene II.

Typography Theory, we were instructed to create a typographic poster based

TYPOGRAPHY / POSTER — FOLIO

HOLIDAY GREETINGS CARD / ILLUSTRATION Being asked to create a holiday greeting card that is non-specific to any

Christmas trees and Santa Clause? My solution to this problem was to create

religion or ethnic group is not as easy of a task as it may sound. When I

an illustration that encompassed the cold weather of the holiday season.

began this project the idea generation portion was extremely challenging.

Regardless of anyone’s beliefs, everyone can enjoy a warm, knitted sweater

How do you wish everyone ‘Happy Holidays’ without using the traditional

during the holiday season.

CARD / ILLUSTRATION — HOLIDAY GREETINGS

THE INVISIBLE MAN BOOK JACKET / BOOK INTERIOR With the Special Edition rebranding of a classic H.G. Wells novel, The

the novel. By applying critical thinking to my design process I was able to

Invisible Man was in much need of a modern makeover. I took special

see past the typical, overused book jackets that have been recycled for more

care to introduce metaphors into the cover design that will only be fully

than a century and produce a fresh and compelling design.

understood and revealed by making it all the way to the very last page of

BOOK JACKET / BOOK INTERIOR — THE INVISIBLE MAN

DIAMOND DEZ POSTER / ILLUSTRATION Diamond Dez is an alternative rock and R&B artist. Her abundance of

stranger to the needle of a traditional tattoo gun, I chose iconic tattoo images

tattoos and alternative look lent themselves to the design inspiration for

with deeply symbolic meaning to represent her image. The diamond tattoo

this University Union event poster. I went with a hand-drawn approach and

signifies courage and good fortune, the rose symbolizes femininity, and the

added texture to simulate a weathered appearance similar to the tattoo

swallows represent love, care, and affection.

flash panels you would find in your local traditional tattoo parlor. Being no

POSTER / ILLUSTRATION — DIAMOND DEZ

BREAKING BAD PLAYING CARDS / ILLUSTRATION Given the opportunity to design a deck of playing cards with the theme of

enjoyed by all. It did not take long for these cards to gain recognition. They

my choice, I, of course, chose my favorite television show Breaking Bad. I

have been featured on multiple Breaking Bad fan websites as well as the

put much time and consideration into developing metaphors that would only

popular awesomer.com blog and the official World of Playing Cards website.

be visible to the biggest of fans while also taking care that they could be

PLAYING CARDS / ILLUSTRATION — BREAKING BAD

All Natural

Extract Sweetner • Zero Calories

PLAYING CARDS / ILLUSTRATION — BREAKING BAD

PORTRAITS POSTER / ILLUSTRATION Being a large fan of digital artists such as Mel Marcelo, Cranio, and Shepard

one of my portraits for the Television show Dexter was a finalist in a national

Fairey, I have spent many years developing my own style of illustrative

art competition and went on display in Grand Central Station for the Season

portraiture. Along with several other celebrity recognitions from this series,

7 Premiere.

POSTER / ILLUSTRATION — PORTRAITS

FeNAM IDENTITY / POSTER / USER INTERFACE The acclaimed Festival of New American Music (FeNAM) is an annual

an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement. Despite the drastic

event hosted by Sac State and takes place at multiple venues throughout

geometric forms of Pietâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work, it was actually inspired by jazz and musical

the city and surrounding region, including the Sacramento State Campus.

rhythms much like that of FeNAM. It was a challenge to take simple shapes

This design campaign was based around the artist Piet Mondrian who was

and primary colors to create an elaborate system of form and functionality.

IDENTITY / POSTER / USER INTERFACE — FNAM

PHOTOGRAPHY DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY / STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY Along with having skills in studio photography and lighting, I also enjoy

camera is nearby while on the road to a new destination. Some of my favorite

candid and outdoor nature photography. Traveling to new and interesting

photos have come by total accident, just being in the right place at the right

places is one of my favorite past times, and I always make sure that my

time with the right equipment.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY / STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY — PHOTOGRAPHY

PAINTING SIGNAGE / MURAL Recently, my passion for painting has grown from a hobby into a small side

of local businesses to create large-scale art in their spaces. Furthermore,

business. My first large painting was a 12’ x 24’ acrylic on vinyl for the

I have been featured multiple times on the DIY Network’s television series

Sacramento Kings and since then I have been commissioned by a multitude

‘House Crashers’ and ‘Yard Crashers’, which has given my artwork national

SIGNAGE / MURAL — PAINTING

EVIL DEAD POST CARD / SYSTEM Evil Dead the Musical is a stage production based on the series of 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

paper as my medium to photograph, I had to be creative in how to make

classic low budget horror films featuring cult icon Bruce Campbell. The

paper appear horrific. My solution to this was to submerge paper streamers

production uses comedy, gore, slapstick, blood and one-liners to keep the

in water and light them from below. This allowed for an eerie view of an

audience engaged. While designing this set of four postcards using only

everyday item that most people would not think to use as a design element.

POST CARD / SYSTEM — EVIL DEAD

VISITING ARTISTS CRAFT / PHOTOGRAPHY / FLYER Crafting is something that I enjoy very much. I love challenging myself with

the difficulty and precision required to produce the simplest of shapes with

new projects and testing my abilities. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve long been a fan of the design work

1/8â&#x20AC;? strips of paper. This project turned out to be one of the most time

created with Quilling and when I was tasked to create the Sac State Visiting

consuming and frustrating undertakings that I have ever attempted, but also

Artists flyer, I decided to try my hand at the seemingly simple art of paper

became one of my most rewarding and talked about works to date.

filigree. It was not long before I realized that I had drastically underestimated

CRAFT / PHOTOGRAPHY / FLYER — VISITING ARTISTS

PURCHASE AWARD SHOW IDENTITY / POSTERS / SIGNAGE / DIGITAL MEDIA The Student Purchase Award Show is an annul event held by Sacramento

market the show in a fun and exciting way so that students would feel

State. The purpose of the show is to showcase student work wherein the

compelled to submit artworks and keep the tradition alive. According to

University will purchase a piece of artwork for its permanent collection.

the final submissions committee, there was an overwhelming increase in

They have been doing this for almost 40 years now. Over the years, the

submissions, almost triple from the previous year.

submissions for the show have begun to dwindle. My intention was to

IDENTITY / POSTERS / SIGNAGE / DIGITAL MEDIA — PURCHASE AWARD SHOW