Weeks after joining Cannopy, a new startup aiming to become the go-to online cannabis marketplace, I began designing their logo. After days of meetings in Denver and many calls to establish brand tenants and tone, I set out to design a logo that would serve both the Amazon-esque company they hoped to become while still looking good on a t-shirt (I don’t see too many Amazon tees). The result needed to be approachable, friendly and trustworthy while not being too casual or ‘funky’ - an image big players in the marijuana industry are trying to shed.

In 2017, tastytrade, Inc. will launched a new online brokerage firm, tastyworks. From many designs submitted by a handful of in-house designers, this solution of mine was chosen to represent the brand. I worked a few ideas into this simple design. The typeface and red dot refer to the font and cherry icon in the sister brand, tastytrade. The machine-like articulation between 'tasty' and 'works' accentuates the industrial quality of the 'works' name. Lastly, the dot also serves as a period to extend 'tastyworks' into an active statement - 'tasty works.'

In addition to the tastyworks launch, tastytrade, Inc. developed two other sub-brands I designed logos for. The Small Exchange, launching in early 2019, is a new futures exchange with a mark designed to extend the typography and red dot motif of its precursor brands. In this case, the red dot serves as a magnifier for the small ‘SMALL’ behind it. Quiet Foundation is a repurposed name applied to a new financial advisory service. Here the red dot is a cherry blossom, reminiscent of` the tastytrade cherry and invoking the peace of mind offered by their services.

In late 2014, my brother-in-law, Dave Carapetyan (rally racer, 3-time Pikes Peak class champion), gave me the opportunity to design the new identity for his business, Rally Ready Driving School, in Austin, TX. Dave and I went through many iterations and finally arrived at this logo and word-mark. It evokes for us the crossed R's of a Texas ranch sign with hints of "rally cross" and "prescription medication” - an apt metaphor for driving fast on dirt - thrown in.

Application of the Rally Ready identity to a Subaru BRZ and Yamaha YXZ side-by-sides used in off-road racing classes at Rally Ready Driving School as well as a truck and trailer used to haul those vehicles to promotional events.

Application of the Rally Ready identity to Dave's 2015 Pikes Peak Hill Climb MazdaSpeed3 along with design studies I did for additional training vehicles at the school. Colors were to be used to denote student ability levels - novice, intermediate, advanced - so that instructors at the facility would know just how far to stay out of the way!

I continue to work for Rally Ready Driving School when their needs and my time happily align. I've produced everything from marketing materials to illustrations, curriculum documents and business plans to t-shirt designs. It is a huge pleasure having an honest-to-goodness race car driver in the family.

When I’m not wearing my design hat, I’m wearing my…saxophone player hat? Something like that. In addition to leading the band for this fun and homespun musical variety show, Erik & Jessie & Everyone You Know, I also do all of their promotional design. Here are a couple of posters I did that try to capture the show’s '“dangerous side of The Muppets” aesthetic. You can learn more about the show here.

Another musical project I currently play in is Mar Caribe, a seven-piece, all-instrumental group performing early swing, spaghetti western themes, and surf-inspired crime jazz. In 2011, I designed the artwork for our full-length CD, 'The Law'. You can learn more about Mar Caribe here.

Here's a quick logo I did for a social media group made up of 24 Hours of LeMons racers. I'm an active member in both the group and the racing league. Rocks glass in a puddle of motor oil, anyone?