Work samples representing diverse skills in integrated media and design.
Peter and the Starcatcher | September 2019
Branding, Graphic Design, Signage and Lobby Display Fabrication
In my role as Marketing Manager for Theatre Huntsville, my initial foray into integrative design centered on promoting the 2019 season opener, Peter and the Starcatcher. I worked with the licensed logo from Music Theatre International, striving to seamlessly incorporate it into various promotional materials and digital projections for a local event. One notable aspect of this project involved planning and directing a photo shoot with the cast aboard replicas of the Niña & Pinta, which happened to be docked at Ditto Landing during that period.
The program cover features an edited version of a photograph from this shoot (captured by Jeff White), which was also used on the official production poster and other promotional items. Before this photo session, I utilized composited licensed stock imagery, including the image in the lower-right corner above, to generate interest in the show.
A sign I designed and crafted for the lobby display is situated in the upper left corner, created with a laser cutter, spray paint, and reclaimed wood to bring the logo to life. The lobby display, showcased below, features the sign, a hand-drawn map, and various materials sourced from Theatre Huntsville’s scene shop.
Theatre Huntsville Rebrand | Late 2019
Logo Design, Branding, Website Design
My second design task in my role as Theatre Huntsville’s marketing role involved an entire organization rebrand. This began with a logo redesign, a three-month design development process that involved feedback from the staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors.
I steered the logo towards a more neutralized design and color scheme, as the logo appears on production materials that can vary dramatically in mood and tone. From here, I created a Style Guide for the organization, addressing addressing consistency in both visuals and language for all Theatre Huntsville media and PR.
Below are some examples of the logo and style guide being employed for social media, digital projection, advertising, holiday market display (window themeing and photo by me as well), and ticket design
I also created a new website for the organization. While some content has been changed since my departure in early 2022, its overall design and structure remains intact.
The Studio Theatre | January 2020
Logo Design, Branding, Storefront Design & Fabrication, & Signage
In January of 2020, Theatre Huntsville relocated its office to Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment and took over operations of the former Flying Monkey Theater.
The theater, renamed ‘the Studio Theatre’, required its own branding, as the space would not be used exclusively Theatre Huntsville productions, but also rented out for other uses.
I designed the Studio Theatre’s branding to be compatible yet distinct from Theatre Huntsville’s. This included designing physical signage for both the theater and office as well.
The most ambitious part of this project involved designing and building an entire storefront for the office space, including an eternal box office for use during events, and electronic marquees for displaying slideshows of media to promote upcoming shows and other events. I went with a vintage look to integrate into the historic Lowe Mill as well as with the art deco branding visuals.
While I was very hands-on with fabrication of this project, I also had a wonderful volunteer team supporting the build under my direction, most notably Ari Loucks, who led construction.
Silent Sky – March 2020
Integrated design for Silent Sky, Theatre Huntsville’s last performance before the locktown in March 2020. The project involved photo editing and compositing a portrait of local actor with a public domain NASA image of deep space, and with the play logo. This imagery was modified for various social platforms as well as the cover of the play program. I also curated and modified images (a combination of public domain and stock images) for digital projection during the performances, and stage photos were modified and used for marketing purposes. (Photos by Jeff White. ‘Silent Sky’ logo licensed by Dramatists Play Service, Inc.)
What Theatre Means to Me – 2020 Video Series
Video Editing, Sound Editing, Graphic Design
After the stage went dark in 2020, Theatre Huntsville tasked me with creating a video series featuring locked down cast and crew members sharing thoughts of ‘What Theatre Means to Me’. For this project I had to work with rough video footage self-shot by cast and crew locked down in their homes. I used Adobe Audition, Adobe Premiere, and Adobe Rush to create videos for release on the organization’s primarily unused YouTube Channel. The eight video series incorporated background music (from the YouTube Audio Library), production shots, and other images (actor-provided, public domain, creative commons, or stock) to enhance the narratives of cast and crew. Two examples are below, with others available on Theatre Huntsville’s YouTube Channel.
Stories by Ghost Light – October 2020
Branding, Video Editing, Filming, Sound Editing, Graphic Design
In an effort to produce more virtual content to stay in touch with theatre-goers in 2020, our Production Manager requested we produce actor readings of Alabama-based ghost stories for October.
For this project, I created program branding, filmed actor readings (with audio recording and lighting provided by Technical Director Josh Phillips and Production Manager Birdie Jones), filmed on-site video material, collected historical photos, sourced/licensed appropriate audio and music, and edited the videos together. A playlist of the four videos in the series is below:
The Ghost Light Society – Late 2020
Part of the reason for the choice of the name “Stories by Ghost Light” was a preface to the new donor society planned for Theatre Huntsville. Named after the light left on in a theater after hours, the Ghost Light Society was set up as a donor stewardship program to promote fundraising for Theatre Huntsville.
Rebranding included a logo design and a branding package that included a tiered patron pin and donor plaque system.
This program also served as one of my case studies for my IMC Master’s Degree.
Digital Art Developement – 2020/2021
While the above design work, plus many others, in my work for Theatre Huntsville served to keep my intergrative design skillset growing in graphic design, I also worked during this time frame on developing my digital illustration skills. Though I have an art background with traditional media and graphic design, digital art and illustration necessitated applying those skills in new ways:
Post-Pandemic Theatre Media | 2021
Video Editing, Visual Effects, Graphic Design
Below is a sampling of design work completed once Theatre Huntsville returned to live events after the COVID-19 pandemic began to resolve. Love Letters, Waiting for Godot, and The Mousetrap represent my original interpretation on logo design and feature a combination if illustration and the compositing of multiple stock images. The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Winter Wonderettes include integrated licensed design content. The Terminal is an example of one of five custom logos I designed for digital projection during The Rocket City Playwright Series, which featured five 10-minute plays by local playwrights. Finally, a Winder Wonderettes YouTube trailer features my editing as well as visual effects (Snowflake effect using After Effects). Video shot by Sarah Mitchell.
Mazda-Toyota Car Wraps | Various 2022-23
Graphic Design, Illustration, and Artist Collaboration
One unique intergrated design application I’ve had the pleasure of working on is the design of car wraps for Mazda-Toyota Manufacturing. Below are several examples of car wraps in which I’ve played a variety of roles: Panoply 2022 (My color design and graphic design incoporating the mathematically-generated designs of local artist Gwyer Sinclair), Christmas Parade 2022 (My solo design utilizing a combination of my own custom illustration and some licensed stock assets), Panoply 2023 (My graphic design and supplemental graphical element creation using the paintings of local artist Denise Onwere), and Christmas Parade 2023 (design and illustration by Ronnie Marion Jr., under my artistic direction and software use instruction).
Burning Man Camp 2023 | Camp Design Lead
Design and Interiors Lead for NOBO House – Burning Man 2023
In 2023, I took on the role of Design and Interiors Lead for Camp NOBO House, an established and ambitious Burning Man Camp. I had the honor of creating a new camp logo under the direction of Camp Lead, Juvoni Beckford – featured on the flag and banner below. I also created a branding and logo for the Steam Dream, an innovative and fully functioning steam bath set up on the playa, featured below. Dragon image in logo is heavily modified AI art, and credit to Ronnie Marion Jr. for the dragon arch, which he designed, painted, and fabricated to coordinate with the Steam Dream brand design under my direction. Burning Man Principles banners designed using logos designed and provided to the Burning Man Community by ‘Wick’. Dusty Lotus and Notilus Lounge signs, my own design and fabrication, with lotus and squid elements licensed from Adobe Stock. Special thanks to Jessica Markowitz for her invaluable assistance as Project Manager for overall Camp Interiors.
Mušḫuššu – Present – MFA Work Direction
Mixed Digital Media
Arriving at my present work that I would like to continue to develop academically is born from this nearly-complete piece, Mušḫuššu.
As a digital media designer and artist, I am fascinated by both the controversy and potential of AI-generated art, and as such have chosen to explore the use of mixed imagery, digital collage, and the ethical use of AI art to begin a body of work that could not possibly be created by artificial intelligence, but also could not be created without it.
Mušḫuššu is my first piece in what I hope to develop into a series. Named after what is believed to be possibly the first known instance of a dragon in history, Mušḫuššu has utilized dozens of AI prompts across five different AI platforms. I have then curated selections from those results, and then deconstructed and composited them together to create a digital ‘underpainting’. With over a hundred hours of labor, this underpainting has nearly been covered with a combination of hand-drawn linework and over 200 snippets of text and imagery referencing dragons and similar mythological serpentine creatures from antiquity to present day pop culture. The work is high-resolution with the intention of the work only being sufficiently viewed when printed in large format, so that the viewer can discern detail; only in person, as no high resolution of the work will be released online. I would like to produce other iterations of this work exploring themes that, like dragons, have recurred in global culture for thousands of years, as a commentary on the iterative nature of images.