Des Moines DMG 2023-2024

Originally Team ZENIGMA, an online esports amateur organization decided to localize and rebrand under the name Des Moines DMG.

As one of the organizations designers, I was requested to not only create a logo, but a brand identity.

During my research, I studied in Des Moines, Iowa history. During that time, I discovered that they had, for almost a decade, did what they could to amplify Iowa’s art culture by pushing architecture to murals. The final push for me was when the organization owner requested the designs be similar to LA 100Thieves. So how did I connect the dots?

Murals are huge art pieces that express ones self in a public manner. LA’s 100Thieves had an everyday, almost grunge but pop culture design style. The artwork, surprisingly, reminded me of Keith Harring and Timothy Goodman. So I had to ask myself this: how do I create something that combines art, gaming, and Des Moines?

All work below are only the pieces I created from concept to final deliverable.

Roles

Creative Director l Designer l Illustrator l Motion Designer - Oct 2022 to May 2023

Graphic Designer - Jun 2021 to Oct 2022

Timeline

June 2021 - May 2023

Skills

Branding and Identity
Social Media Graphics
Motion Graphics
Video Editing
Merch Design

Tools

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe After Effects
Procreate

Concept Pitch

2022

The original DMG launch featured a staff of 40 and the games: League of Legends, CS:GO, Valorant, Legends of Runeterra, Apex Legends, Overwatch, and Rocket League.

All graphics were created and designed to meet both Instagram and Twitter formats to increase outreach for a growing esports organization. The set of graphics showcased here was the initial launch of bringing customized doodles into the esports space.

2022-2023

At one point in time, the trends on Twitter’s (now X) platform and Instagram shifted towards short form content. We did not want to be left behind nor be lost during this transitional period so the focus became: how do we keep our style and add motion?

2023

While we loved the animations, we felt that the motion wasn’t quite on brand, so we decided to re-evaluate and go back to our more traditional look and go for something more visually impactful.

As a small organization, I knew we had to set ourselves apart from the others since people, at this point, were also starting to include doodles into their own work. Trying to keep a strong, visually clear brand identity was our goal.

The designs below were a push and expansion for each game to highlight unique aspects focused on an illustrative push with character’s abilities, skins, personalities, traits, etc. The aim was to keep true to the doodle elements while providing more clarity and one upping the competition.

For our final stand as an organization, I created these concept pieces for our design split. This kept the designs cleaner with a heavier focus on typography, placement, and colors.

2023 Merch

Esports struggles with returning profit through tournament winnings. It is through merchandise, sponsors, and other outlets that allow for an organization to become profitable.

Gaming fans, and our organization, do not always want gaming clothes that scream “gaming” in an obvious manner. Where do we draw the line between gaming and streetwear?

I directed and created, 30+ hoodies, 30+ shirts, 10+ jerseys, 10+ crop tops, 10+ joggers, and more.

The images shown to the side and below are unreleased DMG merch that cannot or will not be published that I was created. This does not showcase all of the work produced during my time at DMG, but a scope of the designs when creating the merchandise that were created and released.