Crispy's Portfolio

CRISPY

a 2024 edition.

a portfolio by christian keenan

On The Search For Jobs

Photographed by: Troy Thomas

My name is Christian Keenan, but some people call me “crispy.”

by: Kelsey Keenan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRO

1. SCHOOL PROJECTS

2. PROFESSIONAL WORK

3. VARIOUS DOODLES

4. BUSINESS STATIONERY

5. YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Hi,

ABOUT ME:

I am Christian Keenan, a graphic designer and illustrator from Huntington Beach, CA. I am known as “Crispy” by my peers. In my free time, I enjoy illustration, gaming, filming, surfing, and camping. Much of my creative inspiration derives itself from sci-fi cinematography like Back To The Future as well as cartoons like Adventure Time & Rick and Morty. Illustration is my way of interpreting the world in a comical, lighthearted, and playful style. I hope it will bring joy and inspire others in life and my professional career.

Fun Fact:

I enjoy the simplicity of breakfast diners such as Dennys, Pancake House, or Hof’s Hut in Seal Beach as a means to slow down and reflect on life.

CHRISTIAN KEENAN

CHAPTER 01: SCHOOL PROJECTS

A.I.G.A. GET OUT THE VOTE POSTERS

These posters were apart of our Typography class in which we reminded our fellow college students to vote. I went with a simpler approach that brought humor and warmth to the political environment.

Top Poster: Inspired by “Guy with A Sign.” Made to generate humor, but also remind people that we are only ones capable to make political change.

Bottom Poster: Inspired by old clocks of the 70’s & 80’s, this poster emphasized the idea of a new day and why now is the time to vote.

Made in Adobe Illustrator

CHRISTIAN KEENAN

SENIOR SHOW POSTER

My poster representing the PLNU Class of 2024.

Featuring the names of every graduate in the art department as well as giving credit to the professors that helped us along the way.

Made in procreate and refined in Adobe InDesign.

RESTAURANT REBRANDING

The restaurant I decided to rebrand was a Hotpot chain in China called Haidilao Hotpot. I decided to rename it Jianyang, based off the city the hotpot idea originated from.

I created a logo that resembled train car doors symbolizing speed and movement of the expanding hotpot chain. It was also made to match their newly renovated location that seemed to differ from their primary brand color of red.

UNACCEPTABLE USES

The consistent and correct application of the Jianyang signature is essential. Always follow the standards presented in these guidelines. The examples on this page illustrate some of the unacceptable uses of the restaurant signature.

01 Never alter the logo with colors outside the brand manual.

PRIMARY COLOR SELECTION:

JIANYANG GREEN #618584

SECONDARY COLOR SELECTION:

JIANYANG GREY #3a3a3c

TERTIARY COLOR SELECTION:

JIANYANG WHITE #ffffff

This project taught me how to create and stick to a brand guideline. How to demonstrate consistency in design and follow design rules for a harmonic output.

CHAPTER 02: THE ART DEPARTMENT

A job that taught me . . .

1. How to maintain a gallery.

2. How a vinyl can make signs and stickers

3. The importance of a clean workspace.

4. How to operate basic tools

5. That trial and error is ok.

6. How to finish the busy work.

7. That kindness goes a long way

8. Your art is as good as the time you put into it.

VINYL SIGNAGE

Some vinyl signed doors I created while working for the PLNU Art Department.

Each design was made in Illustrator and cut out on our very own vinyl cutter, then transferred onto the glass in one to two sheets.

First photo is of the main office door and the next page is a saloon style signage done for the photo classroom.

CHRISTIAN KEENAN

Signage done for the photo & dark room space. Western inspired with photo history from Professor Lael Corbin.

CHRISTIAN KEENAN Gallery Show Vinyl:

Left to right: C. Mayer, Dion Johnson, Alex Shoemaker, .U.M.P, and Kyra Hartigan.

Most of the orders I got working in the art department were for stickers. This allowed me to collaborate with friends and students at my college to make their sticker designs for surf premieres, local farmers markets, and for upcoming artists. Other vinyl jobs completed were related to senior art shows and usually took the form of wall signage and artists statements displayed in the entrance of their shows.

Sticker design by Cameron Winkelman & Noah Kawaguchi (top left). Sticker design by Lauren McCandless (top right).

MAILERS & INSTAGRAM ADS

I got to design the mailer and Instagram post for a professional show featuring Dion Johnson in Keller Gallery located on PLNU’s campus.

Other Instagram ads I created were for PLNU’s Art Department. I utilized Adobe Express for quick marketing and many of the helpful templates existing on that platform.

CHRISTIAN KEENAN

STUDENT ELECTION VOTE POSTERS

This was the first time I was ever commissioned. Lauren Gallagher, a student at PLNU, was running for Vice President and gave me full creative freedom. In this process, I learned where my style was heading as well as the beginnings of business style commissions. It was a fun experiment of learning, trial, and error.

Win or loss through the election, I was grateful to be given a design opportunity with plenty of creative freedom.

HOTDOG BRANDING

In the summer of 2023, I joined my friend and roommate Zander Adelsohn to help design for his startup brand called “Hotdog.”

We created t-shirt and hoodie designs that were sent to a manufacturer in Florida for printing. Our sales and products were all tracked through the services of Shopify and Printify.

In our later experience we learned the cheaper alternative of screen printing in our art facilities and were able to increase production of products to sell at our college farmer’s market.

With busy schedules, low funding,and the future ahead, Hotdog was put on hold. The learning experience obtained was something I’ll never take for granted and always be thankful for.

CHRISTIAN KEENAN

MARKETING

Most of our marketing was done on Instagram by Zander. We made fun commercials and merch posts occasionally using generated mockups on Printify and inputting them into masking programs such as Adobe Express. Much of the brand was spread around campus through word of mouth or by stickers we would place in frequently populated areas.

CHAPTER 03: MORE DOODLES THAN NOTES

WHY DOODLE?

Doodling in class or while in church has always made me focus better on the content at hand. It seems mindless and let’s me take in more information audibly as well as physically.

It’s a process that has helped me develop and find my style of art. All the characters I draw are often outward expressions of myself at

different times in my life. It could be interpreted as an escape from the physical world or a way to represent the objects around me.

Doodling lets me dream and be apart of worlds that seem unattainable through means of fiction or current circumstances.

A lot of my drawings are sketched out physically in notebooks and then image traced or redrawn in Illustrator and ProCreate.

The left illustration was made in procreate for my Illustration II class. We were each given two frames from a video sequence and told to animate them to make an art collaged video.

The reference image is shown to the right along with the second frame sequence.

CHAPTER 04: THE BUSINESS STATIONERY

CHRISTIAN KEENAN

STATIONERY

I wanted to create stationery that stood out in an illustrative style, but also conveyed bits of professionalism in order to be hired and contacted efficiently.

Here is an overview of my main paper stationery (left), back of my envelopes (bottom), and business cards (right).

CRISPYFILMZ ON YOUTUBE

In my free time, I like to make video edits and post them on YouTube. They mostly consist of surfing, my friends, and trips I’ve documented over the years. It is a fun interest I have picked up and can usually work on for hours at a time. I began much of my editing in IMovie and have now transitioned to Adobe products like Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush, & recently Adobe After Effects.

CHRISTIAN KEENAN

DESIGNER

Christian Keenan

PRINTER

BLURB PAPER

Matte-Velvet Finish

BINDING Magazine

TYPEFACES

BC Novatica CYR - Bold

Century Gothic Pro - Regular

Gala - Medium

OTHER

Business Card by Tipo

Scattered Business Card by Creatoom.com

Stationery by Squarespace

Poster by Made and Marked Goods

Laptop by Yuzu

Special Thanks:

I want to thank my family, friends, and educators for supporting and allowing me to pursue a creative career as a designer. I credit God for all my endeavors, skills, and ways I have been blessed. My relationship with the Lord is the main source of joy in my life.