I have recently done branding and graphic design work on a contractual basis for flat fees. One of the companies I worked with was Kuykendall Academy, owned and operated by Shawn Kuykendall. This project was very personal for me as Shawn was a longtime friend and I wanted to help him get his company off the ground by designing his brand.
We went through several design sessions where we decided what our influences were. We drew upon the older 1950’s paneled soccer ball and several of its variants of that ball, as our base.
From there, we refined the feel that Shawn desired by cuing off of more modern designs of the same panel-styled ball. Also we had to avoid the pitfalls of making a “classically cheesy” logo design that did not reflect the modern look Shawn wanted.
After numerous prototypes, we finally arrived at the final rendition and Shawn immediately took to it when he saw it. It showed his love of the Carolina blue color scheme and the sleek edgy look he wanted, while reflecting the traditions of the game.
Shawn and I were very pleased with results when the project was completed. The look captured the modern approach to the game that Shawn wanted to evoke in the design.
Unfortunately, not long after this original design work was completed, Shawn was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of thymic cancer. As a result, his friends and family set up the Kuykenstrong Foundation to help him during his battle with cancer.
Kuykenstrong Foundation:
Shawn passed away within a year and a memorial service was organized in his honor at our local church. For that service, I was called upon to make a simple re-design of my initial work that had identified Shawn in his professional and personal circles.
Black Kuykenstrong wristbands were handed out at the memorial service. There were over eight hundred wristbands provided; none were left at the end of the ceremony.
In memory of our fallen friend, I also designed jerseys for our church co-ed soccer team to wear. This is the layout that was decided upon for our team uniform, reflecting the uniforms created by Shawn for Kuykendall Academy.
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