COCOS 2DX
After creating the identity for COCOS 2D, the guys over at COCOS 2DX fancied their very own bespoke version of the logo. And as 2DX is more android focused, it seemed only fitting to give the coconut a more robotic feel. I love COCOS!
Modern War Live
This was my first project with Triniti Interactive and boy was it a fun one! Modern War Live is an MMO for the iPhone and I was tasked with creating the brand and main user interface. The brand was so much fun to work on as I absolutely love this genre and creating a hardcore weapon based logo was just too much fun!
Happily Ever After
This was a lovely branding project for Honeyslug's beautiful new children's app, Happily Ever After. The app is set in a fairy tale world alongside all the most famous fairytale characters you can think of. The app is just beautiful so the brand needed that extra illustrated touch to make it pop. Great fun!
Haypi Dragons
This was my 3rd project with Haypi over in China, and yet again, it was ace! This time around they wanted me as the core concept artist to flesh out the style and overall look and feel of Haypi Dragons. The main gameplay mechanic of this game is similar to Worms in many ways, but is backed up with a giant MMO world and play structure. Its fantastically addictive! The guys at Haypi needed me to create the main characters, environment styling, animations, branding, UI styling and core menus. From here they took the project in house and expanded it into the monster game that it is. I HIGHLY recommend a play as its got me hooked! Also, you can see all the UI and menu work over in the design section.
Cascadia Games
This was SUCH a wonderful project! I love illustrating characters, but this grizzly bear character for Cascadia has to be one of my all times faves! Cascadia Games have quite a meaning behind their name, so there was a lot to accomplish within the brands feel, it was a fantastic challenge and one that both the client and his fan base were really happy with! You can see more of this project in the design and illustration sections.
Evertales
This was yet another fab iPhone project from Thunder Game Works! This time I was tasked with conceptualising the brand, UI and icon design for the all new 3D hack’n’slash epic, Evertales! The logo was the first part of the project and that was a joy to work on. I wanted this to really grasp at the pre-Christian, Pagan feel, with a large powerful tree, deep routes and a generally ethereal look. I love stuff like this so I really got my teeth into the brand! With the scene set I got to work on the UI elements, continuing the same feel and introducing yet more texture. Awesome project! What also helps is that the game is bloomin marvellous too, so go grab a copy!
Sport GFX
This was a great little branding project for a forum dedicated to the world of sports related graphics. The logo had to look very graphically intense due to the subject matter and had to feel just like something you'd see in a sports related advert or promotion...my kinda logo :)
Gamers Talk
This was a killer little branding project for Gamers Talk, a full on hardcore gamers forum! The logo obviously had to feel very games related (something I may have experience with ;) and look like something that the forum members could connect with instinctively.
Digital Systems Design
This was an ace little project for Digital Systems Design, the company that supplied my latest arcade monitor! When they came to deliver my monitor we got talking and as quite often happens, I ended up giving them a re-brand! In exchange, I got my lovely new CGA arcade monitor and something else rather exciting that will be appearing in my blog very, very soon! These guys are the absolute ultimate resource for arcade related equipment. They make dedicated gaming devices, graphics converters, monitors, you name it! They also import, refurbish and sell candy cabs :) Epic! Take a look: http://bit.ly/op70Ed
ISOTX
ISOTX have got some seriously kick ass war games to their name, and when they got in touch requesting an all new brand and website, I couldn’t wait to tackle the project! The brand had to be clean, slick and futuristic, to tie into the general feel that their games portray. This was great as it’s a direction I particularly love...as if you hadn’t already guessed! We soon settled on the new brand design and set to work rolling out its influences into the new site. Great fun. Check out ISOTX’s games, they come HIGHLY recommended!!
Accidental Fish
Accidental Fish, what a killer name and project! As we all know, creating characters is what I love most, and when a blooming good brief lands on my desk, giving me some rather lovely creative freedom, I enjoy it all the more! I was given the name and a request to go crazy. Accidental Fish wanted my unadulterated creativity. To take their name and visualise it into something fun, playful and painfully wacky...so I did! While being a very literal interpretation of the name, I wanted the character to be as cute as he was goofy, so with his wonky eye’s, and a battered body he still holds a cute persona. Great fun! Accidental Fish make apps for the iPhone and iPad, so why not pop over for a quick look!
Caffè Tempo
Few of you know that alongside video games and nature, my other HUGE passion is coffee! I’m truly obsessed with the stuff! Organic, fair-trade, where the bean is harvested, when its brewed and how its ground is sooooooooo important to me. So when a good friend of mine (who happens to make THE best espresso ever!) announced he was starting up a mobile coffee company, it was obvious who was doing the brand and site! Needless to say, Caffe Tempo is a superb little mobile coffee company and one that deserved a slick brand and a warm & welcoming site! The brand had to encapsulate all that makes it special, warmth, quality and finesse. So with this in my head and one of their espressos in my hand, I was boosted and ready to go! The brand came together very naturally, and we soon settled on the finished design. Warm tones and smooth curls all came together to give that feeling of a luxurious cup of wonderful coffee! With this polished up, we set to work on the site.
Game Doctors
With the founders being rather clever chaps and being qualified doctors, it was blindingly obvious that this had to be portrayed through the brand, as let's face it, it was a great angle that few others could really use. This was going to be fun! It was settled on that the double helix would form the core of the brand symbology and I set to work on creating a lively, fun and playful helix inspired creation. The brand came together very, very naturally, and we had soon settled on the final design and were geared up ready for the website. Now, as the Game Doctors have got a rather beautiful and rather awesome game out already, Zombie Smash, we had plenty of material to work with to flesh out the new design. All in all, the brand and site came together organically, and we all had a great time bringing the vision to life. If you haven’t indulged in a little zombie smashing I suggest making your way over to the site and grabbing a copy of the game. Its ace!
Confetti Special Effects
Confetti Special Effects is a think-tank for advanced real-time graphics research for the video game and movie industry and they’ve worked on lots of AAA titles due to their sheer awesomeness! The brand obviously needed establishing first, so the challenging task at hand was to create a logo that represented the essence of a particle system...not an easy task! After quite a lot of groundwork playing around with shapes, objects and all sorts of visual effects to create a symbol, I finally landed on the idea of an ever cycling loop of colour. After a few iterations on this idea I soon struck gold! The guys loved the new brand and we were set and ready for the site!
Cocos 2D
Creating the brand for Cocos 2D was great fun and it was great to give something back to the company that gives so much to the industry! The brand for Cocos had never really been defined before, so helping them create something solid, memorable and definite was a total pleasure!
Tribe Wars
As Aranim’s artwork is ALWAYS incredible, I couldn’t wait get my hands on the source assets! As always, they didn’t disappoint, truly superb! I soon set to work on their concept brand to set the tone for the game. I wanted to inject some real movement, history and action into the brand, to really create an epic feel that could transcend into the game UI. The final brand was welcomed with open arms and we were ready to start work on the UI. This part was great! My aim was to give the design a worn, tattered and desert like feel, to marry up with the story. And as most people know, I love texture, grit and complex designs, so this was a project just begging for a visual feast. The guys at Aranim were over the moon with the final result and set to work adapting it for the Arabic version. Fantastic project!
Dead Frontier
As I’d been wanting to play with a zombie themed project for what seems like forever, I threw a lot of time at this baby. We started out working on the brand, and it was obvious from the outset that this had to be heavily influenced by all the blood thirsty zombie flicks from the past couple of decades. So I set to work doing my usual research, collating ideas and references. With everything in hand I set to work on the logo. I decided to bring in 3 core elements to make this reek of zombies. The ragged font effect, a classic zombie arm tearing up from the ground and then the symbolic opposite of the zombie, the crucifix. I’m not normally keen on so many elements to one logo, but in this case it just seemed to work. Needless to say, it went down well :)
Project Galaxia
This was an epic project! Branding and interface design for a new futuristic iPhone SciFi MMORPG! As most of you know, I love sci-fi so this was going to rock!! The goal was to create that classic futuristic yet battered and aged effect, something to show that this wasn’t ‘shiny scifi’ but gritty scifi! So there were lots of 45 degree angles, glowing lights, aged metals, you name it...I was in heaven!
IGM – Indie Game Magazine
After running through all of IGM’s requirements, it became clear very quickly what direction to take and what content had to be pushed to the forefront, so I set to work with a very clear view of what needed to be created. Firstly, IGM needed a new brand, something to take it to a new level, something more games focused and at the same time serious and credible, again, a great challenge! With the brand sorted it was time to set to work at making IGM feel like the one and only source for all things Indie related. The new design presents the Indie news in much more of a professional manner. The guys at IGM were thrilled with the new design as was I!
The Joystick Generals
It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to start my own games company, and the wonderful little device that is the iPhone has made this dream possible. Myself and Chris Wilson, owner of www.abitofcode.com decided to join forces and fulfil a dream that we had both shared for so long! But creating a brand, identity and website to represent our dream was no easy task! We knew that the brand and site had to be 2D, as we both LOVE 2D graphics, and plan to only ever create 2D games. We also know that we LOVE retro gaming. So, putting those two things together, we soon realised what the two main influential factors had to be. Surprisingly, the brand came together really quickly and we settled on the look within a couple of iterations. The site then flowed on pretty naturally and we soon had a full identity sat before us! We were overjoyed! There will be a lot more to come from the Joystick Generals, so keep your eyes peeled! I hope the world enjoys our little venture as much as we do.
Off Road Velociraptor Safari HD
Yey, I was overjoyed to find out that Velociraptor Safari was going to be brought to the consoles, so when the guys at Blurst enquired about the site and re-branding, I was rather excited! The brief for this project was simple and to the point, make a single page microsite and new brand that shows off Velociraptor Safari in all its glory...simple!
Haypi Kingdom
Haypi Kingdom is a new iPhone MMORPG set in bygone times, so when I was invited to create the brand and website, I knew this was going to my cup of tea! I love oldie worldly typefaces and drew lots of inspiration from movies like Lord of the Rings and Gladiator, so once I had my inspiration sorted, I was well on my way!!
Thumb Arcade
Say hello to Thumb Arcade, a new and exciting mobile games developer! This project required some rather fun illustration, branding and site design! The brief was simple, create a bright, exciting and somewhat bonkers new brand and site design for this fresh new mobile games development company. Just the kind of brief I love. And when they said they wanted all of it to be cartoon illustrated, my eyes lit up!
Candlelight Interactive
This was such a nice project to work on. I was tasked with creating the brand for a new company called Candlelight Interactive, who's aim is to promote scientific thinking through the use of interactive technology, which essentially translates to some seriously kick ass e-learning. Sounds complex doesn't it, but the vision was such a nice idea, so creating the brand was great fun! The brand had to be ultra versatile too, so I had to create versions of this brand embossed into stone, floating in environments and printed on wood, great fun indeed!
Trenches
This was one of the most fun projects I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of. Trenches was a gargantuan and totally awesome project! I was tasked with creating everything for this iPhone game from the ground up, game art, branding, interface design, HUD design, you name it, the whole shebang...I don't think I could have asked for a cooler project if I tried! Trenches is a tactical WW1 trench warfare game, where you can control endless amounts of troops in an attrition style of play, with the sole goal of taking over the enemies trenches. Take a peek at the design and illustration section for more on this project. This was way too much fun :)
Football Media
This was another football related project that I did recently for Football Media. The brief was pretty cool as they wanted an old school badge design for the logo! I'd always fancied creating something like this, so it was a nice chance to try my hand. A fun job overall!
Voodoo Controllers
This project was nothing short of brilliant! When the guys at Voodoo Controllers got in touch and outlined the project, I was very, very excited! Being a new company they needed a new brand, character design, site design, packaging design, 3D prototyping and banner ads...the whole shebang! I knew immediately that this was going to be ace. Everything seemed to flow really naturally too, the brand and character came together really quickly and then the rest of the elements just slotted into place. It was great to work on an e-commerce site that was a little edgy and needed to have more punch than your run of the mill online store. You can take a look at the rest of the work in the other sections of the site. So if you’re in need of a kick ass modded controller, give these guys a shout, they’ve got everything covered!
Stone Skipper
Stone Skipper was my first full iPhone project, including the in game art, branding, interface design and web site design, awesome! The brief was to create two characters, a young mischievous boy and his cheeky sidekick dog. The pair are always getting into trouble and in this outing they are out stone skipping! To go along with this they needed a world within which to live, so there are LOADS of levels set in different places around the globe. The whole project was a joy to work on and loved every minute! If you fancy a quick pick up and play game, give it a try, its great!
Marvelous World
This was a very interesting little project, as it initially started out as purely a piece of concept art to help the author of the Marvelous World books to visualise a concept that he had in his mind. The 3D medallion was provided to me by the client, and my task was to visualise his vision for the text treatment. By the time the concept art was complete, he was that happy with it, he chose to run with it as is and it is due to adorn the cover of his next book!
Soccerlens
As you all know, games, gaming and games sites are what I spend the core of my time on, so now and again it’s nice to play with something a little different (not too often though as my obsession for games hasn’t waned once in the past 20+ years ;), so when the guys at Soccerlens got in touch I thought it might be fun! They required a new brand and full site design.
Time Donkey
This was another blast of a branding project for the guys over at Blurst, only this time, it was for their crazily entitled Time Donkey...awesome! The brief, as expected, was to make the brand reflect the game's style and back story, so in this case using characterful donkey influences and futuristic metallic effects...what fun!
Thunder Game Works
The solution had to be epic, bold and in your face, and with a totally blank canvas, this was going to be fun! After a number of meetings with the owner we nailed down the direction and started working. I wanted to the design to have an epic and movie like appearance to show that TGW was more than just an average flight by night iPhone developer, as their mission is to source the best people from around the world to create the best games around, no expense spared. There will be a lot more to show from TGW very soon, as I was lucky enough to be selected as their official artist for their very first title, Trenches! Trust me when I tell you, Trenches is shaping up to be something VERY special!
Pocket Monkey Games
I love creating illustrated brands, and when Pocket Monkey Games got in touch I could see potential written all over the brief!!! Bizarrely enough, I'd been wanting to create a cartoon monkey for a while (no idea why, I'm just a tad strange I guess) so when this came along I thought to myself 'perfect opportunity!', and subsequently went away and started sketching. This was a great fun brand to create and one that I am really, really pleased with!!!
Touch KO
Man this was awesome! This project encompassed not only the branding of this kick ass iPhone game, but also the HUD design, interface and overall look and feel! Creating the brand was so much fun, as the premise of the game is a rags to riches boxing story played along to a killer hip hop soundtrack, so the brand had to reflect this in every way. Gritty, texture rich and very memorable.
Playback
This was a cool little icon/branding project for a new application from Yazsoft that allows you to stream content from your Mac to your PS3 or X360! The icon, which essentially is the brand had to be slick, rich and very contemporary to fit in with the feel of both the PS3, X360 and of course the Mac!
Blush
Branding Blush was one of the most natural processes I have ever been through! As soon as I laid my hands on the beta before launch I knew immediately how this brand was going to look! It uses light effects and organic curves to portray the feel and essence of the game. I loved this one!!! Top game too!
Crane Wars
This was a great little branding project for another one of the cool little Blurst games, 'Crane Wars'. The logo obviously had to communicate a strong feel of the game, so the order of the day here was an industrial work zone feel, using metals, bolts, screws and hazard markings, great fun!!
Fishing Cactus
Ok, so the brief was to create something that was as playful, fun and crazy as it was respectable, a challenge you would initially think, but this came together so naturally! It was so much fun to create and stands as one of my all time favorite characters!
Jetpack Brontosaurus
Awesome, another branding job for Blurst! This time its for the very addictive Jetpack Brontosaurus!! As the title suggests this needed to have some form of jetpack included in the design as well as some of the 'oldy worldy' elements that are portrayed in the game, so the latter part of the name is spread across an old scroll, creating a nice contrast from the metal above.
Black Jacket Studios
As I absolutely love the creative direction of Black Jacket Studios first game, Metal Drift, I was really excited to create a brand that would slot into this feel. The logo had to be slick, futuristic, gamey and also professional. The end outcome is one both the client and I were really happy with!!
Find A Vine
This was a really nice brief, something quite different from my usual stuff. This time it was for a new online service dedicated to finding the perfect wine. My task was to create a brand that was both sophisticated and playful, quite a challenge!
GEN – Green Energy
GEN was the fictitious brand that I created for my feature in .NET Magazine, where myself and two other designers had to create a design for a new energy company. The brief was initially quite dry, 'to create a website for an energy company', well, me being me, I wasn't willing to let that get in my way :) I wanted to put a serious twist on the whole thing and play this from a green energy perspective, playing to today's obsession with going green. GEN was the result. You can see the associated design that went with this in the design section.
Mac Montreal
This was part of a complete project, including both the branding and the site design. Mac à Montréal offer Mac integration and deployment into businesses and homes, so due to the subject, it had to be pretty slick. The main shape of the logo is intended to portray integration, of two things slotting together perfectly, reflecting the services that Mac à Montréal offer.
Nabi Studios
I was really excited to recieve this brief as these are the guys behind Toribash! It was great to give these guys a new and highly polished brand as they needed something more than just the Toribash site to showcase themselves as a company and not just a game, so the brand had to feel as gamey as it did professional.
Nurvex
This was quite a fun brand to work on! Nurvex create a range of web applications for a multitude of needs and needed a new brand to encompass their offerings.
Elektra Media
Elektra Media designs and creates amazing high end e-learing software for all ages and are true specialists within their industry. The company needed a new brand that was both contemporary and very trustworthy, so I opted a dose of helvetica, as lets face it, its safe, classic and always seems to fit a wide variety of briefs. The end result was just right, balancing seriousness with a creative edge.
FI-Faves...
Thunder Game Works
Say hello to Thunder Game Works, a new kick ass iPhone games developer! Thunder Game Works needed not only a new brand and site design, but also a creative partner for their first iPhone title! Awesome!
Cocos 2D
Creating the brand for Cocos 2D was great fun and it was great to give something back to the company that gives so much to the industry!
Twittering
@DamienMcFerran Maybe not to this extent, but I'm sure Nintendo are used to leading the handheld charge...has anyone ever outsold them? more...