The more you walk down the worn path of art, the more you realize that what’s required of you often goes beyond whatever discipline you’ve elected to pursue. The most successful working artists are their own marketers, social media managers, graphic designers, web developers, business managers, and so much more, in addition to being excellent at their craft.

For me, as someone managing my own art trajectory, acting as the Founding Director of Photo Flood Saint Louis, and as a small business owner, I’ve worn a lot of hats. One of the roles that I’ve assumed increasingly, and rather enjoyed, is that of (an incredibly amateur) Graphic Designer. This post is to show off some of my favorite designs created over the years.

LOGOS

1. Jason Gray Photography

My current photography business logo was created to include both the organization that I’ve created (Photo Flood Saint Louis) and my passion documenting the city of St. Louis. If I am being honest, it is a bit busy, but it is also affective at communicating what I want/need it to.

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2. Photo Flood Saint Louis

With the Photo Flood Saint Louis logo, I wanted something simple yet attention-grabbing. The circular design also translates well to stickers (we’ve produced full color and white vinyl variations), and to social media. Over time and with familiarity, St. Louisans have learned to recognize what the icon represents, which I think is more powerful than if the logo was simply the name of the organization done in a fun font. In terms of its meaning, the waves represent the Mississippi River responsible for the city’s growth, St. Louis’ French heritage is referenced in the Fleur De Lys, and the black circle is actually meant to be a camera lens barrel (see the alternate logo below).

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 3. KAMP

KAMP is the outdoor and travel boutique that I co-own with my wife. We wanted a logo that would communicate the sense of adventure that we wanted for the store, and I elected to reference both a compass and the four elements in its layout. Incidentally, the intentional misspelling was chosen to declare our operation as different from other camping stores (both in where we are located and in who we wish to service). In addition to this graphic, I created several alternatives:

For our clothing, the original logo was inverted (I prefer black t-shirts to white ones):

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PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

1. Photo Flood Saint Louis

Above are examples of some of the promotional materials that I designed for PFSTL, including a consent form that we had people sign when photographed for Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, a packaging template (for a brief time, we contemplated selling sticker kits at the International Photography Hall of Fame), and the flyer for our first ever event. Below is the flyer for our most recent event (tonight, as I post this!):

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2. KAMP

(Punch card for Self-Defense Classes)

(Recognize the camera from the PFSTL alternate logo? It is my Nikon EM, which I also photographed.)

(Punch card for Hip-Hop Dance classes)