Identity Work
I Love This Game!
In 1992, The NBA wanted to replace an ineffective wordmark they had been using for an existing marketing campaign. Grunge design was at its height of popularity, so I played with variations of the text - some clean, some a bit more "grungy", until I came up with a basic layout that my creative director approved, with one revision - the addition of a punked-out border to give it a holding shape.
Originally meant to last for one or two seasons, the image became so popular its lifespan was doubled to more than five years, after which it was phased out. It was then revisited after 9/11 as "I Still Love This Game" and then again in 2003.
The logo is still in circulation on merchandise through Mitchell & Ness and Urban Outfitters, some 25 years after its creation.
Spotswood High School Spirit Logo
One of the first overhauls our new principal wished to make upon his arrival in the summer of 2018 was to do away with the various logos that had plagued our uniforms, spiritwear and signage for years. Many were direct ripoffs of NCAA or NFL logos, which I felt strongly should be avoided. I had tried many years prior to make such changes, but my please fell on deaf ears.
With an opportunity to amend past wrongs, I set forth with the task to create an appropriate symbol that would be accepted by the faculty and students alike. After getting buy in from all parties on initial concepts, I was able to create a series of logos that have been overwhelmingly supported by the entire school community.
Spotswood Centennial Logo
In 2007, I heard that my town was beginning preparations to celebrate its 100th anniversary. I attended a meeting to find out if there was something that I could contribute. As it turned out, the organizing committee hadn't thought about a logo for the event yet.
Volunteering my services, I did some research by looking at old photographs of the town and listening to old stories that the members of the committee had to tell about the town's history. The streets of Spotswood had once been lined with gas lamps prior to electrification; using vintage photographs as a resource, I recreated one to use for the logo. The Spotswood name was also based on a typeface from the early 1900's, to ensure authenticity.
There are no official town colors, so by keeping a simple palette of primary colors and "maturing" them a bit deeper, I was able to create a more universal theme that could be accepted by everyone.
South Amboy Main Street
It was 2005, and the town of South Amboy was looking for Main Street New Jersey designation, that would allow it to apply for grants and funding to improve its infrastructure.
An integral part of this process was the development of an identity for South Amboy Main Street Redevelopment LLC, the group that would be spearheading the effort.
Taking an afternoon to photograph the buildings on Main Street and doing some investigative sketches, I researched what other Main Street USA organizations had done and came up with some concepts for the commission to consider. They eventually decided that the buildings were the core of their inspiration, and that my concepts that utilized the architecture with a new day rising were by far the strongest.
