Some of the projects I helped design at Chen Design Associates, SF.

Principal & Creative Director: Joshua Chen
Design Director: Max Spector

Clients:
1400 Mission Acquisition
Logo explorations, signage, email templates, production.

Association Media & Publishing
Annual Meeting 2015, program guide publication, layout design, production.

American Student Dental Association
Layout and identity redesign, ASDA News publication (6 issues), proofreading, production.

California Historical Society
Panama-Pacific Int’l Exposition 1915–2015, program guide publication, layout, production.

CDA Studio
Typography design explorations, product photography, handmade illustrations, Website project pages, website design explorations, digital mockups, production mechanicals for different clients.

Congregation Beth Sholom
Annual Report 2015 and capital campaign brochure, layout designs, production.

Coffee Cultures
Brand personality design, visual toolsets, icon explorations, menu board concepts, environmental design concepts.

Kona Coffee Purveyors
Brand identity redesign, logo & icon explorations.

Masons of California
Handmade typographic illustration, photographic layout design artwork, icon designs, architectural type letterforms, layout redesign explorations.

Outfit Generic / Craftsman & Wolves
Banner designs, door posters, product renderings, logo applications & productions.

Stafford’s Famous Chocolates
Logo redesign, initial explorations to final logo production, business system.

The Market
Window displays, sushi menu board display, map flyer, brand guidelines, production mechanicals.

Some of the projects I helped design at Michael Osborne Design.

President & Art Director: Michael Osborne

Word Wargame is a conceptual board game product. The goal was to create a unique game and experiment a system of different ideas and game functions where various design elements could be applied. This is a word battle concept inspired by the classic games, chess, scrabble, and hangman. Four historical warriors have been chosen as the main characters of the game to help establish the war idea. Each warrior group has its own identity design with their own customized letterforms, weapon/shield designs and die-cuts, illustrations, and conceptual colors. Each of them reflect the unique characteristics of their cultural identity. Additionally, the setting of the battle takes place on a modern arena design inspired by the Roman Colosseum, and a rectangular spinning sword inspired by a dice. This game is summarized into a simple logo that communicates the fundamental concept of the game.

A fun and conceptual redesign of The Kraken Rum for a packaging class. I have taken this as a good challenge creating another good version of something that's already good, and to reinterpret my favorite mythical sea beast. The primary goal was to depict a new Kraken Illustration as part of the logo and bottle label in order to make the Kraken bolder, direct, and striking. It has been incorporated to the original bottle with a rubdown/color transfer technique to make the illustration part of the structure. Then, the original logotype has been preserved with minor changes on the new inline of the "Kraken" type to make it seem half submerged, and creating a lettering of the word "Rum" with the characteristics of the creature. To help present the new concept, a system of additional products has been added: a premium white rum, a clear box [to protect but show the product], a flask, mini bottles, and a sculpture to fully release the Kraken.

A rebrand of Republic of Tea's identity and packaging by creating a simple, fresh, and consistent take on its designs. Their signature round tea bag has been used with the logo, to communicate a simple idea of incorporating their own product with the identity. The concept behind the package redesign is to reflect the bare and organic quality of their teas through the bare drawings, and integrating them with fresh and modern colors, design, and typography. Every flavor contains its own drawing that has a consistent style with the others. Overall, the rebranding strategy is to keep the Republic of Tea's brand equity by using their existing canisters to be recognizable, but refreshing their identity with a new brand direction.

Grid is a new retail store that sells a wide variety of affordable products specifically for men, such as apparels, accessories, gadgets, home decor, and grooming products. It will have an eco-friendly standard with a futuristic point-of-view on product designs, brand identity, and packaging. Grid stores will be located in metropolitan cities like San Francisco. The goal was to create innovative, futuristic, fresh, and creative designs that will appeal to Grid's target audience who are males ages 21–45 years old, looking for a store that can be a primary source of a wide variety of innovative products.

Grid is the main brand that sells a product line of apparels & accessories. Its design objective is to fuse a modern and futuristic quality with sustainability, through the use of complex structures and geometric designs combined with eco-friendly materials and practical packaging forms. It has 3 private sub-brands: 

1. Interval: a minimal brand that establishes the essential grooming & skin care products for men. 

2. Structure: a bold, colorful, and structural brand for gadgets 

3. Shapes: a brand for home decorations, which combines an organic/natural quality with modern product designs.

Based on the native culture of the Maori People from New Zealand, this fictional store is owned by a modern Maori family who import local delicacies from New Zealand, where the profit helps preserve their marine environment. As part of their culture, the preservation of the environment is very significant to the Maori people. This deli not only offers a variety of products produced naturally and earth-friendly, but also uses packaging and branding materials that pertain to their values and standards. 

The design objective is to create a new brand and packaging that communicate a unique story and inspiration from the Maori culture, but also to successfully incorporate a modern and good design with eco-friendly materials. Design inspirations took mainly from their very own techniques of patterns, handicraft materials, organic texture, and Maori sculptures.

A conceptual paper promotion project for a paper line with a unique story communicated through experimental type and design. This book design is about fortuitous technological inventions presented using French Paper's Smart White Paper line. 

Some of the greatest technological inventions that reshaped our industries and lives were discovered by chance or accidents; inventions like the artificial pacemaker, inkjet printer, x-ray machine, microwave oven, and the smart dust, are some examples that made a major impact to society. The stories of these inventions are reflected with attention to detail through conceptual and experimental designs, images, layout, and type design that will build the foundation of communicating the technological characteristics of the concept.

Typography projects with expressive and experimental executions.

Oldwheel Farm is a fictional company that uses classic and organic values to produce contemporary food products. They sell a cream and sugar mix perfect for coffee drinking, which comes in different flavors. An original template/structure is developed for this project, where it shows an interpretation of vintage milk can containers. The goals are to incorporate Oldwheel's classic values in a modern form through their products and to establish a unique packaging design that is original and meaningful.

The Grafiknife is a fictional invention as a newly launched Victorinox Swiss Army Knife product specifically for designers, artists, or crafters. It possesses portable and multi-functional tools and equipments reduced into a smaller but robust modern design. The Grafiknife's concept & characteristics are reflected with attention to detail through product idea imaging, using an identity, packaging, and print designs.

An identity design project aiming to create a unique logo for a conceptual company. Mammoth Pub specializes in brewing  its signature strong and massive mug of beer, "The Mammoth." Drinkers could get a bigger amount of beer in affordable prices on either a single mug or a "Mammoth Herd" for groups of friends.

A conceptual brand identity redesign of the International Paper company. They are mainly a paper and packaging company that manufactures a wide range of industrial and consumer products for companies around the world. The goal of this redesign is to create a fresh interpretation of their brand direction by designing a new logo, identity system, and product applications, with simple but engaging colors, designs, and photographs. A new tagline "let's innovate" is incorporated to communicate a quick and memorable phrase that invites other companies or clients to join them in using innovative and eco-friendly paper products. 

M Magazine is a conceptual, primary source of minimalist inspirations from different forms of art and design. It covers the latest and the best minimal inspirations, trends, news, and resources from artists and designers around the world. It is a monthly published, trade magazine appealing for creative professionals. 

This project is about conceptualizing a new magazine, and the goal is to reflect the concept of minimalism through the design, simple photography, and custom ads for the publication. It is aimed to apply the concept of minimalism by not having to be lazy or monotonous—it could be complex, meaningful, and crafted, but still reflects simplicity through emphasis on the core essence of communication.

An awareness poster series about some of our important social issues. The topics are communicated using metaphors with subtle meanings and conceptual ideas. Fine art paintings are the main the inspiration for the execution for the simple, handwritten signature idea of the titles, and the indirect approach of the messages and ideas.

Redesigning the brand and menu of Pasta Pomodoro Restaurant, through a collaborative group project with Ryan Torgeson, Madeline Roguschka, Zoe Brownlow and Ji Young Woo. The objective was to give the brand and restaurant a fresh look & feel that embraces the brand’s principles, and eliminating their “chain” or “corporate restaurant” personality. Our group wanted to accomplish these through a simple and meaningful approach by creating a minimal, friendly, and organic design that reflect their organic food and environmental values.

An event identity design for the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) celebration, where the goal was to manifest the rich culture, liveliness, and unique attributes of this event into a meaningful identity design. The logo tells the initial story of dancing skeletons in distinctive Mexican or Spanish dance movements and colorful dresses, and they reflect the very colorful and lively spirit of the event's concept about commemorating & celebrating life beyond death.

A "sonic & visual observations" book project, where we have to communicate a personal concept and visual narrative based on our environment, using unique typographic solutions. The concept is about reverting or going back to a natural world away from the city, noise of information, and artificiality. Using my point of view as a design student in San Francisco, I ventured into natural areas and communicated the experiences by incorporating photography, experimental typography, and storytelling. 

We sometimes need to refresh our outlook by simply breathing away from busy streets, crowds, and infrastructures. It can provide us a sense of natural therapy. And looking deep into nature could also provide us the most authentic source of inspirations. 

“The earth has music for those who listen.” —George Santayana

A collection of logo designs from my graphic design projects.