Kelsey Hawley
When I hear the word art or design I am immediately thrown back in time to a dream-like rendering of a garage filled with photographs, calendars dating back to the 1940s, dusty bottles and artificial fruits, colored chairs, and ink splattered floors. I think of saltine crackers, Cheez-Its, and lemonade. I remember painting eggs on easter and sharing half-frozen cupcakes on birthdays. I can still smell the woody scent of linseed oil and feel the grit of orange soap on my hands. I will never forget looking at the unfinished murals on the doors and imagining the artists who started them. I always imagined myself being one of those artists. I imagined myself sitting at the table forever with Mary and Mrs. K painting still-life shoes and replicas of horses from calendars. Emotions, memories, and nostalgia are powerful elements of human nature. As we grow older there are few things left in the world that do not evoke a memory of something, and to the viewer those memories can be moving and personal. One image or design can bring out different responses from different people, but ultimately draw them to a specific feeling. I love creating work that means something to me, but I am fascinated with the variety of responses one image can have. I believe that designers and artists are responsible for recreating thoughts and memories that belong to others and making them come together to create new and compelling feelings. It is the duty of the designer to capture a specific feeling and ask viewers to absorb it without them even realizing they’ve done so in the three seconds they took to view it. As designers we must put ourselves in another person’s shoes and say “Hello, this is who I am” not as ourselves but as those that we design for.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
Surfin’ Cow Soap Company brand identity - packaging - website
Right Whale Festival
2
poster - ads - t-shirt - passport
SJCC Art Reaches
3
posters
LAAHospital Website website interface
4
5
Editorial Illustrations 3 prints for magazine
6
Virix Sock Illustrations illustrations - sock mockups
7
GBGC promotional poster - event poster
8
Illustration Book a variety of illustrations
1
Surfin’ Cow Soap Company Brand Identity Surfin’ Cow Soap Company is a new, small family-owned company that makes and sells handcrafted bath products and accessories. They needed a brand identity with the requirement of it involving a spotted cow in an antique bathtub surfing. This request was difficult to work with, but in the end made for an interesting problem with a creative solution. The logo includes the desired spotted cow in a bathtub while the surfing aspect is brought out in an abstract way through the style of imagery used throughout the branding. Because the company revolves around everything handcrafted, the style of the brand overall is somewhere between rustic farm and beach. Using these opposing styles was a challenge, but really brings out the true personality behind this brand.
Top Left: Gift Packaging Top Right: Website Right: Packaging Far Right: Business Cards
2
Right Whale Festival Right Whale Festival 2015 NOAA fisheries hosts an annual Right Whale Festival supporting the conservation of the endangered Right Whale. I was asked to create an event poster along with promotional items including a t-shirt, children’s passport activity book, and ads for both online and print. The concept behind the design of the poster was inspired by vintage national parks posters and used a carefully chosen 5 color palette. The font Bolton Sans was chosen to reference the typography of the vintage national parks posters as well for an overall vintage national parks feel that relates to conservation of the natural world. The rest of the promotional components of the project were created after the poster as a way to connect the audience with the event and support the cause. The designs were specifically altered pieces of the poster design in order to keep the theme consistent.
Event Poster
Event T-shirt
Top Right: Web Ad Middle Right: Facebook Banner Bottom Right: Newspaper Ad Right: Passport Activity Book
3
St. John’s Cultural Council Art Reaches Posters The St. John’s Cultural Council launched a new program in 2015 called Art Reaches, which gives different groups in the community opportunities to participate in the arts and be a part of the community. SJCC asked Luciana Gasset, Ryne Pearson, and myself, to design 6’x2’ promotional posters for their opening event. The collaboration involved Ryne and I creating illustrations while Lucianna designed the typography and overall layout. The inspiration behind the illustrations were found objects and textures merged with scenes from around the St. John’s County area. The illustrations as a group represent a variety of art media around the community and helping people make connections with it. The posters were displayed at the Art Reaches Grand Opening Soiree held on the El Galeon ship in St. Augustine, FL. They are currently being used at other promotional events to explain to donors what their donations are being used for.
2 posters at Art Reaches Grand Opening Soiree
Promotional Posters 6’ x 2’
4
Livingston Animal and Avian Hospital Website Redesign Livingston Animal and Avian Hospital is a small, family owned veterinarian hospital in Lutz, FL. They currently have a website that needs updating. This project features a redesign that has a sleek, modern look, but is still family friendly and inviting. The concept behind the design was to keep the feeling warm and friendly while making it more modern and current to new website capabilities. The website is still in progress, but will be live and in use by the business by the end of the year.
Website redesign interface
5
Editorial Illustration “Blocked” I was having trouble coming up with a concept for an editorial illustration. I had no idea whether to begin with an article and illustrate from there or to make an illustration and look for an article that fit. I began by searching articles, but was too frustrated to work. Eventually, it came to me. I began drawing exactly how I felt, my ideas all locked away and tangled up. As I was in the process of making my illustrations I searched for an article relating to creative process or creative thinking and stumbled across one called “Blocked”. The article is about writer’s block, but this is an age-old concept that applies to any creative work. Each illustration describes a different kind of creative block. 1 Yarn: Yarn is an illustration that describes following an idea until it leads to a knot or obstacle and eventually ends up in a tangle of ideas that is completely overwhelming. 2 Locked: Locked portrays an entire lockdown on ideas, when one cannot even access a good starting point. 3 LightBulb: LightBulb is a depiction of how it feels to have a hugely inspiring idea, but with difficulty in putting it onto paper.
Editorial Illustrations for “Blocked”
6
Virix Socks Virix Sock Illustrations Virix is a crossfit apparel company that is owned and run by a Flagler College allumni. He is starting a new line of athletic socks, and needed illustrations for them. Each design was taken from my hand illustrations and digitally made into a pattern. The colors are reminiscent of Florida’s tropical landscapes and exotic birds.
Nature inspired illustrations for Socks
7
Global Botanic Gardens Congress GBGC Event Posters and Typface The Global Botanic Gardens Congress is an international congress on conservation of botanic gardens. It is an opportunity for botanic garden organizations from around the world to come together and share ideas and experiences about botanics. I designed a typeface specifically for this event called Foliage that was inspired by the way a blade of grass bends. The concept behind the posters was began with an image of a Cyclamen plant, which I then illustrated and also used in the background image. The font Foliage was used in the color poster as the Event logo.
8
Illustration Book A Book of Illustrations A Book of Illustrations is a collection of my various illustrations that are related to nature. It is split into two parts: Block prints, and Paintings. Each Illustration has a different story or concept, some that began with a story and became an illustration and some that began with an illustration concept and were later fitted to a story. Inspiration for each illustration is described in the book itself, but overall it is centered on the beauty of nature. The process is different for each illustration, whether it was a wood block print, acrylic painting, or watercolor painting. In general I usually use the same process beginning with research, thumbnail sketches, and getting more detailed as I go.
Sleep: Acrylic Paint, Ink, and Digital Media 11” x 14”
One Cool Friend: Ink, Gouache 11” x 14”