Hoffman York is a full-service advertising agency in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward with an additional office in Montana. With global recognition for their top-notch work and proven RO! (Return on Ideas), Hoffman York is a trusted agency that was an excellent company to have the privilege to do an internship with.
I spent around eight months interning as a content designer at Hoffman York. Under the supervision of other content designers and the content art director, I was able to learn a wide array of new skills in video editing and animation, as well as improve my skills in static graphic design and illustration. I learned about how agencies run, how to stay on top of content calendars, and how to create numerous on-brand social graphics for various clients simultaneously, all while collaborating remotely with the team.
This internship was incredibly valuable. I will forever be grateful for the great mentors I had and the knowledge I gained from them and from the daily exposure to this realm of graphic design.
Hoffman York Internal Agency Work
Wahl
Wahl is built up of three unique brands. Each brand showcases different products, has a different target market, and has a different brand identity. In my words:
Pets: More fun and playful. Bright colors and fun typography
Grooming: Targets the manly man, especially those with marvelous beards. More toned down and "rustic" colors, along with strong, bold typography
Wellness: Focused on those who wish to live their best lives in a healthy manner. Soft colors and free-flowing main typeface
Wahl Grooming
Wahl 'Man of the Year' Contest
Wahl Grooming hosts a contest for its fans and customers revolving around the incredible talents of those with equally as incredible beards. The first graphic was created to announce the contest on social platforms and the second graphic includes the 10 finalists that were selected.
Wahl 'My First Time' Contest
As home haircuts became more popular in the midst of the COVID pandemic, Wahl wanted to hear about peoples' first experiences cutting their hair at home. They also wanted to hear about another first-time experience contestants had a desire to try. Those selected would receive $2,000 to make their dreams a reality. This graphic was created to announce the contest and was later resized for social posts.
Wahl Pets
Wahl Wellness
Wahl Influencer Program
Wahl Digital Influencer Cards
Wahl sends digital video cards to influencers who promote their products for all three brands - Pets, Grooming, and Wellness. Each card is customized with the influencer's name(s) and exported as an .mp4 file. The content writers then send the cards off to the influencers.
Wahl Pets Print Influencer Card
On top of the digital cards, HY wanted to create a print version of an influencer card. I decided to set this card up as a 5"x5" card that would fold out from the middle, as if you are opening a gift. I illustrated another pup to stray away from the digital card a little bit while still staying on-brand with the Wahl Pets color scheme. Since our influencers come from social media, we decided to make the inside a phone screen as if it were scrolling through a feed. The card includes instructions to post on your page featuring your Wahl Pets products.
Animated GIFs | Instagram Stickers
Yamaha Outboards
Sazerac
Sazerac is made up of three alcoholic brands that are each unique in their own sense. In my words:
Goldschläger: Sophisticated and fancy, perfect for the upscale night out scene
Romana Sambuca: More casual than Goldschläger, but not as casual as Yukon Jack. Strong European influence
Yukon Jack: Perfect for the adventure-seeking male who loves his 100 proof whiskey
The hardest aspect of Sazerac posts is introducing HY's product photography of the bottles into stock images. Getting the angles, lighting, and blur to match up without too much warping is a challenge, but doable. The transparency of the bottles and glasses is also very important. The backgrounds of the stock images must be visible through the glass, requiring lots of precise masking. This was a crucial step in the photo manipulation process for Sazerac posts.
Goldschläger
Romana Sambuca
Yukon Jack
