Dark Earth Design Co is a creative and adaptable design studio that helps businesses and bands make a statement with their branding. I like to collaborate with those who are not afraid to stray from the path and defiantly stand for something in their message.
I work with my clients to help them distance themselves from the competition and create designs that are as unique as they are. I am also here to help with anything I can, trying to build a business or get your band out there can be tough, never fight alone.I'm Graham, a freelance graphic designer based in Northamptonshire, UK. I'm a music fan, NFL fan, and former gigging musician. I've worked in music retail and digital marketing, and I'm now using all my experiences to help good people bring their design ideas to life.
The cover artwork was inspired by graffiti from the band's neighborhood, as well as some existing images. I redrew everything using a spraycan-style brush in Procreate to make it all look like it belonged together. I also used this technique to create the painted font on the cover and inside the CD case.I then adapted the artwork for use online, as well as on the CD and tape formats. I'm really proud of this project, and I'm so excited that it's not only available in the US, but it's also sold out in some independent stores in Japan! The EP is amazing and definitely worth a listen.
I made some new artwork using lyrics from the EP along with graphics that represent the band and the NY area. These included some updated versions of imagery the band already had, as well as some brand new illustrations. These have been used in promotional posts and for Merch releases.
I've created some posts for Instagram and the band's online store to help promote the new EP and merch, including clothing mock-ups.I also edited a hard-hitting vertical video for the song "Driving While Black (Pleasure and Pain)" using historical and more recent footage. The band did a great job of researching and providing the footage, which made it easy to create a great video. I also made a different version of the video that can be used for paid ads.
This logo design was for US-based Acoustic duo October Sun. Following some initial ideas supplied by the band, we took the logo through many variations using a preferred circle/sun concept. We settled on intertwining the first 2 letters (which can be used as a responsive icon) and adding the sun rays to give the logo a fun and more balanced feel.
This logo was created for industrial remix artist Zero Signal. We wanted to make sure it had a dirty, industrial feel with the font choice (which has some additional noise added to it) and then integrated this with the signal illustration.I tried using a waveform for this initially but the more solid line idea worked much better when logo was used in different sizes. Finally the colour choice was a reference to the Fear Factory album "Demanufacture", which contains the song of which the artist has taken his name from.
Designing this logo was really special. It's for my friend's blog – he's an awesome musician who happens to be blind. He wanted to create a space for other musicians with disabilities to connect and so that he could share content based on his own experiences to help others.The number one goal was to make sure the design was very accessible for those viewers with visual impairment. For this reason high contrast colours such as black and yellow were chosen.
I was asked to design a logo and rulebook for a new role-playing game about a team of soldiers called the Galactic Fleet Commandos. The game is set in a far future universe, and I was given some ideas to work with, like space and the shape of a coffin. I combined those with a modern, tactical look and created flat and textured versions of the logo.The rulebook has a simple design with not too many images, which makes the file size smaller and also makes it easier for people to read. That was one of the most important things I was asked to do. The rules are still being tested, so it's also easier to make changes to the rulebook when needed.
I was inspired by Halloween and a family trip to a local bowling alley, so I decided to create a brand for a fictional bowling team. Once I had decided on the team name, the logo and illustrations followed soon after, and were heavily influenced by skate graphics.I started by sketching out some ideas, and then I drew the final designs on my ipad. I'm really happy with how they turned out, and I think they perfectly capture the spirit of the (made up) team.
This EP design was a passion project inspired by Mike D and his work that was on display at the Bloodstock Music Festival. Mike has a unique style blending photography and graphic design, producing some seminal album covers for his band Killswitch Engage, as well as Shadows Fall, Caliban and many more.
In 2019, I started Virosis Clothing as a way to express myself when I was struggling with my mental health. The name "Virosis" comes from the idea that even from something dark, something new and positive can be created. The logo represents the sometimes difficult fight within yourself to achieve your goals, and the tagline "Emerge Relentless" reinforces this idea to keep pushing through no matter what.Every design and its marketing kept this mantra and used darker imagery and heavier music to promote a positive message. Black and white photography was used at first, but this evolved to use some saturated coloured elements, especially people shots.
In order to strengthen the brand's presence, we developed a podcast featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes content, original features, and insightful interviews. The podcast's primary objective was to provide listeners with an engaging and ultimately positive experience. We also teamed up with 1054 Records to showcase their awesome roster of Metal and Hardcore bands.
I was approached to design a logo for the upcoming Jaq & Lucas book series, which is a fantasy saga about the journey of two warriors with very conflicting backgrounds. Following some great concept discussions, we decided to use their signature weapons in the final design.
