Creative Musing
Square Knot
Product
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Square Knot
Fun little exercise this morning in Adobe Illustrator.
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Square Knot is available for purchase. Check out more graphic tee’s on my Cotton Bureau profile page. All Cotton Bureau apparel comes in a variety of clothing types, styles, fits, sizes, materials, and colors.
Unite & Vote – Poster
Product
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Unite & Vote – Poster
In addition to offering strategic design communication solutions for my clients, I also create illustrations, design posters, and sell them on my shop page. A poster from my collection is currently en route to a fortunate recipient. If you're seeking distinctive illustrative posters to adorn your empty walls, explore my shop page. Every poster is carefully curated, illustrated, and designed by me, then printed locally at Mercury Head Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Each piece is meticulously printed on 100% cotton rag fine art paper using archival inks for lasting quality.
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Unite & Vote poster is available for purchase in my shop. Explore more posters in my shop.
Become – Brand Strategy & Brand Identity
Phase I: Understand + Discovery
Phase II: Ideate + Define + Develop
Phase III: Execute + Deliver
Client Project
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Become – Brand Strategy & Brand Identity
Become engaged us to develop its brand foundation, including research, naming, messaging, and visual identity. With a mission to connect individuals, schools, and businesses through data-driven insights, the platform needed a brand that could communicate both clarity and purpose. I gathered a team of independent collaborators and partnered with stakeholders to develop and craft a complete brand design system across messaging, naming, and visual identity.
Leading my team through the planning, development, and design of the Become brand identity, I guided a comprehensive process that distilled insights from audience and stakeholder interviews to establish the foundation of the brand. This foundation defined the brand’s tone, voice, and visual direction. As the work progressed, additional research, journey mapping, exploration, brand architecture, and iterative design refined the system into a simple, meaningful, and approachable brand. The process culminated in a comprehensive set of brand guidelines.
The ‘Become’ wordmark was developed as a bespoke display typeface. Its rounded letterforms and considered spacing were intentionally designed to convey approachability and create a clean, open visual rhythm. Additionally, the ‘m’—with its stem gently nudging the ‘e’—introduces a quiet gesture of encouragement and momentum.
This simple alteration embodies the concept of 'Become' as a companion throughout one's professional journey. Additionally, this modification transforms the tense of the word from future to present, implying that individuals can embrace their current selves or evolve into something new.
“MKN Design served as a patient and adept navigator during our brand discovery expedition. His guidance enabled us to gain profound insights into our company's identity. Although the outcome was unexpected, it perfectly aligned with our aspirations. None of this would have happened without him and for that, we are very grateful.”
Ryan Montgomery
Chief Executive Officer, Union Media
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Become
Educational Tech & Test Preparation -
+ Brand Advisor
+ Brand Strategy
+ Concept Development
+ Creative Assets
+ Creative Strategy
+ Design Direction
+ Naming
+ Qualitative Research
+ Visual Identity -
MKN Design Team:
+ Michael Nÿkamp, Design Director & Strategist
+ Rob Monacelli, Strategist
+ Nate Netti, Brand Copywriter
Union Media Stakeholders:
+ Ryan Montgomery, Chief Executive Officer
+ Andrea Montgomery, Managing Editor
+ David Schofield, Designer
Fast Company – Portraits
Client Project
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Fast Company – Portraits
Fast Company commissioned me to create a series of illustrative portraits for its Define Your Purpose Special Edition. The work focused on capturing each subject’s character and perspective through a restrained, graphic style that aligned with the magazine’s bold editorial voice.
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Fast Company
Business Media & Publishing -
+ Design Direction
+ Illustration
+ Sketching & Ideation
+ Qualitative Research -
MKN Design Team:
+ Michael Nÿkamp, Design DirectorFast Company Stakeholder:
+ Chelsea Schiff, Associate Art Director -
Recycle & Die
Creative Musing
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Recycle & Die
An illustrative exploration reveals the deceptive narrative sold to us by plastic companies: the idea that recycling will effectively benefit our planet. However, this notion masks a troubling reality—it serves as a ploy to perpetuate the cycle of production and pollution, ultimately exacerbating our planet.
Become Mark Exploration
Client Project
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Become Mark Exploration
I was hired by Become to develop their brand messaging framework and new identity. With the first phase completed we had language that helped create these concept marks. While the new identity has not launched, I wanted to share these initial concept explorations—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Not all of these explorations were shown to the client, but they all played a crucial part in shaping the final brand identity.
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Coldbreak
Portable Draft Beverage Systems -
+ Brand Advisor
+ Concept Development
+ Creative Strategy
+ Design Direction
+ Qualitative Research
+ Visual Identity -
MKN Design Team:
+ Michael Nÿkamp, Design Director & Strategist
+ Rob Monacelli, Strategist
+ Nate Netti, Brand Copywriter
Union Media Stakeholders:
+ Ryan Montgomery, Chief Executive Officer
+ Andrea Montgomery, Managing Editor
+ David Schofield, Designer -
→ View the completed Become Identity.
Square Bear
Creative Musing
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Square Bear
Blanking staring off into space.
Fulton Street Farmers Market – Poster
Product
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Fulton Street Farmers Market – Poster
An illustration I have been working on the last few weeks is finally finished. Fresh fruit, friendly farmers, and artists provide a diverse, inclusive, vital, and vibrant community marketplace that offers high-quality, locally grown, farm-fresh products.
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Fulton Street Famers Market poster is available for purchase in my shop. Explore more posters in my shop.
Death Snail
Creative Musing
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Death Snail
The notorious spinning lollipop of death adorning the rear of a delightful snail. Officially known as the wait cursor, Mac users affectionately dub it by these fitting descriptors: Spinning wheel , spinning beachball and Spinning rainbow.
One Banana
Product
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One Banana
A simple illustration utilizing light and shadow.
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One Banana graphic tee is available for purchase. Check out more graphic tees on my Cotton Bureau profile page. All Cotton Bureau apparel comes in a variety of clothing types, styles, fits, sizes, materials, and colors.
USPS Mail Truck
Creative Musing
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USPS Mail Truck
I have been enthralled by the boxy style of the new USPS mail trucks. Such a cool design should warrant a refreshed brand… right? To implement my take on a revitalized brand, I created technical illustration views of the truck and integrated the mock brand to illustrate the redesign visually.
Maggie Bandstra Studio – Brand Identity
Client Project
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Maggie Bandstra Studio – Brand Identity
Maggie is a versatile artist and educator who seamlessly transitions between painting and crafting clay sculptures and pottery. Her creative endeavors are unified by a captivating exploration of themes such as nature, healing, and human connection.
The organic shapes within her logo are reflective of the forms recurrent in both her paintings and pottery creations. While her identity remains neutral, Maggie's vibrant personality permeates her work, ensuring that her art takes center stage. During the exploration phase, it became evident that Maggie required multiple logo marks to accommodate diverse applications across her artwork and to maintain a professional presence across various stamped, printed and digital platforms.
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Maggie Bandstra Stuido
Independent Artist & Educator -
+ Brand Advisor
+ Concept Development
+ Creative Strategy
+ Design Direction
+ Qualitative Research
+ Visual Identity -
MKN Design Team:
+ Michael Nÿkamp, Design DirectorMaggie Bandstra Studio Stakeholder:
+ Maggie Bandstra, Owner, Artist & Educator
Portrait Style Evolution
Product
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Portrait Style Evolution
These portraits illustrations started as a self-initiated project in 2013 as a stratagem, but also to expanded my skill as an illustrator.
The project began with drawing a few of my Facebook friends and turned into a series of paid client projects for the CanUX Conference, Herman Miller, Fast Company, and IxDA. This personal initiative were simple portrait line studies and evolved to a refined style without compromising its minimalist feel. Portraits from top to bottom: Sam Bleckley, Steve Frykholm, and Hamad Al Zemami.
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Looking for a custom illustrated portrait of yourself or a group? Reach out via email for further information and details.
Merrell Footwear – Product Illustrations
Client Project
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Merrell Footwear – Product Illustrations
I collaborated with Cush Design to create detailed illustrations of sixteen Merrell shoes, showcasing six distinct views for each: three-quarter, top, inside side, outside side, front, and back (a total of 96 illustration. The illustrations required precise detail, achieved through a combination of photographic references and direct observation of the physical shoes, ensuring accuracy in depicting each view.
So, I’m sure you’re asking why do footwear brands do this? It’s to visually document their unique footwear designs, allowing them to legally protect their creations, safeguarding their intellectual property and maintaining competitiveness in the market.
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Merrell Footware via Cushdesign, Inc
Outdoor & Adventure Gear -
+ Illustration
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MKN Design Team:
+ Michael Nÿkamp, Illustrator
Cushdesign Stakeholder:
+ Matthew Cushman, CEO
Vessel
Creative Musing
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Vessel
An elegant combination mark for a memorial urns business. The mark is paired with the typeface Niagara designed by Tobias Frere-Jones from Frere-Jones Type.
Jabber
Creative Musing
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Jabber
Matching the visual essence of a word into a wordmark. The typeface that I used is Proxima Nova designed by Mark Simonson from Mark Simonson Studio.
Swans Reflection
Creative Musing
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Swan Reflection
Black and white swans on the water.
Salad Bowl
Creative Musing
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Salad Bowl
A medley of fresh greens and protein.
The Well – Brand Identity
Client Project
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The Well – Brand Identity
The Well Initiative is a place of gathering, conversation, and community. Formed by a group of fellow believers who felt an urgency and awareness of the racial disparities in our country and the desire to better love to our neighbors and community.
Like the priest and the Levite who pass by on the other side of the road to avoid the man who lies dying (Luke 10), we also have ignored the historic as well as present suffering of those around us, often in the context of race. The Well comes together across generations, political lines, and various backgrounds to humbly listen, learn, and engage with open hearts and minds.
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The Well
Seymour CRC -
+ Brand Advisor
+ Concept Development
+ Design Direction
+ Qualitative Research
+ Visual Identity -
MKN Design Team:
+ Michael Nÿkamp, Design DirectorSeymour Stakeholders:
+ Brian White
+ Brent Beams
+ Rachelle Bosma
+ Sara White