A great logo is an expression of a company’s values, culture and people. It speaks for you when you are not in the room anymore. It stays behind as a representative. And the best ones can generate their own gravity drawing people to your products and services simply by its presence.

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Excalibur was an experimental idea I did based on the 1981 film. I wanted it to feel like it was written in blood. To give it the feeling of the pain and suffering and sacrifice the movie plays out. I smashed a twig and painted on a paper towel. Then scanned it all and pieced it together once I had the balance I liked.

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AHA was a local real estate agent. I was thinking about how to convey the idea of presentation or bringing you this gift. This led me to the concept of holding up as if to present the home on a pedestal like in the Lion King.

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American Jiu Jitsu was a martial arts clothing line. Naturally a star to represent America was a perfect partnering with an A letterform. I wanted it to feel sharp on the edges to have just a touch of danger to it.

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The Scream Truck was an original ice cream food truck. The concept was ice cream balls on a stick. So I felt the simplest way for a logo to express what the product was was by doing an illustration in the logo of it. I selected colors that were pastel to provide a classic vibe. I also designed the truck that ended up being featured in several TV shows as a prop because people liked the way it looked so much.

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The DCMP was about extending the Metrorail in DC all the way out the Dulles Airport. I felt showing landmarks along the route might help identify the communities affected by the construction. The swoop was brought in to give the sense of progress, momentum and that this service in the end would be a very quick way to access Dulles.

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The Ecoliner was one of the first all electric buses in Southern California. I worked with our team to come up with the name for the product and then got to do the logo. I was thinking of a flower unfolding or a vortex of energy in the mark that they chose that you see before you.

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Metrolink was looking for a mark that had a lot of text. So I felt having the train running the story was a key to define the whole picture. I drew it out by hand first to get the right shapes. Then brought it into illustrator and refined it.

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Using a chameleon as a mascot was an idea of the actual client and I chatting about various ideas. One of his main money making things he does is painting. So we came to the conclusion that a chameleon was a friendly way of expressing colors. And would make his business feel like it had a personal touch. I gave it a modern feel though as I wanted it to be seen as forward looking company.

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The Carlson Gracie Team has always used bulldogs as mascots. But I wanted my instructor to have his own variation of the icon. I gathered various source material to reference. And began piecing together what I saw as the perfect illustration. In the end I used 4 various illustrations as the foundation for the final piece.

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U Cycle was a bike share logo done for the DC market. Due to politics this was taken away after we had done all the work. But I loved the name and logo we had come up with at the agency. I used yellow white and black because I saw the bike share service as a new form of taxi. The U that is a never ending loop was based the idea of using the bikes and returning them over and over.

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Urban Builders requested a vintage city vibe for their logo. So I referenced classic illustrations of the cities. I tried to choose some interesting colors to pump up the visual style of it all.

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VMP is one of my most challenging marks I ever had to create. We worked as a team to come up with the name to brand this major construction revamp of Northern Virginia. Then I needed to come up with a logo that encapsulated the idea of added train service, repaving, added HOV lanes and new road being added. I created this infinity diamond shape to express how each product feeds the next. And that they all connect.

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Enovative was a company focused on energy saving products. This logo mark came right off the top of my head as I met with them. I sketched it on a napkin and they said we love it. A simple solution done in 5 minutes.

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Signal CRM was software that helps politicians chat online with their constituents. Another logo that came to me fairly quickly. The chat bubbles seemed obvious that they needed be a part of the mark. The key was how to add a small twist. So injecting the S seemed like a natural. The client loved it.

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Vision Zero logo development was one of the first time I had worked with urban development in LA. It is an international's program being brought to Los Angeles after being adopted years ago in Los Angeles. I gave them numerous new potential new versions. But what they loved was my updated version of the current mark being used by New York. They saw this as a recognizable upgrade and that LA does things better.

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Entrada was a small local surf board shop. I used marker on paper towel. And when I scanned it I noticed it felt like coral. I felt this was very appropriate and the owner did as well. He was instantly drawn to this logotype look. He made a lot of money off t-shirts and hats from it.

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Go Coast was all about connecting transit in the local area. I came up with the clover design after looking at various Celtic symbology. I wanted to express the concept of connectivity and infinity. This was my solution.

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I did just a ton of marks for Brite. Most related to the various possible meanings of the word write. I came up with the pinwheel while watching a video about happiness. I saw a child blow on one and that it felt magical and was a classic loved symbol. That led me to think what if I merged the sun to make it feel like a pinwheel to express movement and light. The pinwheel design option was instantly liked by focus groups and was recognized as a very loved image for the shuttle service to use.

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This was a logo off the top of my head I did for my friends that dive as a group down in OC. The leader of the group was highly religious and would say a prayer every time before the group went into the water. So I felt the Jesus fish could be great it have in the mix. The challenge was how to do something original with it so it did not just feel like a church group, but had broader appeal. As I played with it in various shapes and making schools of fish. The school of fish sun came about. Sometimes beautiful forms reveal themselves when you don’t think but just shove objects around into various forms.

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Atlas is just such a common name used for products. The challenge was how to express the globe but in a fresh way. So I combined the arc of the earth with the sun rising to express the hope of people who used their services. The hope of finding or renting a better home.

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The Boomerang bus service was just a fun time. The shuttle service ran from Colonial Williamsburg to Virginia Beach. So it was for people on vacation having a fun time with their family. And it just went back and forth. We named it boomerang to express the out and back nature of the service. And I did a very whimsical look to it because I felt it should feel like a ride at Disneyland. To let people know you are about to have some fun.

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This logo was done for the launch of new service in Virginia. I felt having the train was key and using a classic illustration style would make people nostalgic for the magic of trains. This was a big hit and was used on various materials during the promotional launch of it for the press.

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Cal OES had an existing logo. It was then considered a great idea to incorporate some of their imagery into this new project of theirs. The bear and star represent the California flag. And the shield symbolizes the protection the program provides.

The company needed a brochure that explained in simple terms how and why to use their services. It was a highly successful tool and helped increase sales and reduce time spent explaining.

This was a golden vodka packaging design manufactured in Canada. I got all the way to the final and the client had a falling out with their partner. But I feel it is a good example of my design process and capabilities. The final design they chose before the brand partnership ended was the first design shown here, the silk screened mountainscape with the goat. This took advantage of the bottle as a 3-dimensional object to create a visual mountain range. The goat was to become the general symbol of the vodka used in promotional materials. I was thinking a lot about the potential for collateral materials and how the bottle could stand out from other vodkas on the market. I tried a number of various conceptual directions as you can see from the work.

Designing a new vodka brand was a fun challenge. The client said I had no restrictions at first, This is my favorite design I came up with under those parameters. Once the reality check of costs sunk in they opted for a much less expensive traditional label. I kind of don’t blame them as this was a start up. But I still preferred my frosted bottle concept.

With massive improvements coming to the Baltimore area for mass transit they wanted a brochure that would highlight all of these items. This was to generate support amongst political allies and the public. The main struggle I had was the amount of time to solve this graphic message. From start to finish I had a week. So first thing I needed to do was develop a look that could carry all the spreads. I was looking at the logo one of our other art director’s had done and the triangle/diamond graphic element came to me. From there it was all playtime. I rapidly developed a cover which the client loved. The great thing was that this graphic element allowed me to not think but just design from the heart. I would read the content and just create freely. Sort of like just riffing playing guitar. It became such a pleasure to play from spread to spread with the elements. I completed it in 3 days and it went for client review. We had a few changes and it went to print two days later. The piece was so well received they asked for a revision and it to be slightly larger piece.

Lulu’s is the number 2 competitor to Jell-o brand gelatin snacks. The request was to come up with new labels for their various brands of individual gelatin snacks to market them towards the various target audiences. This was extremely successful in reaching kids, the health conscious adults, medical and government facilities.

Creating packaging for a line of bath products was a fun project. The line was a modern take on pure ingredients. They wanted items that were formulated that even the most sensitive people would have no issues. So I worked with their printer and used a new metallic type of printing but kept the design very simple. I wanted the metallic to glint at people from the shelves as they passed by, catching their eye, making them want to see what this product was.

The Moto Cafe is an exhibition hall, event location and a cafe all in one. It is focused on the past, present and future of design and innovation in vehicle engineering.

In all my designs I always focus on concept. What am I trying to say about this product or content. A book cover is even a greater example of this. Trying to express the details of the journey ones mind is about to be taken on in a 3 second glance is an exercise in design of the most pure nature. In this book Mr Comfort expresses how transit has changed over time. One system built on top of the past one as we move forward in time.

After working on the branding I was requested to develop a biking guy for the region. This needed to feel dynamic, fun and bold. They needed to excite people about their biking options in the region.