The sculpts were going to be manufactured by Nebraska-based company Icon Poly, so shipping cost played a factor in the UFO Crash design. The footprint of the design needed to be adjusted to allow for all sculpts to arrive in 1 trailer to reduce shipping costs. After several iterations, I was happy with the result - which didn't distract from the main canvas of the UFO and was still faithful to the original concept.

The digital sculptor at Icon Poly did a great job with the sketches and only needed minimum direction to finalize the sculpts and bases. I made sure the sculpts were safe and secure whilst doing my best to hide the fastenings. At this point I decided to redesign the rocket in favor of a more dynamic pose.

The spaceships were then sculpted in foam to prepare each for casting.

As the spaceships were being produced I created the logo design so the marketing could start and we could garner the interest from local artists to compete for a spot in the exhibit. Here are a couple of rough designs that I explored. The logo had to work in both landscape and portrait formats due to it’s application across the various marketing channels. It was promoted in buses, trains, light pole banners, digital banners, flyers and print ads.

We settled on the design below. With this particular logo, I played with color early on - but it’s important to get the design to work in black and white first.

Now, I went back to do a little color exploration and was happy that the client liked the same one I did. #6 fit the theme perfectly.

I provided the logo in a couple of formats to work with different print and online ad sizes. I also had a little fun doing some subtle animation to bring a some life to the online marketing campaign.

Over 65 artists entered the competition and of those, 30 of the most creative designs were chosen by the judges panel. The Sculptures are on display in Stamford Downtown from June until September 2019, when they will be auctioned off - with a portion of the proceeds going to the Veterans Park Initiative. Once all the sculpts were squeezed through the doors, Happy HaHa photography studio captured images of each design for promo and marketing. I was on hand to art direct the photoshoot to make sure the lighting and angles were consistent for use in the marketing materials.

Even though I created the theme of the exhibit, the sculpt designs, the logo, branding and marketing materials - I felt the need to submit 3 designs into the competition. I didn’t expect to get 2 of my designs chosen - now I was going to be REALLY busy!

I produced a booklet which documented all 30 spacecrafts and their location. Here's the map showing the location across the city and their creators.

Each artist’s piece was generously sponsored by a local business and they were exhibited for 3 months through the summer on locations all over downtown Stamford, CT. It was so fun to have so many other artists collaborate with this project but the best part was being able to display so much fun public art for everyone to enjoy.

Otocast is a company that produces art walks for mobile and web. They compiled audio clips from each artist talking through their design to public who were viewing the piece in person or online. This added level of interaction was really engaging and let the viewer in on the artist’s process and intention.

It’s been a pleasure working with Stamford Downtown on this Exhibit. I got to exercise a lot of creative muscles in this project, from animation to 3D sculpture but the best part is helping to create art that everyone can enjoy for free. I hope it brightened up everyone's daily commute, inspired young creatives and helped to draw more attention to Stamford Downtown. This city really understands the value in public art and is proactive in promoting local artists whilst giving their residents and visitors something to enjoy.

The Connecticut Science Center purchased both of my sculpts to be a centerpiece in their annual gala which is held to inspire fund raising and support from donors. They are continually finding new ways to engage, educate and inspire patrons with Science.

The response was overwhelmingly positive and the CT Science Center decided to make these Sculpts a permanent exhibit at their Center in Hartford, CT. Here’s a little clip of a ribbon cutting unveiling they hosted. If you haven’t been to their center I would highly recommend it (not just to see my UFOs).