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