Where is home for you? Home for me is in Washington, New Hampshire. It’s a small quiet town that most people even in New Hampshire haven’t heard of. It’s a nice place away from civilization and it’s always good to help you clear your mind from all the distraction that you normally find down in Boston.

What were your childhood dreams? I had so many dreams as a kid. Just like every boy at that age I wanted to be an astronaut. Aside from that I had the idea that I wanted to own my own restaurant one day. And of course I always wanted to be a professional snowboarder.

Describe your perfect day: My perfect day would include good coffee, a little bit of surfing and skating, possibly a good burrito or a bomb pizza, and simply just hanging with the homies.

What do you study, and at which university? I am studying graphic design at the Lesley University College of Art and Design (which use to be the Art Institute of Boston)

The best kept secret in Boston is… This is actually something I’m trying to figure out myself. This is my first year down in the city so I’m still in my exploring stage. If anyone has some good suggestions, send them my way!

In doing graphic design, how have the ideas of what you want to do evolved? My work is always evolving and expanding is directions I never thought would happen. The classes that I’ve been taking have really helped open my mind in new ways and given me a lot of inspiration to pull from any time that I am working on a design, wether it is for a logo, poster, tee shirt, or a batch of pins.

Graphic design is in many ways a statement of identity and advertisement. What is the process you go through when creating a logo for a company with the means to make it appealing, alluring, and unique? It all depends on who the logo is going to, and what kind of name they are trying to make for themselves. Usually I will always start out just writing out their name a few dozen times to get a good feel of what kind of type would work best with their logo, and possibly if I can use part of the type as the logo itself. From there I do a little research into the field I’m getting myself into. Whether that is listening to a bands album on repeat while I sketch, or watch a snowboard teams videos on loop to get the proper vibe for what they need in their logo.

Next I grab some paper and begin to sketch some rough ideas out. I’m not too picky at this stage either because it’s just to help move ideas around. Ideas will hit you at any time and you don’t always have your sketchbook and pens with you. I’ve actually drawn a few logos on napkins while out in the city when an idea just hits me.

After having a more solid direction to go into I scan my sketches into Illustrator and begin to clean up my chicken scratch drawings that I have. This is when everything finally starts to look a little more professional and less like a stack of doodles. Also because the Illustrator sketches are closer to the final piece, I get the chance to see which ideas have potential, and which ones need to be ditched. The kept designs get cleaned up and constantly adjusted until I feel like the final design is there.

At this point I print out a few variations and show them to my friends, whether they are designers and non-designers. I like getting feedback from both because the designs will help me with what is and isn’t working as far as the technical aspects of the design goes and can give me input on how I might want to change something, and the non-designers can simply help by telling me if it’s something they would personally like if they saw it out in the public somewhere.

This gets done a couple more times while also testing out a few color and texture options, although you want to make sure your logo can stand without these additives. After the necessary rounds of critiquing, I finally feel like I have what I need for my client. I send it out and wait to hear back from there. Sometimes it will be perfect and exactly what they are looking for, and sometimes they will change their mind and I’ll have to start from the beginning. But overall, this is the usual process that I would go through when making a logo for someone.

With what types of companies have you worked? Everyone that I have been making logos for recently have either been friends of friends, or local businesses in my area. I have had the luxury of working with a handful of snowboard teams working on their logos and title sequences for their films. Aside from that recent venture, I have made logos for EDM DJ’s, local bakers, independent film makers, clothing companies and a handful of other various local businesses from back home.

What does this work mean to you? Do you have any message you try to convey, or any specific company you like to collaborate with? At the moment I’m just trying to work with as many different people as possible. I love the work that I’ve been getting into but I really don’t want to put a limit on what I can do or who I can work with. I want to work for clothing companies, as well as record labels, and maybe even for a book publisher. Whether I’m making logos, websites, posters or tee shirts, I just want to make sure it is always a company that I can truly get behind and support.

One area of work I want to focus more on and get into is making custom pins. It’s been a hobby for a while but recently I decided to get serious and create a name for myself. I call it Bad Villain Pins. Luckily with this newest million dollar idea, I have had the chance to collaborate with some people I never would’ve imagined before. It’s been a wonderful opportunity and I’m excited for the potential doors that I could open. I’ve already worked with a few idles of mine, as well as one of my favorite music festivals. I’m hoping that this new path with connect me with artists, bands, businesses and every creative person in between.