Featured Projects
Featured Project #1:
I designed the original "Keepsake Hero Story Ticket" for Hawaii's #1 Visited Attraction, the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. From concept to approved print ready production art, I saw the project through to completion.
I have featured this project as a sample work since it required advanced skills in GRAPHIC DESIGN, ILLUSTRATION & ART DIRECTION. Also, the scale and reach of this project was impressive. Over the course of 5 years, an estimated 7.5 million visitors from around the world took a keepsake “Hero Story” ticket of my design home with them.
Key Design Elements
- Each ticket has one of 30 different theater program numbers, each in 7 different colors - One for each day of the week and one each color in the rainbow.
- There are a total of ten “Hero Stories” printed on the back of each ticket, making them interpretive and collectable keepsakes.
- Consideration for "Wayfinding" was a priority in design. Organized information including clear color-coded program numbers that corresponded with signage and theater intro slides helped visitors find their way.
- The 7 different accent colors on the tickets are actually a functional security feature. By design, a random color ticket is used daily. This way, anyone with the wrong color ticket would be recognized as a discrepancy to staff and NPS security.
Primary Stakeholders included in the Design & Approval Process
- The National Park Staff, at the USS Arizona Memorial
- The National Park Headquarters (Regional and National)
- The US Navy
- AMMA (Arizona Memorial Museum Association, now rebranded as Pacific Historic Parks)
- The Families of the Featured “Hero Stories”
- Daniel A. Martinez, Historian, USS Arizona Memorial, National Park Service
- Millions of visitors who take the tickets home with them, or see them published in books or the news media.
- Myself: Zack Anderson, Graphic Artist & Illustrator
Inspiration for the Design
As I always say, “good design is always based on good research”. The inspiration for the keepsake ticket came primarily from a highly interpretive name card exhibit that I had seen at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Other inspiration included educational animal cards, as well as baseball and basketball cards.
Print Management & Art Direction for a High Volume Print Job - 1.5 Million Tickets Per Year!
When the new and improved ticket designs had the green light to go to press, I was the person trusted to make sure the job got done right. I collected competitive quotes for the job from local printers, adjusted the files to the appropriate technical specifications, and conducted press checks for color, quality, etc. The job went smoothly as expected, since all my files were created in best practice with industry standard software. I had created all the proper edge bleeds, calibrated CMYK color formulas, and the fonts in the final PDFs were "burned to outlines" to ensure that appearance would be not be altered.
Media Attention for the "Hero Story" Ticket Design
NPS Historian, Daniel A. Martinez is an amazing speaker and expert on the interpretation to visiting Pearl Harbor. As Daniel would often demonstrate, the tickets can be used as material to share some of the interesting stories to tour groups, schools and with the media. The design was also submitted for a national design award. To see my design engage the local community, connect with history and get media attention was flattering. The ticket was a fun project that led to many more interesting graphic design & illustration projects.
Featured Project #2:
"Aftermath" - A 360-degree view of Pearl Harbor, Dec. 8, 1941
Since 2005, I have published three WW2 related educational art prints that are some of the best sellers at the Pearl Harbor Museum Bookstore. The "Aftermath" print gets the most attention. The image had never been seen before and it is exclusive to my print. I created the composite image from 14 separate photographs that I recovered from the National Archives in Washington D.C. It has a first edition embossed silver foil of my own design that was inspired by Elvis Presley's ticket at his fundraising concert for the USS Arizona Memorial. I directed the research on the image by consulting the top three Historians on the subject to help create a detailed numbered key labeling important features. Shortly after release, this print was featured on C-SPAN’s coverage of the Dec 7th ceremony. Occasionally, I am asked to do a "book signing" to promote sales at the non-profit gift shop.
Featured Project #3:
Brand Identity & Logo Design
Concept to Final Vector Logo Illustration for "Greater Hawaii Tours".
Design Concept & Inspiration
The logo is based on a modern hand drawn pineapple of my own design. It is unique in order to be trademarked and copyrighted. The pineapple is a powerful icon in the hospitality industry, however it is not overused in Hawaii's transportation industry. It is also globally recognized as a welcoming symbol and has ties to Hawaii's history. The pineapple is presented mixed into a circular design that also conveys land and ocean - further symbolic of island destination tourism. The logo is designed to work in a "stacked" fashion or in a horizontal layout so that it can be more versatile to fit in different spaces. The logo is primarily going to be used on the web with a customized booking engine that is currently being developed. However, if the logo is used to brand vehicles in the future, it will translate well for that purpose.
Expert Services Provided
- Conducted design research and developed multiple design concepts in order to produce a final design that is memorable and unique enough to compete in a highly competitive industry.
- Vector Logo Illustration - Created a completely unique meaningful brand logo as a vector line drawing that is readable at multiples sizes as needed. The artwork is clean and scalable for use with both on screen and print projects. I created this logo illustration with expert use of Adobe Illustrator.
- Typography - Paired title and body fonts that can also be used on the web and in print for consistent cross platform brand management. “Bowlby One” (A Google Font that is free to use online and in print) and “Source Sans Pro” (Adobe’s First Open Type Font Available Free for both Print & Web)
- Color Branding - Selected a unique color palette referencing the Pantone color charts that can translate optimized for different outputs including RGB for on screen and CMYK for print. Applied my knowledge of color theory and color psychology for this project.
- Made design decisions based on provided marketing data.
- Created multiple graphic mock-ups for website, user interface design, and layout.
- Acted as Art Director to work with a front-end web designer to create a mobile responsive website framework featuring an innovative user interface where accent colors follow the different categories of tours & activities.
- Curated, licensed, and organized a large stock photography collection for use in content marketing.
- Provided stakeholders with strategic recommendations for content marketing with visual communications and online media.
- Researched and consulted stakeholders of customizable booking engine solutions
- Recommended tools for coupon code promotions and advised of possible marketing strategies.
Graphic Design
Combining imagery, text and graphics all together into one cohesive layout is definitely an art form. Often times as graphic designers, we are challenged with putting a lot of information in a limited space. How we overcome these challenges is often in the details. Not only am I formally trained in graphic design, but I know how to build project files properly and how to work between Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator effectively. I have been making quality print graphics for years and with my recent experience in web design and graphic design at a busy print shop in Kaneohe, I have become even more versatile. Below are a few samples of my work.
Above: Jake Shimabukuro Flyer for Hard Rock Cafe & AccesSurf
Illustration
I love making illustrations! Some of my illustration work has been featured in commercial products, museum exhibits, history books, Television (Hawaii 5-0), C-Span, and legal support trial exhibits for cases with as much as 40-million dollars at stake. I have over 17-years experience using Adobe Illustrator and to me it is fun to use. I am very comfortable making new illustrations in vector, raster or a combination of both. I am also an expert with Adobe Photoshop and advanced use of layers for composite image work. I have a lot of experience colorizing line drawings, map making, creating keys, custom charts, custom typesetting, etc. I also know how to optimize artwork for different outputs such as large format printing, PowerPoint presentations, vinyl sticker cutouts, outdoor exhibits, signage, embossed foils stickers, foil stamps, websites, HD video, or even T-shirt designs.
Above: P40 ~ American Aircraft as it were, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Photography
Above is an iconic photograph that I captured of Paradise Cove during sunset and just before a storm. I used a tripod for a 2-second long exposure to smooth the water. This image is actually just one of a series of RAW images taken in 3-second intervals that I later rendered into an animated time lapse at 4k resolution.
In graphic design and illustration projects, there is not much of a replacement for quality imagery. A quality photograph can have a dramatic emotional appeal and be a huge factor in achieving the desired end results of a project. I have expert skills with Adobe Photoshop and can often work with what is available. However, sometimes to get the best images you have to capture your own. I'm an artist with a camera and have the technical knowledge of how to optimize settings, lenses, and lighting to achieve the best results.
I have experience with all kinds of photography including portraits, events, interior spaces, buildings, real estate, landscapes, lifestyle, tourism, products, panoramas, composites, time lapse, macro photography, studio photography, green screen, etc.
Above: Portrait Sample - Betty Hsu, Miss Chinatown USA - 2008
VIEW MORE PHOTOGRAPHY SAMPLES HERE
Art Direction
I have both the technical skill and the creative vision required for providing the art direction necessary to produce high quality commercial art. I have worked on a wide variety of corporate communication projects including helping organizations with brand management. I am able to produce new media that is consistent with an existing brand image. I am also able to create an entirely new brand identity as I have done for many small startup businesses in Hawaii. In today’s digital landscape, more and more people are viewing graphic design digitally and directly on mobile devices. Over the years I have gained specialized experience in directing art and brand management across multiple platforms including traditional print, photography, product development, packaging, web design, and even mobile responsive web design.
Art Direction Sample #1: Hali Hali Rides / HaliHaliRides.com
I provided art direction to the owners of Hali Hali Rides from the beginning including the following: producing product photography, model photo shoot with signed talent release, mobile responsive web design, print to web consistent design, video production, established and branded the YouTube channel, etc. The company is now growing with multiple kiosk locations in Hawaii and has received interest in expanding to a network of malls nationwide! You can see the live site that I created entirely on my own at: www.HaliHaliRides.com
Art Direction Sample #2: Stone Trade Hawaii / StoneTradeHawaii.com
The owner of a small but growing local granite installation business came to me because they needed something better to show prospective customers and contractors in order to establish credibility of previous work quality. All they had at the time to show was a single photo bucket gallery, in which many of the photos were blurry and taken on a cell phone and some other newer photos on a thumb drive. They also had no logo or organized listing of services, etc.
They expressed that they would like a website to be on a black background. Other than that, I had full artistic control to create a new brand identity, so that is what I did in a hurry and under a budget. From concept to completion, I provided them a full branding package including a vector based logo, color branding, selection of fonts that work in both print and web, designed business cards and had them printed, recommended and secured a matching domain name, developed locally then deployed a mobile responsive website that not only displays an organized collection of categorized photos, but also a portfolio of services offered. To finish the job in a timely manner, I selected and licensed some stock photos to fill in the gaps and helped with writing the text for all the sections. The customers love the new website and business cards. Their business is continuing to grow, so next they want me to design a brochure and car wrap for a full size truck. When I do this, I will be sure to make the decisions to keep the artwork consistent with the existing brand image. This in turn will add more brand visibility & brand equity!
My philosophy is to make an organization look like a million bucks, so they can make a million bucks!
See the live website at: www.StoneTradeHawaii.com
Presentation
I think that producing a quality presentation is in a large part about organizing the major ideas. Whether it is for writing a speech, pitching a new graphic design concept or producing a PowerPoint for a major corporate event, if the ideas are presented in an organized fashion, the message will likely be better received by the audience.
I have specialized experience in creating custom PowerPoint presentations for corporate events, presenting artwork concepts, speech writing, public speaking, classroom lectures, software training, screencasts (voice and screen recording), video production, and as legal support producing multimedia trial exhibits.
Above: A fundraising event at the Governor's Mansion - I directed two HD cameras with off camera audio to capture the presentation and the PowerPoint that was displayed at the event was of my design
PRODUCTION STILLS
THE NEW MUSEUM PRESENTATION
When the National Park and the Arizona Memorial Museum Association were presenting plans for the 50-million dollar renovation of the visitor center, I was the graphic artist responsible for creating the PowerPoint presentation. View the PDF version of this presentation with the link below, or download and view the actual PowerPoint file with the second link.
View the PDF of the "New Museum" Presentation Here:
the-new-museum-pearl-harbor-render
Download the PowerPoint file for this Presentation Here:
the-new-museum-pearl-harbor.ppt
