1 Akwaba Magazine Publication
2 Cypress River State Park Branding
3 The Reluctant Hero Publication
4 Olympics Campaign Branding
5 Evans Tea Co. Packaging
6 Gordito Typeface
7 Ender’s Game Publication
8 The Ghana Project Website
9 Bold Peanuts Branding and Packaging
10 Spinnaker Magazine Publication
Akwaba Magazine // Publicationproblem: Akwaba magazine was inspired by my time abroad
in Ghana, Africa. Akwaba means hello in Dagbani, a language
spoken widely throughout western Africa. I spent a month
experiencing international cultural for the first time and was
struck by the similarities I had with humans living halfway
across the world. With this image heavy magazine, I intend
to debunk the helpless image of Africans and show the first
world that, despite their monetary poverty, African’s are rich
with culture, geographical beauty and happiness.
solution: Using optimistic imagery and lots of color in the
magazine helped achieve a lighter feel and a sense of hope
for Africans. It also features articles about empowerment
and independence. I took all the photographs and layed out
everything in InDesign.
Cypress River State Park // Branding problem: This system explores the branding of a local state
park founded in the culture of the Timiquan Native Americans
who once ruled these swamps. Cypress River State Park helps
to educate the public on North Florida’s history while provid-
ing a park where people can spend quality time outdoors. I
wanted to update the style of National Parks while still staying
true to their natural feel.
solution: The colors I chose appeal to a youthful audience and
families while at the same time feel very natural. I also used
natural materials in the ephemera to promote conservation of
the land. I used Illustrator and Photoshop to create the system.
The Reluctant Hero // Publicationproblem: This project is an ongoing freelance job for a profes-
sor at my University. His book recounts the story of a young
Vietnam veteran travelling the world working through his post
traumatic stress disorder. It contains heavy subject material
but also gives us glimpses into the beauty of human nature.
solution: I depicted a sad woman from one of his conquests
on the cover to portray the bittersweet occurrences in life. The
bright colors lighten the mood while also reflecting the many
cultures he’s discovering. I painted in Photoshop.
Chapter 01: Hobo Woods
Republic of South Vietnam20 miles northwest of SaigonMay 1969
Yes. It was indeed a very fearsome place. Thoughts of it forced visions of a grisly purgatory where a man’s hope of a future was suspended, if not forfeited. Thousands of sol-diers from a legion of proud American army divisions had died gruesome, lonely deaths in this place. With a summer
temperature of 104 degrees and humidity at 97 percent, its’ consecrated soil oozed with the musty smell of human blood and violence. Warmed by the morning sun the dense, green jungle known as the Hobo Woods waited patiently with its un-quenchable thirst for blood. It slumbered restfully, quietly as if a huge venomous reptile aware it would soon drink again.
Between 1964 and 1969, proud and prestigious army units of the 1st Infantry Division, 9th Infantry Division, 25th Infan-try Division, 173rd Airborne Brigade, 3rd Infantry Brigade, and the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment had fought and died in the Hobos to no avail. Even with the death of many thousands of enemy Viet Cong and NVA regulars, hundreds of miles of treacherous underground tun-nels housing hospitals, truck depots, weapon storage facilities, ammunition production, and staging areas remained undis-covered and undisturbed. Even the ‘Rolling Thunder’ of B-52 bombers with their 2,000 pound bombs did little dam-age to the complex network of tunnels.
Olympics Campaign // Brandingproblem: Bringing the Olympics to Jacksonville was a real
possibility when it was considered along with 34 other cities
to host in 2024. With the help of local businesses and the Jax
2024 Olympics Campaign, Jacksonville can be transformed into
a greater athletic mecca than when we hosted the Super Bowl.
Taking the campaign downtown helps give the city a new pur-
pose to revitalize in time to host a global event.
solution: I used bright colors to reflect the sunny nature of
such an arena. The typefaces I chose feel masculine and have
movement throughout the booklet to mirror the energy of this
campaign. I designed the logo in Illustrator and assembled the
booklet in Indesign.
Evans Tea Co // Packagingproblem: I wanted to design tea packaging that would remind
people that British people probably enjoy their afternoon tea
and biscuits more often than any other culture associated with
this popular remedy. The name derives from a very English
name and this set of flavors can be enjoyed with breakfast,
lunch and 5 o’clock tea break. The tea is meant to inform
consumers of English habits, making it more than just tea but a
cultural lesson as well.
solution: I used muted colors to give the packaging a Victo-
rian feel - a time when tea was probably at it’s most popular. I
designed all the labels in Illustrator.
Gordito // Typefaceproblem: The Gordito typeface was inspired by a few little
monster illustrations I created. The name means “fat” or “large”
in Spanish, which accounts for the large contrast in stroke
weight and reflects the body type of my little monsters.
solution: The letterforms were designed to have personality,
even when standing alone. These fat faces are most legible at
a display size and were not intended to be used in body copy. I
created this font using Illustrator.
Ender’s Game // Publicationproblem: Ender’s Game tickled my inner love for sci-fi. Despite
being a children’s book, I read it for the first time when I was 20
and loved the ageless themes present throughout. For a book
with such a dark subject matter, I wanted to separate my cover
from the dark night sky typically reserved for sci-fi novels.
solution: The use of green helped keep a scientific feel while
merging the insect theme with the honeycomb shapes. Isola-
tion is a present theme and was addressed by highlighting one
honeycomb on the cover. I designed everything in Photoshop.
Ghana Project Campaign // Websiteproblem: I spent a month in Ghana with Engineers Without
Boarders working to clean up the water at an orphanage in
poor areas in the north. We ran into some funding issues early
on due to lack of exposure in our community which prompted
me to build a website dedicated to Jacksonville’s EWB chap-
ter’s projects. Engineer’s Without Boarders Jacksonville
chapter is a growing organization that plans to take on other
locations as it grows. I built the site with expansion in mind.
solution: To give the site an ethnic feel I created a tribal pat-
terned background, however the site is meant to plea to profes-
sionals in the community so I scaled back the live areas and
made it easy to navigate. The most important parts are what
the current project is and the donate form so I put those above
the fold on the front page.
Bold Peanuts // Packagingproblem: Feeling rather nostalgic during this project, boiled
peanuts are a staple of my summers past. As a southern snack
usually bought on the side of the road, I set out to give this fam-
ily favorite some legitimacy with the hopes of converting those
germaphobe northern nay-sayers. I set out to create a brand
that people could trust to be consistently good, while striving
to keep the spontaneity of buying a snack while on the road.
solution: The tin pails and mason jars are a useful keepsake
as well as crucial in keeping the juices from spilling on your
lap. Everything in this brand is printed on recycled paper that
safely composts in the environment.
Spinnaker // Publicationproblem: For the past 30 years, the Spinnaker has been a
broadsheet, then a tabloid, back to broadsheet, then back to
tabloid newspaper with the biggest design change being the
evolution of the nameplate. Our team set out to revolution-
ize the way our students see the Spinnaker and make the long
awaited transition to a magazine.
solution: We created new departments throughout the maga-
zine that reflected what the students demanded. The kickers
and the new fonts, along with spot colors and paragraph styles
were all designed from scratch. Changing our emphasis to pho-
tographs and graphics, we created magazine more likely to get
picked up by our students.
Thank you for viewing my work!christinekegel.com