Design enchanted

For this 6th and final blog post in the Oils-418 series, I would like to reflect back on the course and what I learned from it.

When I started this course I was just getting into the design field, not quite keeping my toes in, more like knee deep. I wanted to get better but didn’t know where to continue after my design classes, and this class showed me that there was a whole new mindset to master. I knew about design thinking and the strategies that one can employ to use it, but I didn’t know about some of the more philosophical aspects of creativity. Creativity is how one expresses their passion for a subject; creating something is an outlet, and that outlet doesn’t always work with every subject.

I have no plans on dropping creativity, it’s a part of my soul, something that I absolutely can’t live without. If I continue down the path of an architect it will be crucial. If I go down the path of a graphic designer it will be crucial. Design thinking will become like an old and reliable friend in my many years to come, the process guide a weathered tool, and Svihla and Tim Brown distant inspirations…

Thanks for reading this series, I hope you stick around. Go and design enchantment!

-Maxxon Yocom

For this 5th blog post, I would like to share with you a recent public engagement activity that I co-lead with the help of another individual from the BSA. Together we held a design thinking and patch designing workshop for 11 youth and 9 adults. Here are the resources we used to teach it:

These were the slides in the slide show. We didn’t spend too much time on these, but we did elaborate on each of the points much more than what is said on the slide itself.

Here is the worksheet we handed out:

It was made to help individuals through the patch design thinking process and shows a few examples of patches.

Here is a picture of the workshop in progress:

After getting through our material, we showed the room some of our previous designs and then all together the room worked on a design.

I think the workshop went well, with individuals of all ages participating and getting interested in the process. Some were not as involved as you would hope, but I would say a healthy amount were active in the workshop. The Information was valuable, and from what I heard as feedback, helpful to a majority of the people attending. I would like to lead a workshop like this again in the future, though a little bit more streamlined.

Thanks for reading, go design enchantment!

-Maxxon Yocom

For this forth blog post, I would like to talk about a project I did at the beginning of the year. This project taught me a lot about designing for another individual and making redesigns according to feedback.

A little context, this is a past project of mine: Near the end of 2023 I reached out to the individual that owned and operated “LC Knits” after hearing about their search for a new logo/brand. I offered by service as a way to practice my skills and get a sense for real design work. They agreed and from there I started designing, though starting with very little direction.

Before I reached out, I designed this preliminary logo that I put together to show what I could do and hopefully spark they interest. They didn’t end up going for this design, wanting something more “whimsical,” but none the less appreciated the initiative and liked the design. This design is more serious and technical, inspired by more modern logos like “REI” and “Apple.”

After first contact, we discussed changes and Ideas to the design, which led to a full redesign in the following logo. This one took the whimsical note to heart, showing a much lighter side than the previous logo. This design represents the stuffed animals and other wholesome creations the company produces. They still weren’t sure about this design, stating that the monkey in the logo doesn’t really align with their brand and would prefer a different animal, suggesting a hippo specifically. I tried to get this logo to work with the feedback, but ended up opting for an almost complete redesign.

These two designs were done together, giving an option and route for better feedback for the next design. I went for a round shape that represents yarn, and made a hippo the focus, adding a ribbon to the second design to fill out the shape. They loved the second one, saying that would would go with it if the pattern on the hippo were changed to a knitting pattern. So, in my next iteration that’s exactly what I did.

This whole process was one of my longest at the time, with more full redesigns than any other project. Working with someone to get a product to a point where they are completely happy with it can be a challenge, and will take extensive communication from both sides. I learned a lot from this project: Communication, iteration, coming up with new ideas through feedback, and designing for a more professional setting. You can see this logo currently in use at lcknits.com!

Here is a photo of my complete work file, a glimpse into my erratic work cycle:

Thank you for reading, go out and design enchantment!

-Maxxon Yocom

For this third blog post, I would like to show you how I work with organizations and iterate on designs.

For this project I was approached by the leadership of an organization that was planning a 6000 person conference to be held in the summer of 2024 to design a patch to be worn by staff as an identifier. The patch needed to represent a certain area of the conference named “adventure central.” Adventure Central is home to most of the fun events and attractions to be held at the conference, such as BMX and White Water Rafting.

Now, going into this project there is the problem of Risk. This patch is going to be seen by thousands of people and used commercially as a fund raising asset. This level of design is something that I am Unfamiliar with, and so I’m definitely feeling a bit of anxiety and excitement about this project.

The creative strategy I elected to use for this project is a Mind Map, writing down aspects I know I want to include and linking sub-aspects that tie in. I didn’t need to go to in-depth before being inspired enough to start putting pen to paper. I won’t go show each and every step, but I will show you the iterations and changes that were proposed.

For the first iteration of the patch I had completely free range with very little previous reference to go off of. I chose a striking color pallet to mix with the theme of “90s Synthwave” that I chose to represent certain aspects of adventure central. I was experimental with the silhouettes and shape of the patch, only hoping that both were acceptable.

After feedback from the leadership telling me to simplify the silhouettes in the patch, remove the gradient, and remove the tank, I came up with the next two iterations that I wanted to share with them and see which they preferred. I was also told to create a logo for Adventure Central, something that can be used to easily identify the program when it comes to signage. For the logo I was inspired by the Colorado flag and mountains.

For the last pieces of feedback I received via a zoom meeting with the leadership I was told to increase the size of graphics so they are more legible when when produced, make the center wider as to increase surface area, and to keep the color pallet with eight or nine colors. I sent this version to them and got the go ahead, this is the final iteration.

Thank you for reading, go out and design enchantment!

-Maxxon Yocom

For this second blog post, I would like to show you my creative process when it comes to creating logos.

You can listen to an audio walkthrough paired with this post:

First, let’s talk about some of the problems I faced while designing the logo as seen above. There were two prominent problems, familiarity and Risk. I am familiar with this process, as I do it quite often, and so I consider myself proficient in it. On the over hand, I wanted to challenge myself with this process so I decided to insert the risk and pressure of a strict time limit, one hour.

To start, I will be using a creative strategy that I find particularly helpful -“Practice Deliberately,” (Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity, Keith Sawyer, P. 53-56). I will be challenging myself with a strict time limit, I will split up the work so I can focus on specific tasks, and at the end of this post I will reflect on what I learned.

The goal of this little exercise is to see what I need to improve on during my design process. Being able to refine my process through deliberate practice will help improve my output speed and quality. An image depicting the steps and iterations I made during my creative process can be seen below.

To start, I spilt up what I wanted to get done into different segments and set hard time limits on each segment. I ended up using far less time than I expected for each segment. I completed the whole logo is just under 27 minutes.

First, I needed it to figure out what the company this logo belonged to did, what it was called, and what its slogan was. Second, I needed to figure out a good color pallet for the company. Third, I needed to put together a general shape for the logo. Lastly, I needed to put the whole imagery and writing together for a finished logo.

I used exclusively Adobe Illustrator and the fonts it has pre-installed to create the logo, that way everything I am using is of my own creation, avoiding accidentally using someone else’s work. I didn’t go off any references or inspirations, I just let my intuition carry me through the process, eventually entering a kind of creative flow state.

I started a bit nervous thinking that the time constraints were a bit too aggressive, but over time I started feeling more confident as I went. The toughest part was figuring out how the font should lay and interact with each other, I had to go through many iterations before I was happy. In the end I believe that I was able to create a functional brand and logo for a theoretical video game company, perhaps I will end up using it in the future, or selling it to another company.

Now to reflect on the process and the product. I realized that the challenge I put on myself, though very helpful, may not have be difficult enough, resulting in the product having more time to develop naturally. The product itself is satisfactory, though I would probably want to spend more time on it before using it for anything professional. Overall a fun exercise, and I look forward to doing future challenges.

Thank you for reading, go out and design Enchantment!

-Maxxon Yocom

For this first blog post, I would like to talk about the things that inspire me to create and stay creative.

Mounting Mountains

A significant aspect of my life was my involvement with the Boy Scouts of America, where I learned that a quiet moment in the woods could cure the aliments of my mind and the view from a mountain could inspire entire worlds. I find myself going to well explored places at completely unexplored times and discovering myself in the moonlight. This is a photo of the sunset over Yellowstone, a time I won’t forget.

Singing Stories

I love music, in fact I think that music is a necessity for a healthy mind and soul. There is so much inspiration within every song, I find myself creating stories for songs I listen to often. This image is the cover of one of my favorite songs, As Above, So Below by Cryoshell and Essenger

Drawing Dreams

Art is one of the best ways to express yourself, even if you’re bad at it. I myself prefer digital art, but I can’t lie that classical art might be one of the most impressive things a person can practice. The image here is a poster I made for one of my favorite fonts, National Park.

Picturing Perfection

Photography is a hobby I wish I was more involved in, as capturing the perfect moments in life can be something to be proud of for the rest it. I have shown pictures I have taken, but a photographer I absolutely adore is Becorns | David M Bird. He creates character out of acorns and takes photographs of them with local wildlife; with the photos he takes he makes calendars! Link here is his Instagram and his channel.

Beating Burnout

A channel that I believe to be very insightful on the topics of creating, staying creative, and avoiding burnout is Pirate Software. This video is one that I watch pretty regularly, it helps me put into perspective why I feel burnout when I do. Linked here is his channel.

Building Bionicle

On the nerdier side, I love legos, specially Bionicles. I have built them my whole life and love seeing what others can do with the hobby. There are some very impressive pieces out there, some of which are created by my favorite builder, Jayfa. The image below is of one of his creations, you can find this and more on his Flickr here.

Worthy Writing

I have probably come up with a hundred stores, fifty of which are good, twenty five of which are worth writing, and five I actually write. Writing is a great form of expression, but it takes much more effort than others to get right, and even more to be happy with. Perhaps this blog will help me get more comfortable with the idea of public works. A work of writing AND art that I have the pleasure of owning a signed copy of is “Sketchbook on the World” by Terrance J. Brown, a book full of architectural sketches.

Tutoring Turtle

One person I usually come back to is Blue Turtle, a YouTuber that creates beautiful artwork and gathers wonderful songs to put over them. They have lessons on many things, from world building to photoshop skills. Linked here is their channel.

Masterpiece Movies

Though I have only recently started watching them, all the movies made by Studio Ghibli are masterpieces and might be some of the most inspiring pieces of art ever made. The art, stories, characters, world building, and so much more could fuel someones creativity for their full lifetime and I can’t wait to see more. My current favorite of these movies is “Howl’s Moving Castle,” go watch it!

Forming Family

Last but certainly not least, my family is my greatest support system and biggest inspiration. They guide me on my way through life and help me when I need it most. Nothing I do would be possible without them, and nothing would be worth doing without my family, found family, and friends by my side. 

Thank you for reading, you can go here to see a video that is paired with this post.

Go out and design Enchantment!

-Maxxon Yocom