I feel honored to have contributed in a most significant way to this historic aquarium’s public persona. Located in the LA harbor area, CMA is the only free aquarium in California and has a long history of educating the region in marine life conservation.

TOUCH TANK MURAL

• Scope: Photography, photo editing, illustration, large-scale printing

My first big project with CMA consisted of revitalizing a large mural as part of their re-opening event post-pandemic. I was in charge of digitally restoring the hand-painted mural and creating a complementary illustration. Not an easy job!

The huge mural served as backdrop for the touch tank. I first had to photograph and digital enhance the existing painting (created in the late 80’s). Afterwards, I could create a complementary illustration that also had to be professionally exported for large-scale printing. I’m very proud to say my work with the touch tank mural earned CMA an award!

FISHES BOOK Miller and Lea’s Coastal Fishes of Southern California

• Scope: Illustration, layout, branding

After my work with the mural, CMA entrusted me with another major effort: illustrating and laying out a field guide on southern California fishes. The book was in dire need of updating the drawings and re-doing the layout to incorporate new species and diagrams. I was one of three contributing illustrators and completed the full book layout. In addition, I devised the color scheme and book cover for this new edition.

ENVIRONMENT GRAPHICS

• Scope: Illustration, layout, large-scale printing

In an effort to beautify the aquarium facilities, CMA commissioned me to design marine-life inspired graphics. After the successful completion and reception of the Miller & Lea guide, the aquarium was thrilled to use the book’s branding as inspiration for the graphics.

SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE BRANDING

• Scope: Logo design, graphic design

CMA would take part in hosting the 13th Conference on Copepoda, an annual conference held internationally. The conference was a professional event for scientists studying copepods, a small group of animals comprising marine ecosystems worldwide. Inspired by their unique anatomy, and accounting for the regional nature of this event, I chose to turn California into a copepod.

PANEL DESIGN

• Scope: Illustration, layout, graphic design

In order to revamp their gray whale exhibit, CMA tasked me with creating a fresh graphic to accompany the unique display, consisting of a life-size head of a grey whale.

NEWSLETTER, POSTERS AND MAPS

• Scope: Graphic design, editorial design, illustration

As a sign of faith for my previous projects, CMA put me in charge of 3 important projects: their quarterly newsletter, educational poster and reopening map. After the pandemic, CMA wanted to evoke a modernized look in their print materials.