Karen Kresge

This is work in progress for the Lake Wallenpaupack Historical Society. All illustration, typography and photography is created by me in 2023/2024.

This is a poster series created to commemorate my recent travels to Portugal, 2022 and Italy, 2023. The illustration was created in Procreate using an Apple Pencil, and the typography was added in Illustrator using the typeface Bely Display.

These images are lowered in resolution to discourage thievery.

Dreaming of Spring.jpg

This is a series of illustrations that I created based on my dreams of what I’d love to grow in my garden, the books I’d love to read, and design, and the places I’d like to go.

Dreaming of Spring
Dreaming of Books
Dreaming of Far-away Places

I challenged myself first to design as many different book covers as possible without referencing any actual books or stories. There are no titles, no real typography at all, allowing the viewer to dream their own dreams of the tales that would be told in the books on those shelves. The seed packets all reference real flowers, plants, and vegetables. Hidden in the sub-text of each packet are the names of people that I love and people and places that have encouraged and inspired my love of gardening. The globe imagery is all imaginary, but based on real antique and contemporary maps, atlases and globes.

This work was created in Procreate on an IPad with an Apple Pencil.

These images are lowered in resolution to discourage thievery.

This series of collages were created for the collage challenge, Februllage, where artists create a collage every day for the month of February. These are the results of my work for 2023. Daily prompts were given and the completed work was posted to Instagram. Each piece was paired with music. Please visit my Instagram to experience the work with sound.

These graphics were designed for the Suzuki Institute at Camp Ogontz, NH, a week-long strings workshop.

Branding and product graphics for a shop selling quirky and fun gifts.

This wedding invitation was designed for a dear friend who will be married at Christmastime in a beautiful medieval village in Ireland. I based the monogram on Celtic knots and the color palette is based on Arts and Crafts period textiles.

This branding was designed for a client who is both a violinist and a chocolatier. The word “Sotto” is a musical term that refers to undertones that add meaning and depth. Similarly, Sotto’s chocolates are known for their subtle, delicious flavors that give each bite complexity and dimension. The logo is based on the shape of the violin’s bridge and is drawn in a hand-hewn style to communicate the handmade chocolates and also hint at the Mayan heritage of chocolate making. The branding elements, color palette, and patterns were created to give a strong visual identity to the brand. The packaging system involves a series of interchangeable stickers that allow the chocolatier the option to mix and match according to her specific needs. There would be three levels of labels. The most complicated would be individually designed for larger batches of seasonal flavors. A slightly more elaborate design would be for specialty bars. And the third option would allow for very small batches.

This poster was designed to promote a concert by the Polizeiorchester Hamburg in the Elbphilharmonie, The Elbphilharmonie is one of the largest and acoustically most advanced concert halls in the world. The building is in the historic harbor section of Hamburg, Germany. The elegant glass curves of the exterior were designed to resemble hoisted sails, undulating waves, or an iceberg and, since the concert consisted of classic movie themes, I saw a film projector.

This mark was designed for an elite youth orchestra based in Stroudsburg, PA, under the direction of Chris Souza. The rustic style reflects the natural beauty of the Pocono Mountain region and the marks represent the energy of the young musicians and the music that they create.

A true tale of escape, capture, rescue and faith! The adventures of the 5 Hess children and their missionary parents in the Philippines during WWII. They escape Japanese Soldiers, are captured, and finally are freed by the Americans. The cover was designed to attract advanced elementary readers with bright colors, exciting imagery and a vibrant color palette. 

This poster design for the Polizeiorchester Hamburg (the Police Orchestra of Hamburg, Germany) promotes a special concert of Stan Kenton's music from his 1956 album, Cuban Fire. The music is described as jazz, styled with an "Afro-Cuban" vibe.

The poster was recognized by Graphis as a Merit winner in their 2018 Type In Use competition. http://www.graphis.com/entry/a4503d00-ca51-4c78-af4a-fd24500a54d3/

It also received an honorable mention in the Graphis Poster Annual, 2019.

http://www.graphis.com/entry/6fe96f4a-eb10-4a2d-ba4f-53469f4cb8be/

This poster and t-shirt were designed to promote a trip of the elite performers of the Suzkuki Music Schools of Westport and Orange, Connecticut. Their trip to Spain was centered around Barcelona, where the students would surely see the beautiful and colorful works of Antoni Gaudí. The mosaic style of the graphic and the type was cut out of paper, then scanned and converted to vector. The colors were chosen from the stained glass windows in Gaudí’s Sagrada Família. The client wanted a colored t-shirt and limited the colors to just three, so the burgundy t-shirt is where it led.

I designed the first backgammon board as a gift for my husband. The design is loosely based on card packaging from the Victorian period. I had the design laser cut into a blank wooden backgammon set. My friends and family were jealous, so I made more for all kinds of gifts.  

I designed these travel posters to reflect some of my favorite adventures. The letterforms become artifacts of the journey, an island, a wild pony, a fire pit, a violin. Surrounding each of them are wisps of memories. Two of these posters were awarded merit prizes by Graphis magazine in their Poster Design Annuals for 2015 and 2016.

http://www.graphis.com/entry/13d13deb-dcff-4386-bf6b-3d87dcd2fa03/

http://www.graphis.com/entry/13d13deb-dcff-4386-bf6b-3d87dcd2fa03/

Who knew there were special seasonings for Bison, Gator, Elk and Squirrel? Big Dan has developed these blends of herbs and spices to compliment every kind of game. I designed these labels in homage to hunters, using a plaid patterned background and typography that reflects Victorian ammunition packaging. This work was published on "Packaging of the World" 

http://www.packagingoftheworld.com/2017/04/big-dans-seasonings-concept.html

Boilo is the high-octane Yuletide drink that has been served hot in the coal regions of Pennsylvania for over a hundred years. Warm up a shot and sip it slowly. The citrus & spices swirled together with moonshine will warm the cockles of your heart. The box and label are a contemporary take on vintage typography and design. This project was featured on the dieline.  (http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2017/2/27/boilo)

And also in this article in AIGA's Eye on Design

(https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/happy-hour-6/)

My friends asked me to design a logo for their summer strings camp on Lake Ogontz in NH. Squirrels are clever animals – quick learners, diligent, hardworking, adorable and with lots of personality – just like Suzuki Students who start playing instruments as early as 2 years old! I created the logo using the negative space between the squirrels to create a violin, and referencing vintage camp patches for the typographic treatment. I designed a few alternate logos for other applications and then decided to try my hand at a some mockups, mostly so I'd be better able to guide my students in using them well. I used only free mockups and my own photographs of the actual camp as backgrounds.

Here are the links to the original mockups-

Canvas bag: 

http://graphicboat.com/product/cloth-bag-mockup/

Aluminum water bottle: 

https://dribbble.com/shots/3251590-Free-PSD-Aluminum-Water-Bottle-Mockup-Free-PSD

Buttons: 

https://pixelbuddha.net/freebie/free-button-badge-mockup-generator

Carved log: 

http://www.graphicsfuel.com/2014/11/carved-wood-logo-mockup-psd/

Patch: 

https://www.mockupworld.co/free/circular-cloth-patch-mockup/

T-shirt: 

http://graphicgoogle.com/free-young-kid-t-shirt-mockup-psd/

I designed the artwork for the 2018 White Mountain Suzuki Institute at Ogontz based on the idea of “Community.” The Suzuki method of teaching highlights the importance of building a community where everyone works together. The design is made up of all of the wild creatures, including the young musicians, who make up the community of the rustic Camp Ogontz.

This fanciful event branding was created for my daughter Annelies's home-school graduation. We rarely followed rules and created our own curriculum, so we always joked that her school motto was "School By the Seat of Our Pants," and in Latin, that sounds pretty impressive! I developed a school crest, a diploma, an invitation, banners and decor based on the brand. Two years later, when my daughter Helena graduated, I was able to use the branding again for her graduation.

This poster was designed for the re-opening Gala for the Schaeffer Auditorium at Kutztown University. The building had recently undergone a major restoration and renovation. This gala concert was meant to reflect the history of the building. This poster was featured in Creative Quarterly.

Posters for annual jazz vespers concerts in Cape May, New Jersey. These are benefit concerts that provide aid for animal shelters, food pantries and victims of natural disasters.

Nevertheless, She Persisted

“Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” Little did they know that in the act of attempting to quiet Senator Warren, Mitch McConnell riled up a multitude of women who would not be silenced. I made this typographic treatment as I listened to Senator Warren read the rest of Mrs. King's letter live on Facebook from outside the senate.

HATE THE HATE

In Spring 2017, a hate group hung recruitment posters on our campus at Kutztown University. In an effort to combat the hate, we offered our second "Hate the Hate" event where students were encouraged to make beautiful things that would cover the hateful images with love. These type treatments were created to advertise that event.

"It all comes together at Kutztown." This campaign consists of a poster and brochure that is distributed to high school music teachers The bright, transparent colors mimic the students coming together to make up the vibrant music program at KU. The brochure was featured in How magazine's in-house design annual and also won an Excellence award from UCDA (University and Colleges Designers Association) for in-house print design.

Kutztown University Jazz Band CD - The music department wanted the look and feel of a Blue-Note album cover, but with a more contemporary look and specific visual reference to Kutztown University. Sierra Fry assisted in the preliminary stages of this project.

I art directed this project with a team of extremely talented students, Peter Hershey, Griffin MacAulay, and Alexa Flinn. We developed the monogram logo to represent the visual voice of our students. The speech bubble becomes the central image of the branding system that celebrates the individual student's point of view as a designer. The viewbook showcases the breadth and depth of our curriculum, introduces several of our students and their work, and highlights the elements that make our program special. 

http://kucd.kutztown.edu/

ELITE ACADEMY FOR STRINGS

This logo was designed for the studio of Elizabeth Faidley, one of the country’s most prestigious Suzuki Music Schools, located in New York City.

WHITE MOUNTAIN SUZUKI INSTITUTE

This logo was designed for a Summer Suzuki Institute in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. See more of this branding project under the WMSI section of my website.

KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC

This logo was designed to represent a vibrant and growing music department. The building depicted is Schaeffer Auditorium, where most of the musical activities at Kutztown take place.

BETHANY CHURCH

The hands in this mark were placed to convey the idea that it is the members that make the church.

The Bethany Kingdom Builders logo is a depiction of an ancient tree on the grounds of the church, and represents the generations of members that the church will serve.

SOTTO SMALL BATCH CHOCOLATES

These marks were designed for a client who is both a violinist and a chocolatier. The word “Sotto” is a musical term that refers to undertones that add meaning and depth. Similarly, Sotto’s chocolates are known for their subtle, delicious flavors that give each bite complexity and dimension. These are two choices that were presented to the client, the first is elegant with the treble clef weaving through the S letterform to represent the undertones of flavor and sound. The second is based on the shape of the violin’s bridge and is drawn in a hand hewn style to communicate the handmade chocolates and also hint at the Mayan heritage of chocolate making.