Exercise your mind book project
I was commissioned by Australian-based author Vinko Kuzman to create illustrations, as well as the layout and design, for his self-published book of collected quotes and other sayings, Exercise Your Mind: Acquire Powerful Knowledge From Penetrating Quotes.
Illustrations and Book Design
The idea for the book was as a collection of various quotes, sayings, idioms, aphorisms, and more that Vinko had gathered over his lifetime. He wanted to include stylized illustrations for each chapter page-leading quote, as well as for the book cover (25 in total). My contributions included:
Creating a visual storytelling world that included coming up with characters that would depict the chapter page-leading quotes. I named these characters “Quoties” because they represented the shape of an actual single quote (‘) symbol.
Designing the visual appearance of the entire book, including the front and back cover, spine design, interior layout, typefaces used, and all other graphic and typographical elements.
Preparing the book for publishing by preparing the final files for the self-publishing process. This included formatting the final files to the correct specifications, proofing the drafts, and making any corrections or edits, as necessary.
Maximus branding project
I was commissioned by the Dallas-based, fitness start-up company Maximus to create their visual branding, which included a logo and branded merchandise.
Logo Design
The initial idea was for the logo to represent the letter ‘M’, as well as steps on a staircase. I wanted to make the logo look clean and modern, as well as abstract and full of symbolism. I achieved this by:
Using a solid, one-color design for the visual mark with a sleek sans-serif typeface beneath. The symbolism contained within the logo includes the stylized letter ‘M’ visual mark in the shape of the steps (with the vertical faces of the steps knocked-out).
Inserting a triangular arrow shape on the left vertex completing both the symmetrical diamond shape and also pointing upwards to subconsciously motivate viewers to continue to climb towards their dreams.
Varying the saturation on certain letters in the typeface that emphasize the tagline “Max U”, which speaks to the company’s fitness objective.
Branded Merchandise
The visual style created for the logo was the foundation upon which I designed some of the company’s branded merchandise, including an athletic sportswear clothing line and a casual wear clothing line.