It’s said that drinking good wine with good friends in good company is one of life’s most civilized pleasures. Well.. At least I think they say that. When I started doing graphic design it was for the passion of it and that fact remains true to this day. I never sought to make or design one specific thing or even be labeled as a graphic designer in a professional space. Being able to express myself creatively is all I wanted to do and that’s given me the opportunities I have today.   I was tasked with designing both the front and back of a wine label for del Lago Resort and Casino. This was their first wine and they wanted the product to not only taste good but to also stand out, to be interesting. So first, we had to find the right name for it.       There were quite a few options that they wanted to go with but the ones that caught the most attention were “essenza” and “felt”. I experimented with different silhouettes to see what both of these words could pair well with. I thought hands would work best with “Felt” I mean.. The word speaks for itself. “essenza” I thought some kind of modern symbols and stars as well as maybe an outline of a herb or flower could also pair well with it. After showing the first drafts and thinking about the name, they land on “essenza” and now that we have our name chosen we move forward with the font.. I try a handful of different typefaces and have them choose their top three out of those found in the first image. After I received those I then made a variety of mockups at multiple weights to see what would make the most sense. Considering it’s the name of the wine, I figured that you want it to be simple and elegant but not get lost within the label. You’ll also notice that at this point we aren't sure of the color of the bottle so I added in different label colors that you would normally see in the grocery store, your whites, blacks, and tans, and ran with those. Alright, let's see how they like these! A few weeks go by and after some deliberation and an “a-ha!” moment we do a 180 and change it up completely.... this is gonna be fun! So I was toying around with the typewriter fonts that I found online and one of the team members said “What if we did it like a ransom note.. What if we named it ransom” and then BOOM we’re off to the races. The team loved the idea and I immediately started working on it that day. I think that the typewriter letters would be great but what if I got actual scanned clippings of letters and used those? I started piecing everything together and below is what I came up with .. I tried two variants of the letters to give them options and at the end, they decided on the one on the left. And there you have it.. we have our label.. well.. sort of. With a wine bottle being as tall as it is the label has to match the length of the bottle which means we have our label name but now we have to fill the space. Now because they were partnering with an outside vendor to make the wine, we decided to put both of their logos on there as you’ll see below. We also need the kind of wine it is and they also wanted to add the region and year of the harvest down below that and oh yeah.. My signature was in the bottom corner which was a thrill to be able to do. And just like that we have our front label, I then go on to do the back label and this is where all the texts live with the standard alcohol disclaimer, it also notes where the wine was made, the ABV, and a few other notes that are required for wine.     Thank you to del Lago Resort and Casino for letting me design your first ever bottle of wine. This project was a huge chance for me to showcase what I’ve learned so far and do it in a very professional manner. I’m very proud of the results, with how it came out and that I can add this to my accomplishments. Oh.. The wine tastes great also!

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to come up with another savor event for this quarter and decided to go with a real WESTERN party. Savor got a southern country facelift and was turned into the one and only Savor Saloon. We brought back live music in this space for the night featuring a local country band, Junkyard Heights. We haven’t had that in quite some time so it’s nice to be able to bring back entertainment to the gaming floor especially when it’s a band of this size! Local Country Band Playing Event The shirts I designed came in amazing quality. You can’t see it but the cowboy on the back and the company logo on the sleeve made the shirt. Merch design is something I love, it’s something that I look for as soon as I get into the venue of a show. I think there’s serious value to putting in real effort to a band or company’s merchandise. As an ex-supreme reseller and hypebeast, a design for your merch line should not be considered a low-level priority. If your t-shirt is memorable, eye-catching, and unique the interest you gain off the initial investment will only grow over time. Savor Saloon Shirts We also had live games for our guests to play such as corn hole and beer pong. We had swag giveaways featuring items you would find throughout the old Western era such as cowboy hats, fake mustaches, and handkerchiefs. It’s my hope that every one that came out had a good time because I know I did. Especially when I hosted our great yeeeehawwwww contest where a lucky winner went home with $1,500. As someone who, despite working in entertainment, doesn’t get on the mic often, it was a great experience to be the one to MC for the night. Savor Saloon Setup

I was given the opportunity to plan and execute an end-of-summer party for our guests and I couldn’t be happier with the result. Attendance Before Peak We had a DJ, Photo Booth, live games, costume contest and so much more. We were even able to book the legendary Janice Robinson! It was great to build something that was just an idea into an enjoyable experience. We got great feedback from everyone that attended and had over 1,000 people RSVP on our Facebook event. Summer Jam Shirt with Artist Signature This party was a way for our guests to experience the 90s together and send off summer 2022 with others. I wanted to keep the color and texture of this event bright but not overwhelming. Utilizing blues and purples gives the synthwave aesthetic from the era and still keeps the design modern. I also brought a 35mm camera to the party to help celebrate the technology of the time. Janice Robinson The vibe was on point the whole night. There were a few hiccups that come with every first-time event but that didn’t get any of us down. We were able to keep the energy high between the music, live games, and giveaways. Safe to say we ended summer with a bang. On to the next!