Ornament Skin

Wood block sign | Illustrator, laser, & paint

A woodblock letter sign for my client’s jewelry business. As a researcher, I leaned on user research interviewing techniques to better understand their needs, wants, and desires for the sign I was going to fabricate.

See below for our process, including inspiration, references, initial sketches, and final design.

1. Brainstorming & Ideation

Goals for the kick-off discussion were to understand the client’s…

  1. Business’:

    • products sold

    • customer base

    • developmental stage

  2. Preferences for:

    • colors

    • shapes

    • patterns

    • and stylistic influences (cultural & artistic)

  3. Intended purpose for the sign:

    • functional expectations

    • physical setting & placement of sign

2. Sketches

The client had many interests and cultural references to anchor our discussion, including their love of art nouveau, bright colors, and taking modern architecture’s great Adolf Loos

After our preliminary discussion, we determined the sign would include

  • terrazzo

  • a blend of art nouveau & grotesque modern elements

The client was flexible regarding materials, shapes, and

Following this exercise, I prioritized getting a cartoon-y" look.

Painting with Posca paint markers is so satisfying and they were new so I was excited to try them out. Colors weren’t to my liking so I corrected later.

3. Final design

Finalized vector illustration with some grains and gradients applied.