MAN + RIVER CONCEPT MERCHANDISE

This project started as a design proposal for a local central Texas content creator Man + River that specializes in dive videos and “treasure hunting.” The brief published stated that “the designs are for a fun, quirky YouTube channel, so [we’re] aiming for fun, quirky art styles!” There was no note of how many designs and for what types of merch they would be for, so I decided to come up with 3 unique concepts that would work in any format.

 
 
 
 
 

As a longtime viewer of Man + River, I was familiar with their overall ‘feel’ and style. They specialize in high quality production, but don’t take themselves terribly seriously – my designs needed to reflect that, so I began with a set of 3 mood boards inspired by Man + River’s videos.  One request in the brief was that the designs be illustrated - be it through software such as Procreate or Illustrator, so I began my designs as digital sketches right off the bat. I wanted to keep everything in the same program until final details and mockups to keep the process streamlined.

 
 

Bubble illustration mood board. Inspiration taken from Man + River’s existing media. I wanted this design to be light hearted and played with the idea of being underwater.

Fins design mood board. A identifiable and essential piece of equipment for divers and snorkelers alike, this idea was designed for the more “serious” viewers that would be more interested in understated or simple iconography instead of more busy and cartoonish illustrations.

The Treasure Pile design was inspired by Man + River’s calling of his finds “treasure”. He frequently finds phones, gopros, and sunglasses in addition to change and other valuables. I wanted this design to be more “fun” and vibrant than the others.

 
 

The initial challenge was creating a scalable design that would work as a shirt, hat, or sticker. The designs needed to contain some element of the existing branding while still being completely unique from one another. My previous experience had been mostly limited traditional art mediums so for this project, I had to learn how to use and implement a digital one. However intuitive, the software proved more challenging to master than initially anticipated. Despite my struggles however I found the application to be quite useful once I had adapted to its interface and the platform.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Given the criteria from the brief (“fun, quirky designs”), I used the opportunity to experiment with several design styles. I decided on a more cartoonish style for two of the illustrations, and one more similar to current popular logo styles in order to appeal to a wider audience. The designs were flushed out and presented to potential consumers for review before pitching the concepts to Man + River.

As of September 2020, no designs have been selected for production.

 
 
 
 
 

*I am in no way affiliated with Man+River, this is not official merchandise and is merely a case study. This project may use copyrighted content without express permission of the copyright holder. This project is not for commercial or monetary gain, but personal research and education. Please do not copy, use, or publish any content relating to this application.