Noah Ehlenbach

Artist statement

When sitting down for a one-on-one brainstorming meeting earlier in the semester, my thoughts circulated around three ideas: type, colors, and branding. Little did I know that all three of those elements would play a very big role in the culmination of my final project. I explored several different avenues, many of which failed before they even made it to the computer. However, every attempted idea helped me understand what wouldn¡¯t work.

It wasn¡¯t until I started playing with my personal logo design that something clicked. What started as simple, thick lines on an illustrator whiteboard turned into a unique typeface used to spell out several words: first Madtown, a nickname for my hometown of Madison, WI, but quickly turned into an expanding set of Wisconsin-based forms, patches, and abbreviations. This turned into uniquely colored 5-panel hat drafts and hoodies with cow print patches, tying into my background experiences of designing merchandise. Having made countless t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hat designs for the last three years, it would only be right that this project had some overlap.

Using the Adobe suite to bring my ideas to life through posters, billboards, merchandise, and other physical products is my favorite thing about being a graphic designer, and through this project, I was able to hone those skills, find a way to overcome my early struggles, and make a product that not only sums up my learning thus far as an artist, but also finds a way to encapsulate what's important to me as a person.