Air Guitar – Convenience Store

By /

Air Guitar 4 Life: A Sketch to a Full Retail Identity (2017)

Project Details

Client: Upward Projects / Bro Retail Group / MMPR Marketing
Services: Art Direction / Design / Vector Illustration

The Problem

The client came to me with almost nothing to work from — a name, “Air Guitar,” and a quick hand-drawn sketch. No brand strategy, no defined usage plan, just a request to turn the rough idea into a clean, professional logo on a small budget and a fast timeline.

The Insight

Rather than jumping straight to vector work, I started with a series of hand-rendered marker studies, exploring rhythm, weight, and movement in the letterforms themselves — testing how different stroke behaviors and textures shaped the mark’s personality before locking anything down digitally.

The System

Once a direction emerged, I translated the studies into vector form in Illustrator, refining structure while preserving the energy of the original marks — adjusting spacing, balancing stroke weight, and selectively retaining texture where it supported the brand’s character. From there, I built a flexible set of variations: a monogram, a simplified stroke version, and a textured application, each holding the same hand-made quality across different scales and uses.

The Results

What started as a rough sketch and a name became a fully realized retail identity, applied across store displays, signage, retail products and packaging. Proof that a strong core personality can scale even without a defined brand strategy going in.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top