Branding & Marketing
Rocknasium
While working at the Rocknasium in Davis, CA during college, I had the chance to produce a whole variety of graphic work for them. They’re one of the oldest climbing gyms in the country (est. 1992!), and the vibe is old-school, funky, and community-oriented. Throughout the year, they host kids camps, climbing competitions, weekly potlucks, film festivals, etc., all of which needed posters, ads, and apparel.
The sampling of work below shows a bit of the range needed to handle all aspects of their graphic needs.
After 20+ years with a male climber in their logo, I decided it was high time for a variation with a female climber. I stayed true to the early-90s style of the original figure. Their long-established roots are what make this gym such a beloved community, so I wanted this to feel like a natural extension of the brand, not a departure.
The gym now uses both logo versions interchangeably.
The summer camps had a different theme each year, and to appeal to the kids, I usually chose an illustrated, colorful style. These are a couple of the 18”x24” posters I made for different summers, and then I would also create ads of varying sizes to run in local papers or to be used as handouts.
One of the climbing competition shirts I designed was for “Crankin’ - Extra Strength.” An odd theme, but one that the gym members loved. This illustration was based on the head route setter’s mega-strong forearm. Eight years later, I still see people wearing this shirt in the gym!
An example of one of the kids' summer camp t-shirts. To keep costs down, these designs were never more than 3 colors, and the main t-shirt color couldn’t be the same in back-to-back years, so there were always some interesting constraints to work around.