Mattson Creative

360 Performance Driving

Most days, being a graphic designer is fairly mundane. Long hours in front of a computer. Searching for just the right Pantone color. Deciding between 6pt. or 7pt. type. But every once in a while…if you’re lucky…you get to do 360′s in a Lamborghini at 200mph.

A while back I designed the brand identity for 360 Performance Driving Academy, an elite training program where pros teach clients high-speed driving techniques. The logo was a simple, type-based solution, but the applications were very cool.

I designed a metal business card, similar to mine – which is two color (black & white) printed on die-cut aluminum, with embossed elements. I wanted the visual system to convey speed and motion but also the idea of control. So I tried to balance these dynamic, diagonal shapes with very structured type encasements and containers.

The same visual language was applied to a simple website concept, as well as vehicles and merchandise below.






I had the opportunity to actually go to one of the 360 programs, where world-class drifting champion, Samuel Hubinette was instructing. Here are a couple pictures and videos from the academy.




Samuel is known as “The Crazy Swede”. Which makes sense after you watch the videos above. Here is a logo I designed for his brand, Toxic Drift. I loved how this little mascot turned out.

Discovery Kids Rebrand

Discovery Kids started in 1996 as an extension of Discovery Channel but has since grown into an international retail and entertainment brand. We worked closely with Discovery Kids to align its new look with the Discovery Communications parent brand while still reflecting its unique character. The new identity encompasses a new logo, a packaging system, and a comprehensive style guide.

New Client: Mattel

Mattel has been making some of America’s most beloved toys and games for over 50 years. You can imagine how excited we are to collaborate with the world’s largest toy company.

C.S. Lewis College Logo

A little while back I had the opportunity to work on brand identity concepts for C.S. Lewis College, which is currently scheduled to commence instruction in Fall 2012 in Northfield, Massachusetts. I’m a big C.S. Lewis fan so this was a fun project. Ultimately they went with a typographic solution, but here are some studies that I thought were interesting.

I collaborated with my good friend and illustrator, Luke Daab, on these last two concepts. As a reference to Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia books, we incorporated a secret lion into the illustration. Can you see it?

It’s Shark Week!

Shark Week is in full swing on Discovery Channel! Here are some graphics I created for them. You can see these designs and other products in the Discovery Store. Happy Shark Week!