Travel Portland has been an ongoing client of mine since November 2017, and the projects they bring to me are consistently some of the most enjoyable I have the pleasure of working on. Fun and lively illustrations, custom Scout Books, print materials, and unusual giveaways always allow for a healthy dose of imagination and creativity. I always look forward to my next assignment from Travel Portland!
Scout Books photo credit: Rowan Bradley and Scout Books
Select illustrations after 2019 rebrand: Lisa Congdon
I Love Gamay is a fun new annual event—now four years strong—that brings together adventurous wine lovers and wine producers in celebration of Oregon Gamay Noir, a lesser-known but much-loved wine varietal. The event is the brainchild of Michelle Battista (of Elder Hall and The Nightwood Society), and she wanted the event to be fun, hip, and vibrant, with a dash of irreverence. We came up with a vivacious identity system to bring the event and the website to life—one that allowed for some variation in colors and elements each year to keep things fresh. Michelle ran with the illustrations to create a collection of irresistible giveaways and promo items.
Photo credits: Michelle Battista, Cheryl Juetten
2018 illustrations (final image on page) done in collaboration with illustrator Mallory Smith
This series of beloved Oregon landmarks was created for Portland DBT, a therapy and mental health institute. The final illustrations were printed large-scale for their offices and conference rooms. The landmarks depicted are: Mount Bachelor, Cathedral Park in Portland, Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Jefferson Park, Willamette Valley, Columbia River Gorge, Washingon Park in Portland, Smith Rock, Crater Lake, Rogue Valley, Oregon Coast, and Multnomah Falls.
It was a great honor to create the identity for Portland’s only lesbian bar, which opened in spring 2022. Doc Marie’s is named for Marie Equi, a trailblazer for women’s rights in the early-20th century American west. The branding had to be memorable and make an immediate bold statement while maintaining a pretty femininity. Since the owners were only making minimal changes to the bar’s interior, the identity also had to integrate and celebrate the bar’s heritage as the classic old Elvis Room.
Our visual inspiration came from traditional American tattoo, whose sexy and edgy elements we juxtaposed with the sweetness of an iconic Portland rose. (As a bonus the style also offers a shoutout to Sea Tramp Tattoo, Oregon’s oldest and longest-running tattoo shop, which once occupied the building where Doc Marie’s now resides.)
Check out the mood board at the bottom of this page, which gives a glimpse into how all these seemingly disparate elements combine seamlessly into a charismatic identity.
Select photos: Doc Marie’s
Originally part of the series for DLCD project, this illustration was so enjoyable to me that I continued to develop it beyond the original client needs.
Exes is a new podcast of unusual candor: what sets it apart from other breakup podcasts is that it features stories from both ex-partners, a unique twist that provides both insight and intrigue. It’s a podcast about what happens inside a relationship, from the vantage of being apart.
For the brand, the goal was to create something current and engaging with a nostalgic hint towards yesteryear. The retro color palette, mix tape illustrations, and catchy animated GIFs create a vintage identity that fits perfectly into a modern social media context.
Exes is a production of Sheepscot Creative, an agency here in Portland with whom I’ve collaborated on many successful client jobs. It’s an honor to be part of their very own passion project.
Our twins wound up with a surprising abundance (cornucopia?) of fruit-themed hand-me-downs. When they wear matching fruit outfits we lovingly refer to them as “fruit salad babies.”
Digital paintings made with Procreate on iPad Pro.
The funny thing about Dodo Babies, which makes everyday affordable baby products, is that it found me just as I had spent the last three months as a new parent gaining intimate knowledge of the consumer side of the baby gear industry. My mind was flooded with current trends in patterns, products, colors, and branding, which made this rebrand uniquely fun to work on.
Dodo Babies wanted to leave their dated old identity in the past in favor of something modern, and with more personality. Given the name, the dodo mascot seemed a natural choice. The supporting identity used simple geometric shapes in unique, versatile combinations and a gender-neutral palette that could be applied across the brand to create a diverse, cohesive system of patterns no matter how many products were added to the line.
I worked with Sheepscot Creative to help bring the Oregon Department of Land Conservation & Development’s 50th anniversary campaign to life. DLCD used the occasion to propagate awareness of and appreciation for the agency’s important, but not well-understood, work protecting and cultivating Oregon’s natural and built environments.
At the center of the campaign were seven separate land use stories told through illustration, interviews, and an interactive story map. The illustrations were used in the story map, in a lively educational video about the agency’s work (created by Derek Rutkai…you can watch it at the bottom of this page), and on social media.
In addition to the illustration work, I also worked with Sheepscot to development the anniversary branding and campaign collateral.
In addition to the other wine-industry projects on my homepage, I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy working on a wide range of wine-related projects, mainly with brands local to the Pacific NW. The list includes Cooper Mountain Vineyards (including Arborbrook Vineyards and Cooper Hill Wine), Björnson Vineyard, I <3 Gamay, DeLille Cellars, Division Wine Co., and Oregon Pinot Tours, along with other local beverage stars like Hotlips Soda and Logsdon Farmhouse Ales. The projects have ranged from label design, event and anniversary materials, campaign materials, sales materials, and even a mural (the DeLille Cellars photos you see on this page). Wine and beverage projects are consistently some of the most fun, joyful, and aesthetically indulgent work I get to do, and I’m always looking for more!
Professional shots by Cheryl Juetten
In a rapidly growing cannabis market, Bode Wellness wanted to stand out as a premium wellness company whose cultivation and extraction methods are best in class. The brand I developed for them references the company's spiritual and energetic roots while letting the customer know that they take their production and business efforts very seriously.
Since 2017 I've guided Bode Wellness through the full brand development process, starting with collaborating on the company name and on through identity, collateral, packaging, marketing materials, and asset creation. It's been a joy to see this vibrant brand come to life both visually and in the marketplace.
Product photos: Thomas Brent Taylor
For several years now I’ve had the pleasure of working with Michelle Battista of Stockpot Co. on Cooper Mountain Vineyard’s ever-adapting identity. Cooper Mountain Vineyard’s name and labels are well-known throughout the region, so modernizing their look and feel means creating a bridge between existing iconic brand pieces and the new material.
Throughout the expansion of their brand and product line, as well as the acquisition of other well-loved wineries, the same threads of symbolism and ethos define their brand materials: family heritage, organic and biodynamic farming, connection to the land, and the art and artistry of the perfect bottle of wine.
Photo credit: Cheryl Juetten
Branding is one of my favorite types of design to do. To add to the other featured branding projects on my site, here's a selection of new logos I've produced in the couple of years — including some that wound up on the cutting room floor but still deserve a few moments to shine.
When considering the identity for new neighborhood floral workshop Vista Flora, a simple, classic palette of black and cream was the obvious choice to set off Vista Flora’s striking, vivacious creations. The palette and logo have served them well as the brand has grown, doing heavy lifting while always complementing and never clashing. This lovely little business has bloomed since its launch in 2018, with help from wonderful personal touches from the client like a butter-yellow 1960s VW van named Betty Kate.
Photos: Vista Flora/Lara Garrett
I had the honor of working with Michelle Battista (of Stockpot Co. and The Nightwood Society) to redesign Cooper Hill’s familiar labels, well-known across the wine racks of the Northwest. It was important to the client to retain the recognizable stripes which they considered to be part of their brand DNA, and after a thorough discovery process we landed upon a reinterpretation of the stripes as leafy vines creating a subtle background to a new, bolder type treatment. The new color palette is influenced by the earthy tones of the PNW—and of course by the wines themselves.
As part of the label design, we created an updated version of the Vitruvian Man icon that represents their biodynamic winemaking practices.
In addition to being a fun project resulting in stellar product shots, this project had the distinction of producing the largest number of iterations which I would personally have been delighted to see in the wild. The brief requested a colorful and eye-catching design: graphic, youthful, and incorporating the signature stripes. Throughout many draft design rounds, we explored a multitude of different interpretations of this brief—all of which resulted in at least a few concepts that I think deserve to be shown off. I really let my love for explosive color run wild in this project. Enjoy!
Photos: Cheryl Juetten (for Cooper Mountain Vineyards)
Lost Plate Food Tours offers foodie tourism in China, Cambodia, and Portland. A few years ago they got in touch with me to create some fun, engaging new merch for their tours and it's been a match made in heaven ever since!
Responsible for brand refresh (keeping existing logo but expanding the secondary brand elements to include a broader palette, more modern feel, and a comforting and homey tone), custom illustration, label and packaging design, and other sales/marketing collateral.
Paxos founder Maggie Davis had a vision for the company of crisp, uncomplicated, and sophisticated branding which conveyed the natural and botanical aspects of the products.
Four years after the initial launch, Maggie and I have been through two full branding processes together (one for the original name, Paxi, and a second for the new name Paxos in 2019). I’ve been the lucky beneficiary of Maggie’s many skincare product experiments, and I’ve loved watching the creative ways that she makes the brand her own through tantalizing gift and sample sets, thoughtful giveaways, a signature perfume, and constant homages to the Greek islands which inspired it all.
Photos: David Powell
Final two photos: Marian Peteros
Doing work for awesome organizations like Oregon Tilth is one of the things I love most about my job, and when the work they want is ridiculously fun to create it’s the icing on the cake. These custom illustrations, designed for use in email newsletters, website, and swag, were such a joy to produce—their cheery, vibrant nature put me in a good mood every time I worked on them. Thanks for being such a wonderful client, Oregon Tilth!
During the month of March in the foodie town of Portland, diners can eat full multi-course meals at prestigious restaurants across town for the affordable price of $33. It’s organized and hosted by Travel Portland, longtime beloved client of mine, and this year I had the honor of producing a new identity for the event. The goal was a brand that simultaneously spoke to the high-end nature of the cuisine while communicating the accessible cost. And of course, it had to coordinate with the new Travel Portland identity launched in 2019, characterized by the lovable and recognizable illustrations of local artist Lisa Congdon.
The collateral package included window clings, posters, postcards, web images and digital ads, and more.
This was a personal project that I undertook to honor the nostalgia of the space shuttle program and the sense of wonder it inspired in me as a child. The colors are bright, the forms simple and toylike, and the textures reminiscent of my 1980s childhood. I was inspired by visits to the Air and Space Museum in DC, close to where I grew up: innumerable wanderings through the halls of the Smithsonian where my brother and I marveled over astronaut ice cream, Buckyballs, and the mysteries of the cosmos.
As the natural evolution of my fine art background, I relish any opportunity to integrate illustration into my work. In addition to the other illustration projects showcased on my website, here’s a collection of recent work, including both personal and client projects.
Clients featured here: Lost Plate | Tripwire | Travel Portland | Oregon Tilth | Stitch & Loom | Distillery Corps| Division Winemaking Co | Consumer Cellular | Chickenship | Logsdon Farmhouse Ales
Embodying Workshops in Oakland, CA, are immersive experiences exploring different personal and transpersonal themes in a safe supportive container and friendly atmosphere. This transformative, sex-positive workshop series is created and hosted by the wonderful Lucía Cisilotto, who is a delight to work with. To capture the effusive spiritual joyfulness of the workshop series, we channeled groovy, vivid, just-the-right-amount-of-clashing graphics both retro and modern. This ongoing series is such a joy to work on. Check it out at embodyingwithlucia.com.
