Illustration & Linocut Branding
Project Scope & Deliverables
Client: Toiyabe
Project Scope: Apparel Graphic Design, Merchandising Artwork & Custom Textile Illustration
Medium & Style: Hand-Carved Linocut style (Adobe Photoshop), Vector Textile Layout (Adobe Illustrator)
Client Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Studio Base: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
The Challenge: Capturing the Spirit of the Sierra Nevada
Toiyabe, a California-based outdoor-wear company, reached out to me to design a series of iconic landscape illustrations for their premium T-shirt line. The core objective was to bring their brand slogan, "Wear the Wilderness," to life by translating the rugged majesty of landmarks like Mount Tamalpais, Yosemite’s Half Dome, and Lake Tahoe into a cohesive visual language.
The main creative challenge was establishing a boutique, high-end aesthetic that would genuinely resonate with the adventurous spirit of the local hiking and skiing communities. At the same time, there was a strict technical requirement: the final artwork had to be completely optimised for crisp, high-quality screen printing on apparel fabric without losing its artistic detail.
The Solution: A Bespoke Linocut Visual Narrative
To capture the raw texture of the California wilderness, I turned to my background in traditional printmaking. I developed a series of illustrations based on hand-carved linocut prints that became the artistic heartbeat of the entire collection. By using an analogue approach, but working digitally in Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, I was able to transform massive granite formations and serene alpine vistas into bold, striking graphic compositions with beautiful, imperfect lines.
Operating as an off-site art department, my role covered everything from initial landmark research and landscape drafting to the final technical colour-separations and prep-work required for commercial screen printing. The final result was a collection of wearable art that perfectly merged outdoor adventure with high-level illustration, giving Toiyabe a distinctive, unified brand identity that truly celebrates the intersection of art and exploration.
Linocut Illustration of Half Dome at Yosemite: Granite Majesty in Yosemite National Park
