Overview
Imagine watching NYE Live in Times Square, drinking champagne and chatting with friends, when you look up and see an ad that you helped create on the Marriott Marquis digital billboard. This collaborative effort between the creatives at OneTen is one of my proudest accomplishments.
I had just transferred to OneTen, the internal creative agency at DISH, from the SLING marketing team. This was one of the first campaigns I got to work on, following a brand photoshoot in LA. It was an incredible opportunity and such an awesome way to get started on my new team. I had never worked with so many creatives before, so I loved the collective aspect of it, and I would definitely favor that route in the future.
Process
Creatives were divided up into two teams. Each team created a copy document full of holiday headlines following multiple brainstorming sessions. From there, we regrouped as a whole and chose our favorites.
We sent about 10 options to the SLING Brand team, and they came back with five choices, three of which were written by me. Our animation team then made the words come to life, and you can view them right here:
Overview
Stock photography: mostly decent, easily accessible, may or may not work. Brand photography: looks excellent, totally worth it, always works.
A company’s brand is its identity. Society recognizes colors, fonts, logos, slogans, and even tone. SLING relied on stock imagery until this photoshoot in November of 2019, shortly after a few extra brand colors were added to the guidelines. From then on, the visual identity was cultivated into what it is today, and I’ve gotten to be a part of a lot of it.
Process
I was invited to join this photoshoot in Los Angeles shortly after transitioning from the SLING marketing team onto OneTen, the internal creative agency at DISH. Prior to the shoot, I helped ideate props and furniture that would go on set. I spent three days in West Hollywood with our agency director, art director, creative lead, and project manager, along with the photographer and the rest of his crew. I’ve included one of the photos here specifically because I had the idea to make sure we got an all women’s shot. I’ve also included a video I created of my experience on this trip.
Art Director: Jess Bell
Photographer: Aaron Smith
Click here to read the “Attending to the Smallest Details” collection
Overview
Pinterest is a fun and unique platform to advertise on given its organic style and ease at drawing visitors to content naturally. Society’s eye tires quickly with the amount of constant visual being pushed into our faces, so it’s important to take advantage of spaces like this one. SLING did a lot of advertising here in 2019, and I took on designing the majority of it.
Process
I created these ads when I worked on the SLING brand team. The programming was provided to me, but I had the creative freedom to concept a background that tied together with the specific show. The first two examples here advertising football include copy written by me, as well as design. The purpose was to connect football on SLING and the party food you might enjoy while watching the game.
Click here to read the “Poignant Complications” collection
Overview
Design + music? Ideal. I’ll take any chance I can get to design something music related; it’s the absolute best of both worlds. I’ve had some opportunities to work with different musicians and friends to create something that matches their sound, and examples of that are shown here:
Process
The process in each piece always varies by the musician, but how I get to designing always starts the same way: through listening to their music, watching any music videos they may have, and reading whatever I can find about them and their backgrounds.
Overview
Alma Wamego is my personal design brand; I use this identity with clients that I freelance for. I started my business in January of 2019, and like to take on projects from time to time. I mostly create logos for others starting their own businesses, but the goal is to help people get to where they need to go by providing all the proper visuals you’d expect to see in a brand.
You can see examples of this freelance work here and here.
Process
I came up with the name Alma Wamego when driving home from Denver in 2018 to my original home in Kansas City. Most of the drive is a long stretch through Kansas, and when I was about eight hours into my trip I noticed an exit called Alma Wamego. If you take this exit and turn one way, you end up in Alma, Kansas. If you turn the opposite way, you end up in Wamego.
As I was driving the rest of the way I could not get this combination of words out of my head; I loved the strange flow of syllables and the thought that no matter which way you turn, you’ll end up exactly where you need to be, even if the place isn’t exactly what you expected.
I had been trying to work on my brand identity for awhile and was having a creative block up until that moment. This inspired me to get my business started, so my partner drove the whole way back after the holidays, and I spent the entire time concepting what the brand would look like.
I’ve been in so many places in my life and worked all kinds of different jobs, but I know that each experience has led me to another, and I cherish every moment I have ever had. I love to learn and grow, and my hope is to help other people get to where they really want to be.
Alma Wamego: a cheers to where you’ve been + where you’re going.
My boyfriend Layth and I went to Italy on a whim for our 25th birthdays. We documented as much as possible to make our best travel compilation yet. I decided to make a series of videos, instead of one huge one, so I could better execute the feel of our day to day. Hope you enjoy!
Overview
The Beauty Bar at Blossoms is a hair salon in Oakland, Iowa owned by my good friend and hair stylist, Kristie McCready. She came to me for help with redesigning her logo just as I needed her help with redesigning my hair! We exchanged services and both ended up with a product that we loved.
Process
The Beauty Bar is located above a flower shop called Blossoms, hence the name, so I made sure to incorporate that into the design. The colors of the logo were inspired by a couch and some beautiful paintings that Kristie had purchased for the salon. Towards the bottom of this page you can see a video tour of the salon and an image of how the logo looked prior to.
Kristie can be booked by appointment through The Beauty Bar at Blossoms by calling (712) 227-4488. Visit her page here for more information.
A packaging design created for Bohemianism. Here you can get an organic, feminine, and free spirited feel that portrays that unconventional lifestyle. “Bohemians may be wanderers, adventurers, or vagabonds,” so they need their products on-the-go!
Overview
Coconut Stick is a product created by my friend, Clarence Cochran. The idea came to mind when he noticed his aunt getting rash cream stuck underneath her fingernails while changing her son’s diaper. He set out to come up with an easier option that would not only be mess-free, but a natural solution made up of just coconut oil, beeswax, and almond oil. The ingredients are 100% organic, never tested on animals, and always sourced from local farms to help support small businesses. Plus, a proceed of each sale goes back to the community by donating to local Kansas City schools.
There are two products on the market consisting of body and lip balm. Both can help with dry skin and lips, eczema, psoriasis, chafing, and burns. Since they are also rich in vitamin E and K, they can help with scars and improving the clarity of damaged skin as well. The best part, with the original goal of using this product with diapers, it is proven to get rid of a rash in 2-3 days.
Process
Towards the bottom of this page you can see how the packaging looked prior to. I took the concept of this brand and turned it into something that visually matches its identity. The intent is to catch a consumer’s eye to give it a try, with the extra pleasantry being how great the product is inside. Coconut Stick can be purchased locally and through Amazon.
Overview
Music Makes Sense is a theoretical music streaming app that I created for my senior degree project at the Kansas City Art Institute. The idea behind this concept is that you would search for different types of music based on describing words, instead of just separated genres. For example, search for water and come across some lo-fi surf rock bands. The app also provides a space to submit your own answers to the questions: If music had a taste, what would it taste like? What would it smell like, and how would it feel?
Process
This college thesis was a bit of a strange process. I had been working on something entirely different and changed my idea about halfway through the semester. I just love music, so I must have subconsciously known that I had to do something in that realm. The notion came to me in the middle of the night while trying to wrap my brain around what I should really be doing.
It was only the idea of awakening more senses through music that I had thought of at first, so I spent a lot of time interviewing people to get a grasp on how I should make a candle they could burn while listening to certain artists or create a recipe booklet of foods they could eat at the same time.
I landed on a music application after conversing with my professor on how to take my ideas further. I was very proud of how my presentation turned out, and I have plans to take this concept elsewhere in the near future.
Here you can view a video of some interviews and mockups of the app:
Music Makes Sense: your taste in music.
Overview
Aquarius is a New Age and metaphysical book store located in Kansas City, Missouri. Their mission is to aid people in obtaining more positivity in their lives by providing the tools and information needed to start a spiritual journey; they help people dream, believe, and become whoever it is that they want to be. This theoretical rebrand was created for a brand identity design course at the Kansas City Art Institute during my junior year.
Process
This was a semester-long project that involved going to the Aquarius shop and interviewing the owner to get an idea of what she might look for in a rebrand. Part of this assignment was to pick a demographic, so I chose a younger crowd because the area the store is located in is usually full of college students drinking beer and longboarding down the main streets.
The physical pieces in this rebrand included a logo, letterhead, business cards, crystal info cards, and bags with custom tissue paper to wrap the products in, sealed with branded stickers. The t-shirt and longboard design were extra compositions to align with the newly established demographic. If you’re interested in supporting a metaphysical supply store or are curious to begin your own journey, you can visit the Aquarius website here.
Overview
Every week, U.S. Toy Company comes out with a new item, which meant that when I worked there, I always got to start my week with advertising a new toy. It was so much fun to have a desk full of unicorns and marketing meetings involving serious conversations about poop emoji products.
Process
I had the creative freedom to design whatever I wanted with these items.
I was provided with the product photography, but got to enjoy my time creating something fun, bright, and colorful every single time. If you’re interested in buying some toys, you can visit the U.S. Toy website here.
