CREATIVE DIRECTION
A selection of recent work created by the team I managed and directed, including a brand refresh and Lavender Mint product launch for Tea Tree (one of John Paul Mitchell System’s highest selling brands), limited edition Tea Tree liter bottles, identity for The Gathering (a major biennial event), a new admissions campaign for Paul Mitchell Schools, 2019 Holiday promotions, and refreshed packaging for professional color and lightening products.
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John Paul Mitchell Systems projects.
When salons faced abrupt and indefinite closure in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, John Paul Mitchell Systems immediately took action to support their professional customers through a “stimulus” program of discounted and free products, educational resources, and downloadable social and printable assets.
The core branding for this program, developed by myself and two other Creative team members, came together within a week of receiving the brief. We created a strong symbol that was easy to reinforce in the program logo, hashtags/campaign lines, and headlines; and used a red/coral gradient color scheme that conveyed urgency and help, but with more warmth than a standard flat red. The scissors in the heart are meaningful not just to JPMS customers, but to each salon/stylist’s guests as well, rallying them to support these independent businesses during this trying time.
The community response was very positive, and many salons posted their “care packages” and gratitude on their social channels. Although this program did not bring monetary gain to John Paul Mitchell Systems, the engagement and loyalty it created will be benefitting the company for years to come.
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John Paul Mitchell Systems projects.
DESIGN
ILLUSTRATION ART DIRECTION
Paul Mitchell offers gift sets and limited editions for all of its brands each holiday season. As these are a major source of revenue for salons and retailers, unique structures and striking designs are a must.
2015 and 2014 Paul Mitchell line gift sets are packaged in keepsake zippered bags and boxes. 2015 sets celebrate the “Black & White” heritage of the Paul Mitchell brand with energetic, abstract patterns. 2014 sets feature custom illustrations by Australian illustrator Sarah Hankinson, highlighting each assortment’s hair type.
2014 Tea Tree line sets feature a custom box structure with a built in handle and bottle shaped window, with graphics that tie into the “Think Outside of the Bottle” contest theme for the year. Consumers were encouraged to repurpose used bottles in creative and environmentally conscious ways.
2014 holiday tool design and packaging included a custom hat box set of mini tools as well as two limited edition straightening irons in metallic finishes with fabric accents.
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John Paul Mitchell Systems projects.
ENVIROMENTAL GRAPHICS
ART DIRECTION
DESIGN
INSTALLATION MANAGEMENT
“The Gathering” is Paul Mitchell’s premier event and hair show, held in Las Vegas every other year. In 2014, attendees picked from 16 exclusive technique classes taught by top stylists, each with a special theme reflected in their room’s design. Many large scale graphics as well as custom structures were created, including five foot tall metallic origami cranes. Wayfinding and common area graphics transformed the lobby areas outside the rooms, showcasing the event’s theme, “rEvolution” and the brand new corporate tagline “Live Beautifully.”
The entire Creative department was involved in this endeavor. The Production Director and I acted as the leads, managing the creation and installation of all graphics with an external vendor.
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A John Paul Mitchell Systems project.
DESIGN
Beyond Black & White serves as an overview of Paul Mitchell and its brands. Annually updated, it is an important tool for the Sales team to introduce potential customers to the offerings of the company. The challenge is to present such a wealth of information clearly and concisely. Each spread focuses on a different aspect or product line of the organization within a cohesive, branded design framework that facilitates sales presentations.
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A John Paul Mitchell System project.
ART DIRECTION
PACKAGING DESIGN
TOOL FINISHES/GRAPHICS
Paul Mitchell releases multiple limited edition themed campaigns of styling products and tools each year. They always include a collection of items that can be grouped together in a salon or store for maximum shelf impact. Shown here are three campaigns developed by creative teams under my lead, with some design elements created by myself as well.
“Pink Out Loud” promotes breast cancer awareness. “You’re Golden” showcases the use of tools and styling products to create special looks for Proms and other Spring parties. “PurePop” is a Summer campaign of bright, fun color. For each campaign, customized collectible styling tools were developed featuring unique graphics and finishes.
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John Paul Mitchell Systems projects.
ART DIRECTION OF AN EXTERNAL TEAM
Products in the Awapuhi Wild Ginger line feature two distinct technologies that seal and strengthen damaged hair: KeraReflect and KeraTriplex. The ways these technologies work and how they differ from each other is visualized in short animations and still images art directed by myself and created by Bryan Christie Design in New York. Each clearly shows the function of the technology and is in line with overall Awapuhi Wild Ginger branding.
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John Paul Mitchell Systems projects.
DESIGN
STRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
PHOTOGRAPHY ART DIRECTION
Each Paul Mitchell brand features special promotional deals every two months, for instance, pairing full size products with free travel sizes. Packaging must be efficient and cost-effective for these primarily value-based offerings.
Because the Tea Tree brand also has a heightened environmental focus, its 2015 promotions are packaged in custom-developed minimal structures and bandwraps using the least amount of paper material possible. They feature a library of botanical textures photographed for the brand that give them a modernized natural look.
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John Paul Mitchell Systems projects.
SIGNAGE
A comprehensive system including identifying, wayfinding, motivational, and donor signage for LA Family Housing’s new campus in North Hollywood. This large complex includes corporate offices, client centers, a health clinic, and temporary and permanent housing. A fresh color scheme, clear typography and themes of home and connection come together to create a supportive and welcoming environment for all visitors, staff and residents.
Learn more about The Campus and see photos from the opening here.
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Created in collaboration with LRLA.
EXHIBITION GRAPHICS
Becoming Los Angeles is the new 14,000-square-foot exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, telling the story of LA's history through the interactions of nature and culture. Working with the internal museum team and other creative partners, our team at AdamsMorioka designed the full suite of exhibition graphics.
Each section of the story features a rich, blended color background linking the main concepts to related "breadcrumb" information. The label system includes multiple substrates adapted to different placements within the unique gallery layout. Portrait groupings allow visitors to learn about individuals' lives while viewing them at human scale. Large dates act as "when you are" wayfinding to guide visitors.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
SIGNAGE
The new Nature Gardens at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has transformed what was once a parking lot into an inviting oasis, where visitors can experience nature as it exists within the urban environment.
Creating a signage system for the Gardens required striking a balance—having just enough messaging to guide visitors and recognize donors without distracting from the beauty of the space. A simple, dark gray system was established for permanent signs, complemented with movable chalkboard panels and arrows allowing museum staff to highlight ever-changing points of interest.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
IDENTITY
DIVISION/DEPARTMENT IDENTITIES
APPLICATIONS AND TEMPLATES
The identity system for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences brings alignment to a complex organization. The official Oscar® shape, holding great equity but often mistakenly thought of as a symbol of the Awards show only, is now used in conjuction with consistent typography throughout all divisions, creating a cohesive foundation for internal and external communication.
Ads, member materials, and collateral templates now speak with one voice, appropriate to the heritage of this venerable institution.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
INVITATION
TICKETS & INVITEE TICKET PACKET
The 83rd Annual Academy Awards invitation celebrates the grandeur and richness of the event, featuring lush embossing, engraving, and gold foil. The ticket packet contains everything an attendee will need within a single, structured folder with nested pieces. This highly organized approach helped create a seamless experience for both the guests and the Academy’s staff.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
INVITATION
SIGNAGE
COLLATERAL
The future Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will transform the former Wilshire Boulevard May Company building and complete the LACMA complex.
A series of development pieces were created working with the Academy's extensive collection of imagery an architect Renzo Piano's sketches for the building redesign. At the Inaugural Celebration, invitees were given a custom box with brochures explaining the design, collections, and history of the site. All former display windows of the building were also wrapped with vinyls, creating a dramatic illusion of curtains unveiling the museum at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
IDENTITY
SIGNAGE
Taking cues from its architectural design and historic past, the identity and signage system for Annenberg Community Beach House welcomes visitors to this vibrant, beach front public space. The identity echoes the new pool house’s column structures, and the many palm trees on the bluff above the property. The color palette is inspired by the restored pool’s original tile as well as the bright and sunny Southern California summer. The complete signage system includes monument, wayfinding, ADA, and informational signs throughout all areas of the Beach House.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
MAGAZINE DESIGN
ART DIRECTION
AdamsMorioka, inc. and Cedars-Sinai's internal staff collaborated on four issues of Discoveries magazine. Starting with Cedar-Sinai’s vision and content, these issues of Discoveries were a radical shift from a previous, more corporate approach to an editorial approach.The work of illustrators and photographers sourced from throughout the world and uniquely designed layouts gave each article an individual appeal to engage readers in learning of exciting breakthroughs occurring throughout the hospital.
The online version reinterpreted the magazine in a more interactive way, with additional content and video features built within an easily manageable, customized WordPress template.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
IDENTITY
SIGNAGE
The new Stein Eye Institute identity and signage system was developed concurrently with the construction of the Edie & Lew Wasserman building at UCLA, designed by Richard Meier & Partners.
The identity features an abstracted pupil and iris, filled with a color spectrum composed from the color codes assigned to the three buildings within the Stein Eye plaza. The highly visible signage is bold and clean, making it easy to view and understand even for those with limited vision. Color codes will also be incorporated into patient collateral, creating a cohesive and streamlined experience and helping patients to easily find their way.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
IDENTITY
COLLATERAL
SITE DESIGN
A rebranding of Ascension Insurance, Inc., created by working directly with the SVP Marketing Communications and a team of designers and developers, with the goal of catalyzing the growth of the company within the industry.
The new name reflects the company’s commitment to helping mid-market companies navigate the complex world of insurance by building strong relationships and leveraging the combined mix of the right people, partnerships, processes, and technologies. The identity brings this to life by suggesting a dimensional relationship and sense of energy and attraction between the shapes, which scale and move to give structure to layouts and brand imagery. This adaptive system is also applied to sub-brands and divisions, to communicate effectively to customers in different industries and regions.
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Created in collaboration with Dewdrop Media, {fn NODE}, and David Rager.
IDENTITY
COLLATERAL
SITE DESIGN
Customized promotions, collateral, and site design for one of Sotheby’s top performing agents. Brian Ades takes great care in bringing the history of L.A.’s unique neighborhoods to life. The cornerstone of his brand is a set of vintage-inspired neighborhood logos and postcards, setting him apart from other agents and connecting buyers to the rich stories of the properties he represents.
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Created in collaboration with Mockingbird Marketing.
CAMPAIGN
COLLATERAL
SIGNAGE
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival theme pared down the passion of filmmaking to a single metaphor: fire. Used in different contexts throughout the collateral and environmental signage system, a wide visual range was created even within this constrained approach.
The energy and warmth of the fire-flooded signage panels served as an intriguing contrast to the particularly cold and snowy Park City winter.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
CAMPAIGN
COLLATERAL
SIGNAGE
Creating the yearly system for the Sundance Film Festival always presents a challenge to find a new approach. In the case of the 2006 Festival, the solution was to look back to the classic tales of mythology, fables, and even religion, to show the threads of great storytelling evident in great films.
The visual system utilizes etched imagery, a strong primary color palette, and collage, balancing unexpected elements with a cohesive overall look. Attendees have expressed the fun they had recalling the many stories shown throughout the system.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
WEBSITE
The goal of the Sundance Resort website redesign was to provide a strong call to action for room reservations by communicating a sense of place. The site showcases the grounds and activities, art classes and gallery events, and messages of conservation and family within a warm framework directly relating to the colors and finishes at the resort itself.
After launch, the website became the core mechanism for capturing customer information, reservations and customer service for the resort. Room reservation rates increased, in part due to the many opportunities within the templates to highlight seasonal specials and activities.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
COLLATERAL
The Broad Foundations are helping to transform public education through their many initiatives and the annual Broad Prize competition.
The brochures for the Broad Superintendents Academy, Broad Prize, and Broad Residency in Urban Education were designed to live within the structure of the overall Broad Foundations brand, while evolving it in each case to give each program its own unique impact and voice.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
COLLATERAL SYSTEM
WEBSITE GRAPHICS
SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS
In order to help UCLA's executive education program stand out from the crowd, a driving concept for visual and verbal communication was developed: Catalyst. The benefit of attending UCLA Executive Education programs extends beyond the time spent in the sessions, and is a catalyst for change and growth both in the individual professional and their organization.
Throughout collateral, advertising, and online/social communications, black and white images of conceptual catalysts combine with an active pattern, suggesting the beginning of the journey of change and career growth.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
COLLATERAL
WEBSITE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
The design of the voice of USC Law allowed the personalities of current students, educators and staff to shine through, creating a compelling argument to apply and become a part of the school. Of course, a bold use of the USC color palette also reinforced this school spirit.
A large part of the job was assessing information architecture. In both print and web, the categorization and flow of information was completely rethought to logically and clearly communicate with potential students, as well as reduce redundancy to streamline the process of yearly updating.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
WEBSITE
The redesign of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles website created a more user-friendly way to learn about the organization, get involved in their many events and programs, and shop their online store.
Custom templates with grids of colorful blocks relate the site to the new identity system, and cohesively display both permanent and changing content. Sidebars highlight related information. A full reorganization of content streamlined information access and page count.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
DEMO ASSETS
OFFICIAL USER GUIDE
Aquo Natural Energy is not a real brand. It is a carefully formulated example of the newest and best features of Adobe Creative Suite 3. Designing a “sample’ brand to these parameters presented unique challenges—creative decisions were weighed against their effectiveness in illustrating the use of the software.
The resulting Aquo system was widely shown in live product demonstrations as well as the official Creative Suite 3 manual, written as a collaboration between AdamsMorioka, Inc. and Adobe engineers.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
MENUS
IDENTITY SYSTEM
TYPEFACE DESIGN
Thanks to the fearless support of our client, the Mexico Restaurante y Barra project went beyond conventional restaurant branding and turned into an unreined "system" of unique illustration and lively design.
Inspired by an antique sign purchased in Mexico and mounted atop the restaurant, we strove to bring an unrefined, handmade quality to menus, signage, the website, and other applications. Two custom typefaces were created, with hopes to be so wrong they were right. Inexpensive colorful paper stocks and a suite of custom stickers added to the fiesta.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
CAMPAIGN CONCEPT
Global Bazaar, by Target, is a seasonal offering of imported goods from countries around the world. This concept for displays and packaging creates the sense of traveling the globe and piecing together a unique collection of artifacts that, when combined, represent an international sense of style.
The main identity is a combination of multiple wordmarks and frames that are used interchangeably. Widely varied photographic elements, shapes, and products fit seamlessly together in compostions throughout the system, reinforcing the idea of a connected global community.
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An AdamsMorioka, Inc. project.
IDENTITY
Intel Centrino Mobile Technology was a revolutionary processing platform that created much of the groundwork for mobile wireless computing throughout the world. To signal this fundamental difference from processors alone, Intel desired to break the mold of its existing family of identities.
The solution was a simple and iconic logo symbolizing motion, with a unique shape that would be recognizable even at the smallest online sizes. The magenta color added vibrance to the energetic form. Thanks to an extensive rollout, the Centrino identity became an ubiquitous symbol of Intel’s technological leadership in this emerging space.
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An Addis project.
IDENTITY
ANIMATION CONCEPT
Pentium 4 was the first Intel processor identity designed as a dimensional, chiseled badge, bringing tangible value to a relatively expensive product that you never really see or touch.
The animation portrays a burst of colorful energy emanating from a source point and then quickly returning to form the identity, highlighting Pentium 4’s power and creative benefits. These elements became the foundation of an extremely successful worldwide processor brand.
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An Addis project.
IDENTITY
COLLATERAL
Blue Shield of California’s brand identity and collateral system asserted what health care should be about: giving each individual the tools and support they need to live their unique lives to the fullest. Influenced by the vitality and diversity of California, pieces within the system portrayed stories of healthy and happy lives.
The new look and subsequent campaign signaled an evolution of the company to both employees and members. The reorganized, hierarchical template-based collateral system also greatly cut the time and cost associated with the creation of member materials.
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An Addis project.
IDENTITY
COLLATERAL
INFORMATION GRAPHICS
Nano-Tex provides nanotechnology-based textile enhancements to the apparel industry. The identity conveys an "on/off" state of a small element, suggesting change at a molecular level.
The scope of the project included a full identity system and guideline, brand voice brochure, symbols and diagrams for different types of enhancements, and retail hangtags. The bold and colorful look helped Nano-tex distinguish itself from traditional fabric coatings and gain a larger presence in the industry.
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An Addis project.
Additional logos. Some created while on staff at AdamsMorioka, Inc., Addis and John Paul Mitchell Systems.
