From the desk of Emily Parker:
“I am so happy to post this right now. It’s been a long road. And I’m so grateful for everyone who has been so supportive along this journey. I can’t thank Blue Barn Design Co. and Bill McJenkin enough for their collaboration on making my dream logo a reality. This is everything I’ve ever wanted. The idea came from struggle, defeat, the emotional and physical pain of trying to do what you love no matter what gets thrown your way. As much as it fueled my drive and gave me power, it brought me back to one of my most tender memories: sitting on a swing in Maine, overlooking the lake, listening to the lunes, and singing “Sweet Violets” with my mom’s best friend Deborah. She is an amazing artist who I’ve known my entire life, and has always encouraged me to be me. To express myself. To love myself. To sing loudly. To be brave, and independent, and strong. I can’t thank Ford and Shep enough for supporting my dream, believing in me, and trusting in my ability to create and giving me the space to do it in.”

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Working with Emily on the Sweet Violets logo has been absolutely fantastic! I’m so glad we were able to have this big collaboration with Bill (who brought it when it came to the illustration) and serve up this delicious logo design.

The Sweet Violets & the Heart Bakers logo is a recipient of a 2024 American Graphic Design Award from Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) in the category of Logos + Symbols.

Lenoir Community College (LCC) is rich in history and is one of the oldest institutions in the North Carolina Community College System. Chartered April 3, 1958, LCC is one of 58 community colleges in the North Carolina Community College System. The system was established in 1963 under enactment of a general statute by the legislature and it serves nearly 850,000 citizens annually. Located at the intersection of highways US 70 and NC 58, LCC’s primary service area is Lenoir, Greene, and Jones counties. The College offers both degree and non-degree programs.

Time and again, I have seen the faculty and staff go above and beyond for the students attending LCC. They strive to offer a place where nearly anyone can earn an education, whether it’s a single class or one of the many degrees offered.

For the 2024 Annual Report, we focus on the growth of the college, our achievements in our classes and our ever-expanding aviation programs.

The Aviation Center for Excellence (ACE) booklet spotlights our aviation programs and upcoming opportunities.

For the full version of the 2024 Lenoir Community College Annual Report, visit https://issuu.com/lenoircc/docs/lcc_2024_annual_report_3?fr=sMjliMjc4MzUxMzg

Lenoir Community College is a recipient of two 2024 American Graphic Design Awards from Graphic Design USA (GDUSDA) in the category of Annual + Corporate Reports and in Brochures + Collateral.

Ayden is a small town nestled in Pitt County. Each year, we have our annual Collard Festival, bringing the town together with live entertainment, local vendors, a parade, games, rides, and live music. The 50th Annual logo is a celebration of the festival’s history, with the new logo (solid green/Est. 1975) leading the event into the future.

Established in 1978, Nostalgia Newsstand is Greenville’s oldest comic shop celebrating 45 years of sequential art awesomeness! The goal for the new logo and promotional materials is to not only embrace the past (the type pays homage to golden age comics) to looking forward to the future (clean, polished and updated). Events are promoted using comic inspired covers and classic elements.

Studio Ceramika, also known as Erika Throws Things, is your local ceramics thrower and dealer! The concept of the Studio Ceramika logo is to reflect/show the action of throwing, molding, crafting, and creating with clay.

Alley Cat Records is Greenville’s go-to spot for all your music, vinyl, and merch. Not only can you find the prrrfect selection to build your collection, but Alley Cat features regular live-music in-store. With thie Alley Cat Records logo, I really wanted to bring out and showcase the groovy atmosphere and attitude of the store. Working with the Alley Cat gang has been the cat’s meow.

Alley Cat Records is a recipient of a 2022 Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) American Graphic Design Award in the category of Logo Design (Logo + Symbols).

I have had the very good fortune to know and work with the team at Greenville-Pitt County Convention and Visitors Bureau aka Visit Greenville, NC for many years. I’m very proud of the our collaboration on the 2022-2023 Visit Greenville, NC Annual Report (showcasing what makes Greenville and Pitt County great, it’s people) and series of destination pins for the Little League Softball World Series.

With the JOY rebrand, we wanted to embrace the concept of being the lighthouse in someone’s storm and also show the evolution of the services and opportunities available. The logo conveys the idea of a strong foundation and of being a light in the storm, a beacon of hope for the community.

JOY Community Center & Soup Kitchen is a recipient of a 2022 Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) American Graphic Design Award in the category of Designing For Good.

JOY Community Center & Soup Kitchen is a recipient of a 2023 Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) American Graphic Design Award in the category of Designing For Good.

With the East Carolina University School of Music Auditions campaign, the concept is to represent our diverse student body as well as visually represent their sound and talent by utilizing the school colors in a vibrant and inviting manner. It should be noted that there is an ECU easter egg hidden in the design.

If delicious, hand-made, gourmet chocolate is what you seek, then look no further than Jenni’s UGLY Chocolates! For the Jenni’s UGLY Hot Chocolate, we wanted to showcase the main ingredient front and center. A fantastic feature of the hot chocolate packaging is that it is printed using AccuFlex printing, a process that utilizes a bio-based laminate that allows the materials to not only be recyclable, but also biodegradable/compostable.

Jenni’s UGLY Chocolate is a recipient of a 2022 Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) American Packaging Design Award in the category of Sustainable Packaging.

If delicious vegan treats are what you seek, look no further than the Feisty Sweets Bakery! Feisty Sweets is a local vegan bakery based in Greenville, NC. For the logo design, my goal is to convey and portray the same delicious texture and flavor of the various baked goods from Feisty Sweets. To place your order, visit www.feistysweets.com!

How do you advertise/promote/celebrate a Spring Commencement when you are unsure if the event will be virtual or in-person? The solution may be to take a vector approach as shown here. With these mock ups (11” x 17”, LCD, Instagram, and Jumbotron) all of the joy and celebration are on display without specifically showing a live crowd, allowing for more flexibility and versatility.

On the night of September 5, 2019, Hurricane Dorian arrived and devastated the tiny community of Ocracoke Island, NC. Thankfully there was no loss of life. Myself and many others reached out to try and help with the recovery efforts. While the island itself was closed off only to local residents and rescue workers, multiple fundraising campaigns began to help in aiding the recovery efforts, many with “Ocracoke Strong” as their message. Through the development of the illustration of the island lighthouse and design of multiple stickers, and magnets, myself and a colleague were able donate over $2,000 to island/community recovery.

The A.L.A.N.A. Heritage Ball is an annual event celebrating and recognizing students of color and their academic achievements. An Art Deco design was decided upon to be the approach for the posters and promotional materials, including a Snapchat filter. I feel that the choice of Art Deco gives the materials a sophisticated blend of the past and future as well as showing respect to the students and their achievements.

It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to develop the grand opening announcement/series for a brand new building at a major university. For the series, I wanted to showcase the scale/size of the Main Camus Student Center and also emphasize it’s unique architecture (as shown as the repeated pattern in the background) while blending the serious with the celebratory.

Founded in 2019, and proud to be 100% family-owned and family-operated, Local Oak is a nano brewery in the heart of downtown Winterville, NC. The brewery takes it’s name from the 150 year old oak tree that sits on the property. This landmark was the obvious choice for the logo as that the location is a cool place to hang out, much like the shade from the giant tree. In my free time, I collaborate with the owners, Amy & Ben, to develop a variety of promotional items, brainstorm events, oversee print processes, advise/brand manage, and get to enjoy the off-kilter, family friendly atmosphere of their intentionally tiny brewery.

East Carolina University is your destination for adventure and excitement! For Family Weekend 2018, the concept is a little bit of a throw back to vintage postcards, road trips down Route 66, and road side attractions. Like many of our larger campaigns, deliverables include posters, postcards, web banners, LCD’s, and giveaways. Fun fact, if you were to dive into the working design files, you would find a full vector road map of the area around campus and parts of Greenville meticulously laid out by yours truly.

With Coming Out Stories, I felt that a more personal approach was needed to the title/typography as well as visually by incorporating an ensemble to best encompass the theme of individuals sharing their unique experiences and stories. What has surprised me the most, is the longevity of the design. Most of our promotional or event materials have a one to three year lifespan. Aside from being updated for new social media dimensions and brand standards, the concept and design has remained evergreen.

The Greenville Museum of Art, located at 802. S. Evans Street, is a gem in the City of Greenville. The museum is a wonderful venue for viewing work from their permanent collection as well as a regularly revolving shows featuring artists from across the globe. This is accomplished by the hard work of the members of the museum staff, volunteers, board, and donors. As one such volunteer, I often fill the role of Volunteer Designer for the museum, working with the Executive Director and Communications and Events Coordinator to develop promotional materials for the various events held for the museum. These can range from sophisticated fine arts balls, to super family fun days, to ridiculous (and sometimes outrageous) costume parties. Growing up, I always wanted to work at a museum, and volunteering at the Greenville Museum of Art allows me to do just that as well as serve my community.

The Greenville Museum of Art is a recipient of a 2022 Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) American Graphic Design Award in the category of Exhibition Posters (P-O-P + Displays + Exhibitions).

The AMA Triangle High Five Conference was a multi-day event held in the heart of downtown Raleigh, bringing marketers, speakers, creatives, and entrepreneurs together to share, network, and have a great time while learning from some of the best across numerous fields. My time volunteering with High Five was without a doubt some of the best, wonderful, stressful, crazy, and inspiring times as a creative. I began volunteering as a designer for year 2 doing a few pick up projects which eventually led to the offer of Lead Designer for year 3, and then Director of Creative (or Creative Director) for years 4, 5, and 6. I worked with a lot of great people, a lot of great volunteers, and it was through our combined efforts that year after year we were able to host this amazing event.

Camp P.I.R.A.T.E.S. is an early/extended student orientation program that assists students as they begin their journey at ECU. Camp P.I.R.A.T.E.S. is very near and dear to me as that this was one of my first larger assignments and early identifier projects for the university. The concept is a blend of a campsite and ship/crow’s nest with the sun rising in the background to greet the new students at the dawn/beginning of their time as Pirates.

• The Camp P.I.R.A.T.E.S. identifier can be found on many items, including: t-shirts, social media posts, social media filters, postcards, posters, LCD screens, and sandwich boards.

• Originally Burney the Marshmallow was intended to be an unofficial mascot. In some early promo pieces, Burney can be seen as part of the design.

The gay? fine by me poster series/campaign could and would not have happened without the support and team work of an amazing group of East Carolina students and staff. Period. Starting at the beginning, the LGBT Resource Office (now the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center) wanted to create/implement a new campaign for gay? fine by me, however, budgetary restraints would not allow for both a series of large banners and print materials/posters. My solution was to create a series of 11” x 17” posters, utilizing the colors of the Pride flag (red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple) that could be placed individually or connect to create a large banner with overlapping photos to connect the posters. The outpouring of support was astounding. In order to pull off this concept, we worked with the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center to stage a massive photo shoot with faculty, staff, and students (as well as scheduling other shoots at different locations on campus) all participating by wearing their own gay? fine by me tees or borrowing from the stack we had on hand. Those who could not attend personally emailed photos of themselves with their tees. This was a campus wide event from then-Chancellor Ballard to incoming freshmen joining in and contributing to the design. I am extremely proud to have been a part of this project and the continued opportunity to work with students and staff at the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center.

The Setting the Standard series set out with the goal to inspire students to step up and embrace the East Carolina University motto Servire, “To Serve”. This is successfully accomplished by utilizing well known and respected representatives to add a human element to the series concepts of Attending Class, Community Service, Showing Respect, and Good Sportsmanship. The concepts are not merely abstracts, but a call to action.