Jacob Popčak Portfolio, Summer 2018

PORTFOLIO

COLLATERAL DESIGN Esto Es De Todos Escucha Mi Voz is a group which promotes art through competition and education in order to raise awareness about major issues of human rights. The theme of their 2016 competition, “We Are All Migrants,� worked to promote an understanding of the migrant experience. My winning artwork was featured in a number of galleries in Mexico, Ireland and the US. It was also reprinted as post cards which were sent to politicians in both the US and Mexico.

My design, which is a combination of acrylic paint and digital manipulation, features a bindle (commonly referred to in English as a "hobo sack"), an internationally recognizable symbol for those who are forced to live "on the move". The bindle resembles the Earth, representing the competition's theme: that, at some point in history, we have all been migrants; that the migrant experience and the human experience are one in the same.

COLLATERAL DESIGN Magee Womens Summit For Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC’s first ever research summit, I was tasked by the event’s organizers with designing a poster to advertise the event throughout the city.

Inspired by the early work of Pittsburgh icon Andy Warhol, the poster incorporates many themes related to women's health. Abstract colors and shapes join to form several objects, including a pregnant woman, the Venus symbol and globe. These three shapes represent the themes of the Summit, being a coming together of researchers from around the world (the globe) to study women's health (the Venus symbol), and, in a particular way, what has been termed "the 9-90"; that is, how the first 9 months in the womb determine the health of a person for the next "90" years of life. These symbols then combine further to give the impression of a pear, representing the fruits of both fertility and knowledge.

COLLATERAL DESIGN Thread International Packaging The pattern shown here was designed as part of a packaging proposal for Thread International, a company which gathers and recycles plastic refuse in Haiti and Honduras, recycles it into cloth, and sells the product to benefit the original communities. The company was in need of packaging which would 1) simplistically and clearly communicate the mission and purpose of the company; 2) meet the company’s goals of sustainability; 3) serve as the basis for future branding needs.

Although the company ultimately went in a different direction, I developed a clean and simple pattern which could be printed with sustainable, single color inks, meeting sustainability goals. At a glance, this pattern appeared to be a weave, as one might see making up a piece of cloth. Upon closer inspection, however, one would be able to see that each “thread� in the weave was in fact a plastic bottle.

Placed on the packaging at an angle, the pattern served to give a dynamic edge to otherwise simple packaging.

Furthermore, since it was developed with single-color use in mind, the pattern could easily be adapted for a number of branding uses.

COLLATERAL DESIGN Spaghetti Western Pasta Brand The Spaghetti Western pasta brand was designed as part of an academic project to create an original brand entirely from scratch, including logos, branding elements, and packaging.

Based on Hollywood western motifs, the Spaghetti Western pasta brand was designed with two audiences in mind: young kids, for whom the bright colors and characters would be attractive, and the 18-35 market, who look for cheap and filling products but are also willing to spend a little more for packaging which they find visually appealing.

The packaging itself builds on two games: first, the use of the reveal window as the setting sun over a western landscape; second, telling a visual story around the box. In the case of the former, the yellow hues of the pasta creates the perfect tone for the die cut sun. In the case of the latter, consumers can see the cowboy and his trusty horse “arrive� on the front of the box at sunset (pictured left), but if they turn the box around, they find that same duo having made camp for the night, presumably enjoying a helping of Spaghetti Western pasta cooked over a roaring fire (pictured right).

COLLATERAL DESIGN The Ol‘ Factory “The Ol’ Factory” was a soap line designed in response to an academic challenge to create an new product line from scratch with entirely sustainable packaging. “The Ol’ Factory” aims to fill the void in artisan soaps for men (a product line normally only marketed for women).

The scents and titles themselves are each based on a romanticized, stereotypically masculine profession which a consumer’s romantic partner might find attractive. These variants are represented on the packaging by the same “mascot” figure appearing as the vocation in question, with titles like “woodsman” and “pirate” bringing to mind the kinds of harlequin romance ideals a man might normally feel inclined to compete with.

To meet the goals for sustainability, the packaging is reduced to a simple wrap-around label, printed on recycled soap paper with single color soap dye.

The soap paper - made by combining recycled paper with the refuse of the soap making process - dissolves in water when the soap is used, meaning there are no leftovers in either the original manufacturing or the use of the product.

CORPORATE DESIGN Lent is for Lovers I was hired to brand and design for Lent is for Lovers, a Lenten initiative run by the Dominican fathers of Cincinnati, OH. Under my creative direction, the program evolved from a simple talk series at a single parish to an international multimedia movement (website, videos, social media) with successful reach as far as Kenya.

Due to the coinciding dates of Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day in 2018, the Dominican fathers of Cincinnati conceptualized a speaker series which would draw a correlation between the dates. I was tasked with creating a single logo and related branding elements which incorporated several themes: first, it had to be identifiably Lenten; next, it had to appear romantic; finally, it had to thematically fit on a concert-inspired t-shirt to communicate the dates of the events in the initiative.

I designed a mark which incorporated all the requested elements, and then some.

From far away, a simple but highly textured valentine heart communicates the theme of vintage romance; up close, however, the full Stations of the Cross can be discerned in the black lace trim surrounding the form.

CORPORATE DESIGN Frassati Fellowship Designed as a follow-up to the highly-successful ‘Lent is for Lovers’ campaign, the Frassati Fellowship mark and associated media (most especially, t-shirts) were designed to market the Dominican Fathers’ young adult outreach group. During the research phase of the project, I discovered that there are many groups named after Blessed Frassati - a sort of patron saint of young people - meaning that the mark had to really stand out among what had already been created.

The answer to this question was to draw on the same 70s-inspired themes represented in the ‘Lent is for Lovers’ campaign. Here, the pipe which Frassati is often seen smoking in artistic representations allows for a vintage-inspired “halo” of text. This combined with the cracked Technicolors and subtle dot patterns - gives both a youthful and a time-tested impression.

This effect in turn allows the mark to avoid falling into the trap of seeming like it’s “trying too hard” by hearkening back to another era of design.

CONCEPT ART & BRAND Cafe Fiona Cafe Fiona is a themed restaurant designed hypothetically for the Cincinnati Zoo as part of my Masters thesis in interdisciplinary design.

Inspired by the Zoo’s famous hippo, Fiona, this eatery allows guests to eat “with” Fiona while learning about human/nature impact and about symbiotic relationships.

Constructed as an outdoor eatery with the lower jaw serving as a bar, the Fiona-inspired structure needed a logo that could communicate the restaurant’s many themes. The adorable final mark is reminiscent of classic tiki bar aesthetics, but also communicates the theme of symbiotic relationships by joining the hippo - our host - and the oxpecker bird - a role played by the guest - in a single form.

Other proposed logo options - seen here in preliminary sketch formincluded a traditional tiki bar-style logo and another which played with the restaurant’s design imagery of Fiona’s open mouth.

CONCEPT ART & BRAND Cafe Fiona In the concept art (left), we see an artistic rendering of the completed Cafe Fiona structure. Guests sit in chairs resembling the lower half of an oxpecker bird while eating around Fiona as if her lower jaw were a bar. In doing so, guests participate in a symbolic narrative regarding symbiotic relationships in nature. This creatively portrayed lesson is compounded by another: although the nets and lanterns caught in Fiona’s teeth give the space a whimsical, tiki bar-style aesthetic, they also make a point regarding what happens when we allow our rivers to become polluted.

The menu for Cafe Fiona (right) draws aesthetically from the playful-yet-rustic theming by imitating a traditional block print. Menu options are simple yet exotic batch recipes drawn from various river cultures, with a special focus on South African cuisines (bunny chow and koeksisters) that Cincinnati locals will be able to find in few other locations.

CORPORATE DESIGN Ekernally Yours Food Trailer One of the many vehicles I designed as part of my work with Xhibit Solutions, this full vehicle wrap for the Ekernally Yours Popcorn Company provided more challenges than the relatively simple design might otherwise indicate: no branding identity existed for the company prior to my receiving the truck for design, save for the logo. Therefore, I was tasked with creating a vehicle that would simultaneously show off a new design, while nevertheless appearing visually similar to what had already been established on the company’s other media (web, etc.)

Ultimately, I chose to fully illustrate the entire trailer, rather than rely upon photo imagery. This allowed for a bright and slightly vintage feel that would nevertheless be attractive to the company’s primary audience: kids.

CORPORATE DESIGN Exelon PowerLabs Trailer In contrast with the illustrated look of the Ekernally Yours brand, Exelon Powerlabs required a cleaner and more dynamic, photographic approach. The company itself provides lightning rod testing for large buildings and structures, so it was important to communicate this service. However, it was also important to the client that the look be clean, professional, and even reassuring; so much so, in fact, that the client originally wanted the whole trailer to simply be electric blue, with the logo.

Ultimately, I was able to sell the client on a slightly more dynamic concept: although the trailer would appear a reassuring shade of blue at a first glance, images of their lightning-testing equipment would serve as a faded background for the color, giving everything a sense of dimension. In addition, sparing lightning bolts would serve to both highlight the most important text and to provide a subtle secondary splash of color (yellow).

CORPORATE DESIGN Wombat Security Exhibit Built around a comic book theme, the Wombat Security booth makes grand use of its 20’ x 20’ space on the exhibit show floor. In part, this choice comes from a design perspective: the pillars and bridges lay out the story of the comic book - a real version of which was printed and presented to guests when they visited the booth - while the background (two separate back walls stepped at different heights to give the impression of a city skyline and a sky respectively) gives the impression that one has stepped into the comic book.

Practically, the Wombat company had significant need for storage at their show. For this reason, I designed the pillars and back wall area with the intention that they would house Wombat’s many boxes of promotional material. Designed using both Adobe Illustrator and Vectorworks and combining a combination of agency-provided graphics and my own original work, this practical and aesthetically pleasing exhibit truly packs a punch on the show floor.

CORPORATE DESIGN Simulation Alpine Metal Tech Seen here is an exhibit I created using both Adobe Photoshop and Vectorworks, a CAD software. Although the concept was ultimately abandoned, it represents the kinds of exhibits I was often asked to create: clean, stark, with sleek lines and an impressive silhouette.

In this case, the concept served Simulation Alpine Metal Tech, a company which creates rigs to be set on fire for the purposes of training firefighters in the field.

In this case, the exhibit takes up a 20’ x 20’ space on the show floor, with a height limit of 16’. This gave our team ample room to propose this clean design, which features many of the rigs for which SAMT is best known. Its design also allows for four separate “conversation stations,” where SAMT personnel could have a relaxed chat with prospective customers.

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LOGOS & BRANDING 1. Lettie Toujours A simple shape created using the letters ‘L’ and ‘T’ can stand clean on its own or be used to form a window for complex illustrative elements, representing both sides of this lifestyle brand client’s creative aesthetic.

2. Lent is for Lovers 70’s concert shirts of yesteryear combine with classic romance and deep religious symbolism to create a single mark for a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual event series.

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3. Kennywood Cares The iconic “Kennywood arrow” logo is turned in on itself, literally representing the action of giving back, as a heart-shaped balloon floats upwards, representing the hopes of the children.

4. Cafe Fiona This friendly logo isn’t just cute: it gets the point across. The central theme of natural symbiotic relationships is made clear as the hippo and bird merge into a single form for this mark inspired by classic tiki bar aesthetics.

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LOGOS & BRANDING 5. Momfidence In contrast to the amorphous “mother and child” forms seen in most competitor logos, this mark combines a spa aesthetic with the timelessly maternal yet comparatively subtle image of eggs in a nest in order to communicate the mission of this motherhood-based brand.

6. Design Atelier This alternative take on the Lettie Toujours lifestyle brand mark incorporates a more hand-done Victorian-style look. The logo plays homage with its swirling botanicals to the company’s florist shop routes, but further represents the company’s growth as symbols of its newly developed services seem to sprout like flours from the vines.

7. Community Supported Audio For this crowd-funded, cross-genre music initiative, a logo was needed which would couple a record store look with the symbolism of the company: here, four hands representing the four pillars of a successful musical economy literally come together to form a vinyl record, representing music itself.

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LOGOS & BRANDING Kennywood Cares Kennywood Cares is Kennywood Park’s community outreach program, offering two initiatives aimed at entertaining and uplifting area underprivileged and or/disabled children. From the Kennywood website: “We strive to be a good neighbor and a good employer in various ways from Direct Ticket Donations (e.g., Tickets for Children's Charities program) and In-Kind Donations (e.g., Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank Donations and Trolley & Costumed Character Appearance) to playing a Supporting Role for Team Members and the Community.”

I was challenged with designing the logo for the organization’s rebranding. In the completed mark, the iconic “Kennywood arrow” logo is turned in on itself, literally representing the action of “giving back.”

In the foreground, a heart-shaped balloon floats upwards, representing the hopes of the children the logo - and the organization - represents.

Said Matt Phillips, Sales & Marketing Coordinator for Kennywood Park, “Jacob took the concepts about Kennywood Park’s Charitable Trust that I suggested and wove them into several intriguing designs. All reflected the work and spirit of the organization. I am impressed with his vision and abilities!”

cares Other proposed logo options for Kennywood Cares included a letterform logo which played on a family motif and another based on Kennywood’s original mascot, Kenny the Kangaroo

LOGOS & BRANDING Community Supported Audio I was challenged to create a mark for CSA (Community Supported Audio), a group seeking to connect listeners with the many genres of music within their specific city. The business was test piloting in Pittsburgh, and required branding that would reflect this but which could also be adapted for other markets.

Challenges included: creating a mark that could represent and be respected by musicians of many different genres, from classical to blues to rock and metal; creating a mark that would speak to the target audience, ie, middle class boomers with expendable income and discerning musical tastes; and creating a mark that could be recognizable no matter where one was in the country, but which nevertheless could be changed slightly depending on region.

Ultimately, one was designed which drew from the vinyl record motif and which incorporated two “handshakes” to represent both the coming together of a community and the four pillars of the musical economy. This mark inspired the rest of the branding and was recognized at AIGA Pittsburgh’s PGH365 Award Show.

Other proposed logo options for CSA included one mark inspired by the ‘stop,’ ‘play,’ and ‘pause’ buttons on a stereo and another which utilized a skyline as a wave form, representing “the sound of the city.”

LOGOS & BRANDING Lettie Toujours Lettie Toujours is a lifestyle brand featuring space and event designing services. However, the business originally grew out of the success of its founder’s floral shop, Posy PGH. As the company transitioned from strictly floral to broader lifestyle and design, a total rebranding was needed.

Drawing from a moody color palette of black, dark green, and eggplant, the final design was inspired by the hand carved block prints, rigid geometry, and swooping botanicals found in both the bohemian and Victorian design aesthetics sought after by the client.

The main logo is a crisp and clean combination of a stylized “L” and “T” which creates a window at its center.

Three sub-marks were also designed, each of which used illustrative elements to break the window of the main logo in order to symbolize the company’s tendency to break with norms and expectations. These marks would allow for diverse application - from business cards to window decals - while the main mark stands memorably on its own.

Although the main logo for Lettie Toujours is clean and simple, the brand also includes three sub-marks, each of which is illustrative. Each sub-logo represents one of the three tiers of the business.

LOGOS, BRANDING & WEB Momfidence Momfidence.org is the home of an inspirational podcast and blog, both of which are dedicated to building up moms with emotional support and practical advice.

Over the course of the design process, I created an original logo, a corresponding brand, and finally, a web home for the organization’s services.

The Momfidence logo contrasts with its competition, in that it does not rely on literal depictions of maternal or infant figures. Instead, the logo and corresponding brand evoke the feelings of a spa or refined hotel - relaxing to the target audience - while playing upon the natural themes of eggs in a nest.

ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN Chatham University ‘Get to Work’ In contrast with the explicitly artistic themes of creativity and imagination used in other advertising for Chatham University’s design program, the ‘Get to Work’ campaign presented a comparatively gritty and industrious theme. In the posters - which were designed to also be adapted for web and mobile use - a male painter and a female filmographer (in a subtle gender role reversal) walk towards their respective futures, craft in hand. Behind them, textbook doodle-inspired “graffiti” comes to life, just as our dreams do with the addition of hard work.

Perhaps obviously, the campaign slogan had a double meaning: “Get to work,” when read as a command, refers to the seriousness of the school’s design program. The slogan can also be read as a promise, however, that those who achieve a degree through the program will - in contrast to the stereotype of the starving artist - actually GET to work!

PUBLICATION DESIGN Animo Magazine Animo Magazine was conceived as an advertising opportunity for CatholicCounselors.com, a Catholic telephone counseling practice. Although disclaimers made it clear that the whole piece was created and distributed by CatholicCounselors.com, the piece was designed to look like a general mental health publication that incidentally explained and detailed the organization’s services without making the audience feel as though they were being preached at.

I created original illustrations, photography, and ads for the publication, which I also laid out over the course of 24 pages. The magazine was a big hit and will look perfect when distributed at major conferences.

ILLUSTRATION Paul and His Friends Written by Rebekah McLeod Hutto, ‘Paul and His Friends’ is a children’s book which teaches about the beauty of friendship through the example of Saint Paul and his relationships with the figures of early Christianity. I was commissioned by Paraclete Press, the book’s publisher, to illustrate it.

Early in the development, I proposed that the book avoid the “old white men with beards” trend seen in so many children’s Bible stories, and instead embrace an anthropomorphic style seen in secular children’s stories like ‘Little Bear’ or Disney’s ‘Robin Hood’. This style also allowed us to cushion the impact of the heavy themes in the story, like persecution and death.

ILLUSTRATION Unworried Unworried is a self-help guide for Catholic adults on coping with anxiety in daily life. Because the book deals with many complex themes - including principles from neuroscience and social psychology - I was commissioned by Our Sunday Visitor, the book’s publisher, to create 14 illustrations aimed at bringing greater clarity to the text.

Inspired by both Rorschach ink blot tests and the block print Catechism illustrations familiar to much of the book’s audience, I designed the artwork with an inspiring and vaguely mystical aesthetic in mind. Each illustration was built so that, even when a reader became too stressed to recall the name of a certain exercise or lesson from the book, they could remember with clarity the illustration which accompanied it.

ILLUSTRATION American Icon Art Competition Every year the Sausalito Art Festival’s American Icon Art Competition asks artists throughout the world to submit their interpretation of iconic American imagery. For the 2018 theme ‘Americans at Work,’ I paid homage to the original icons of the American workers: the legendary figures told about in stories by the workers themselves.

The final art piece is actually a combination of four 11x17 prints, each of which can be organized in any order.

The pieces feature: Paul Bunyan, who felled the northern forests with his ax; John Henry, who worked the railroads and ultimately gave his life for the rights of his fellow workers; Molly Pitcher, who defied the sexist expectations of the American Revolution to take her place on the cannon line; and Johnny Appleseed, whose work paved the way for farmers for ages to come.

Each figure is seen using their respective labors to form a version of the American flag, and this motif is continued and expanded upon when the pieces are combined into a single unit.

ILLUSTRATION D23 Design Expo 2015 To mark the 60th birthday of the Disneyland Resort, D23 - the official fan club of the Walt Disney Company launched a major art competition.

Artists from all over the country were encouraged to submit inventive re-designs of the Disneyland Resort's iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle.

My art anthropomorphized and mechanized the castle into a kind of friendly giant. This was symbolic of the gigantic Walt Disney Company itself. The giant was also pictured handing a balloon to a small child. This represented the ways in which the massive company works to make individual and personal dreams come true on a daily basis.

I was awarded the status of finalist/runner-up in the landmark Disney competition. My artwork was subsequently featured at the D23 Design Expo Challenge in Anaheim, CA.

ILLUSTRATION Likable Art’s Created Book Inspired by the first five words of the Bible - “In the beginning, God created” the Created book brought together the foremost Catholic creatives to share their own five words that inspire their work. Contributors included painters, filmmakers, actors, pastors, authors, professors, and architects.

I was invited to write an essay on the impostor syndrome common in the artistic experience, as well as to design its accompanying artwork.

Set up as a strange and avant-garde Nativity scene, the work depicts artists of many crafts and periods - as well as the symbols of those same artists approaching the birth of the Christ Child.

This is to signify that, whatever a creative’s talent, he or she still belongs.

The artwork was published alongside my essay, “Don’t Worry - You Belong Here” in Likable Art’s “Created Book.”