Concept
Google Brand Studio 2017
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Google Gnome was one of the biggest April Fools' gags of 2017. It was featured prominently in all the big media roundups, including Mashable, Time, The Verge, and AdWeek.
The video was shared over 40,000 times, "liked" more than 100,000 times, and had almost 7 million views — 3 million more than Brand Studio's 2016 April Fools' video.
Art Direction + Design
Google Brand Studio 2015
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Utensils that adapt to tremors, contacts that monitor glucose, wearables that warn users of impending heart events. Verily uses science to make lives better in a real, tangible way. They thrive in the intersection of life and data, and their brand had to feel firmly planted in each of those worlds.
The form is inspired by the scientific process. The bar is a constant, a launchpad for discovery and possibility. The V is the variable, and represents the wide range of work done at Verily. It can be activated through the visual language of biology and data to take on new life and meaning across different applications and mediums.
The blue-to-red gradient, applied across all brand materials, is inspired by the visible light spectrum, medical imagery, and the vibrant lights and dyes used in Verily's studies. These colors are intimately understood by scientists and deeply rooted in the culture of research and data visualization. We chose intentionally punchy, "digital" colors to make sure the brand felt fresh and modern.
In a few quick weeks, our small team developed a dynamic identity that gave life to Verily's mission and set them apart from their competitors in an exciting way. At launch, the company became a trending topic on Facebook, and was reported on positively by many major news outlets. Most importantly, the identity was met with overwhelming enthusiasm from the Verily team, who proudly sport the logo on shirts, jackets, and stickers — around their office and into the world.
Art Direction + Data Storytelling
Google Brand Studio
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An ongoing film series using real Google Search trends paired with user-created footage to highlight our shared humanity.
Art Direction + Design
Firebelly Design 2013
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Identity for Chicago's Halfwit Coffee Roasters — inspired by the atomic age, vintage chemistry sets, and the real science behind Halfwit's out-of-this-world roasts. The label and icon system communicate real info about the freshness, flavor and source of their sustainably-grown beans, while the surreal, sci-fi packaging pays tribute to the company's future-forward, mad-scientist approach to coffee.
See Firebelly's full case study here.
Ben’s has been a legendary DC institution since their inception in 1958. In all those years, Covid-19 was the hardest challenge they’ve had to overcome. Lucky for us, they’ve endured the pandemic and are still going strong with a little help from Google.
Illustration
Self-initiated 2016
Creative Direction + Design
Self-initiated 2017
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An ongoing celebration of American cities' most iconic buildings. SF & Chicago with more to come.
Art Direction + Design
EnergyBBDO 2014
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When Bayer Aspirin decided to update the website for their highly-regarded I am ProHeart community, they wanted to ensure the brand felt modern, friendly, and distinctive. I created a simple new mark that uses translucency and overlapping elements to create a forward facing arrow, speaking to clarity and forward momentum. Paired with a new typeface, the new lockup is clean, yet humanistic—and the "overlapping" language can easily be extended to other brand programs, like their ProHeart Path.
Naming + Design
Firebelly Design + IDEO 2013
Through a partnership with Firebelly and IDEO, I helped develop the name and identity for Chicago’s bike-share program, Divvy. The name speaks to the sharing aspect of the program — that sentiment is furthered by the program's call-to-arms, "Divide and share."
The double-V symbol within the mark is also a street marking (called a "sharrow") that indicates a shared space for cars and bikes – and Divvy's arrival onto the city's landscape has firmly cemented the bicycle's rightful place within Chicago's transportation infrastructure.
The blue bikes cut a striking figure as they cruise by, and practically beg to be taken out on the town. The sharrow becomes a powerful communicative element used throughout the collateral and wayfinding systems citywide.
The project was featured on Brand New and even won it's #9 top identity for 2014. Photos by Nick Adam and Saverio Truglia. Video by Firebelly Design — see their full case study here.
Creative Direction + Design
Xi/Energy BBDO 2014
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A campaign concept for Lay's Potato Chips that leverages the "love" in their tagline, "One taste and you're in love." Users tag their Lay's moments on social networks and Lay's donates free chips to families in need.
Creative Direction + Design
Firebelly Design 2013
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To promote a new frequency for Chicago radio station Vocalo, I helped create a colorful, hand-painted campaign inspired by the colorful bodega signage that peppers the neighborhoods they broadcast to — a play on the notion of radio "markets."
The bright colors and quirky spirit of the campaign got a lot of attention throughout the city. In fact, the station was so excited by the reception that they refreshed the entire brand based around the "Fresh Markets" visual language, complete with a shiny new logo.
See Firebelly's full case study here.
Art Direction + Design
Firebelly Design 2013
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The Freedom Express is a 45-foot traveling museum that offers visitors an opportunity to explore their First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. Photographs of recent, young McCormick grantees and found images from the Chicago Tribune's archives showcase a long history of freedom, and large, bold type is legible even in motion.
Creative Direction + Design
2015
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Hackster is an online hub made by and for makers—dedicated to the sharing, learning, and building of hardware. Their new mark speaks to the energy and passion that courses through their active community.
Art Direction + Design
Firebelly Design 2013
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I helped create the vibrant, pink interior spreads for Typeforce's annual exhibition catalog—from selecting and retouching photography to the typography and layout, each page was carefully crafted to visually recount the shared experiences had at the event.
See Firebelly's full case study here.
Art Direction + Design
Firebelly Design 2012
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When Dollop decided to expand beyond their original location to multiple locations across Chicago, they realized it was time to revisit their branding. I helped build the new brand for the coffee & tea provider, including signage, dimensional wall displays, menus, and a responsive new website. Logo and creative direction by Will Miller.
Creative Direction + Design
Google Brand Studio
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Proprietary circular flag icons for Google. Each flag has been simplified as much as possible, yet remains easily recognized, even at small sizes. They share the same grid, color palette, and geometric method of construction, presenting the wide global spectrum of flag symbology in a unified, cohesive way — perfect for use in both UI and print applications.
Concept + Art Direction
Self-initiated 2014
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An unsolicited update of the Chicago seal, designed with one-color applications in mind.
Art Direction + Design
Firebelly Design 2013
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Identity concept for a productivity app called Folia. With Folia, users can easily create, share and collaborate on complex, content-rich documents and presentations.
Concept + Art Direction
2014
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A few posters paying tribute to one of the best books in the galaxy.
