STUDIO CHERISH CHANG

ANCESTRAL ARTS

Ancestral Arts school is dedicated to the study of herbal, folk and indigenous medicine. Since 1997, they have been committed to creating a learning community which honors the diverse cultural healing traditions of the Bay Area—centering BIPOC and QTBIPOC students and herbal traditions and empowering the next generation of intersectional herbalists.

When rebranding one of the only indigenous founded herbalist schools, the updated logotype needed to convey the professionalism of an educational institution without losing the highly accessible and community oriented feel. The new logotype brings Ancestral Arts into the modern day, giving them an established look and feel, while still remaining true to their roots.

BURN BOOK

MØRNING.FYI is a creative strategy agency run by Lydia Pang and Sam Jackson. Designed as a promotional book for their agency, DOOMSCAPE/DREAMSCAPE covers hope, despair, online, offline, capitalism, empathy, AI, disgust, fetish and future.

As a Creative Director on the project, I developed type systems and custom display typography as well as layout design. The printed book features a foil stamped reversible cover and layflat binding for easy reading.

“Let’s accept that we exist in neither hell or heaven. Doom or dream. The binary is broken, and the sooner we float like a wonton in the liminal broth of our murky present, the better.”

— Lydia Pang, MØRNING Founder

710 COLLECTIVE

The identity for 710 Collective is minimal, graphic and colorful. 710 is a community space on Haight Street featuring workshops and art for the people. You can take a Kintsugi ceramics class, get fitted in vintage, and take home 69 new plants—or just stop in for a coffee. The identity seeks to combine colors reminiscent of the summer of love and spirit of the famous lyrics about ‘flowers in her hair’ but bringing the type and graphic application into contemporary times.

VaxCare

Head of Design: Ryan Lauer
VP of Design: Todd Goldstein
Design: Cherish Chang, Justin Pegram
Illustration: Cherish Chang, Xinle Huang
Photography: Ryan Lavine

During the pandemic I worked with VaxCare, an Orlando-based vaccine tech company, to develop their brand identity, web, print and digital collateral, photography and illustration, packaging systems, video content, and much more.

TENDER THORN

Tender Thorn is a sculpture practice by internationally recognized tattooer and artist, Rose Hardy, known for their 22k gold and porcelain objects.

The visual identity for Tender Thorn is typographically-led, balancing modern type with classic roots. The secondary logo mark represents a stem with thorns and serves as a monogrammed makers mark.

AFTERLIFE VOL. III

Afterlife Vol. III contains over 600 pages of interviews and artwork from Claudia deSabe, Yutaro Sakai, Kiku, RG, and Ichibay. The book design features a foil stamped slip case with two volumes: Conversations and Artwork.

WANTS/NEEDS: COMMUNITY ARTS COLLECTIVE

WANTS/NEEDS is aimed at creating a space for unique artists, tattooers, and spiritual workers in their community in Ventura, California. The space will flex depending on the type of art being shown, so the brand needed a minimal and modern approach to branding.

The logotype is a combination of classic blackletter and modern sans-serif, communicating the old and new, maximal and minimal, and everything in between. The supporting graphic identity is simple and attention grabbing, bringing order to chaos using a pared back palette.

MAIDEN VOYAGE JEWELRY

Established 2014 in San Francisco by jeweler and independent designer Megan Rugani, Maiden Voyage is an ever evolving collection of fine jewelry that values the singular nature of bespoke and the hand of the artist. Hand engraving, a meticulous and time consuming art that became niche and antiquated with the rise of mass production, is resurrected and used with a modern voice. Substantial signets, classic bands, and rich stonework make for a collection that is innately androgynous.

Maiden Voyage has since relocated to the high desert of New Mexico, expanding their in-house team to include local goldsmiths and stone-cutters who use traditional techniques with modern technologies to produce work with a keen attention to detail.

The logotype is a custom hand drawn mark that has a classic elegance, but also an edginess that comes to life in secondary graphics inspired by cut and paste, engraving and sharpened tools.

WILD THINGS WORLD

Founded by Piera Gelardi (Refinery 29), Wild Things World is a platform to explore creativity through play, bringing joy to people’s lives through experiences, products, and community that fuel creative experimentation and play. I hand-drew the logo, exploring MTV & Fiorucci, and pop punk posters as reference. The design system blends bright color and patterns that are easily interchangeable, layering cut geometric photos.

POINT OF ORIGIN

Point of Origin: A Monographic Memoir, for sculptor and fine artist Valerie Piraino, contains over 400 pages of Piraino’s lifetime of work. This book is designed down to the details—including a gold ribbon bookmark and gold foil stamps.

Both memoir and monograph, Piraino defines herself and her creative work in her own words and images. Weaving her life story, personal picture, and over fifteen years of work as a sculptor, she shares some of her early influences, including her formative years throughout Africa and the impact of personal loss.

EX VOTO

I developed a visual identity for Santa Fe based fine jewelry and object studio, Ex Voto, that balances minimalism with human touch, relying on typography to define and support the brand character.

Bright blue ink matches the back wall of the shop, which is set behind plaster archways, while duplexed linen business cards give the brand a tactile feel. The wordmark is derived from Canela, with a knife letterform for the ‘t’. The knife is a nod to the reliquary symbolism behind the meaning of “Ex Voto” in latin, and also the shape of one of the most popular fine jewelry pieces that the owner creates.

DEATH AT SEA BY JUSTIN WEATHERHOLTZ

Featuring 25 pages of paintings by contemporary artist and tattooer, Justin Weatherholtz, DEATH AT SEA is a meditation on the concept of death. The minimalist design showcases each of the paintings in full glory at 12” x 16”. The cultural and philosophical ideas around death and loss are encapsulated in each contemplative spread. Each book includes a fold-out 24” x 32” poster, postcards, and a sticker pack.

COFFEE OUTTHERE

The identity for Coffee Outthere is based on 70s color palettes and imagery pulled by the owner from vintage backpacking magazines. I hand drew all the logo variations applied to packaging and their storefront in the historic Haight Ashbury neighborhood.

The packaging and materials for Coffee Outthere are 100% compostable/sustainable, furthering their commitment to ethically sourced and high quality coffee. Beyond the materials, the design language I developed for Coffee Outthere relates directly to camping, outdoor adventuring and the return to respecting Mother Nature.

CHRIS O’DONNELL: DRAWINGS FOR TATTOOS

Featuring over 100 pages of drawings that span over a decade of work, Chris O’Donnell: Drawings for Tattoos is a must-have for anyone interested in tattooing.

Highlights of this book are a vellum dust-jacket with a die cut window to a foil stamped cloth-bound cover. The interior of the book features hundreds of retouched drawings for tattoos and process work, from sketch to final artwork. The pages were designed to be as close to actual size as possible, showcasing the work and bringing these drawings to life. Layered vellum pages show O’Donnell’s outline for tattoos, flipping the page reveals the drawings created as color studies for the pieces.

SHE LOVES MACHINE IDENTITY & TYPEFACE

She Loves Machine is an electronic music duo from Toronto and New York.

Inspiration for the identity stemmed from Blade Runner-esque typography, Back to the Future, vintage anime, and the neon lights of Tokyo. The symbol communicates the letter “M” as well as a heart. This reinforces the electronic elements of the identity, the analog process of creating music and the amount of passion that goes into recording for the two artists who are known as She Loves Machine.

Rejected logos at the bottom.

True Type Font will be available for download shortly.

Could this be magic? Tattooing as Liberation Work
by Tamara Santibañez

“Tattooing can be transformative—a way to create a new version of yourself. A tattoo can be a coping strategy, a manifesto, a bold declaration. Tattoos are armor. Being able to access these types of expression can make us feel more free as individuals, and affirms the values that bring us into ourselves. We both mark and witness these moments for individuals, conjuring temporary autonomous zones and movement towards collective liberation.”

Using the concept of trauma-informed care as a foundation, Tamara Santibañez expands on the vast political potential of tattooing, illuminating the unseen work tattoo artists perform without exception. Underpinning the infinite magic of tattooing is the emotional work that artists often come to fear and avoid. Santibañez argues that tattooing has enormous potential to both empower and disempower its recipients, and that we cannot fully realize its positive potential without first acknowledging the scope of what it accomplishes and supporting ourselves in our abilities and limitations.

Part manifesto, part love letter, part workbook, Could This Be Magic? features toolkit prompts and exercises, practical guidelines around good consent and boundary practices, and ideas for shaping a more ethical industry into the future. This work offers something to all artists from self-taught DIY tattooers to ritual practitioners, apprentices and longtime street shop veterans, from those newly engaging with activism to those who place politics at the forefront of their work. Sourcing quotes from artists from all walks of the industry, Could This Be Magic? is a profound exploration of the radical possibilities of justice-centered tattooing.

Available for purchase through Afterlife Press.

Aron Dubois: Tattoo Drawings 2016–2020

The cover for ‘Tattoo Drawings 2016-2020’. Features a black tri-bound cloth spine, and a black embossed title which seeks to compliment the work. The design for the book is a direct copy of Aron’s moleskine notebook containing over 100 pages of sketches and drawings made over 4 years of stylistic exploration within tattooing, delving into the artist’s belief that enigmatic beauty, charm, and spiritual inquiry is possible within tattooing.

One of my favorite parts about designing books is experiencing the age old magic of the artist and their tools. While designing ‘Tattoo Drawings 2016-2020’, Aron and I decided to include an image of the supplies used to create over 100 pages of unedited drawings from the past 4 years—showing that all you need is paper, a pencil and your imagination (and some insane talent in Aron’s case)!

Limited to a run of 200 copies, each hard bound edition comes with a signed unreleased risograph print by Oddities Prints and is available now for preorder on his website. Shipping begins 4/1!

SHRINE TATTOO

The applications of the identity I created for Santa Fe based Shrine Tattoo seeks to enhance and not overpower the work of incredible artists Zac Scheinbaum, Aron Dubois, Marie Sena, and John Sultana, as well as a rotating list of guests.

A departure from maximalist identities of past tattoo shops, subtle elements come together to present an identity that is reflective of a professional, high-end and immaculately clean environment.

The idea for the primary logo mark for Shrine Tattoo is a graphic representation of a shrine, and it also spells the word T-A-T-T-O-O.

THE UC INVESTMENTS WAY
Designed at Mucho / CD: Rob Duncan

STRANGE MAGIC COFFEE

Strange Magic Coffee is a one woman owned roaster, creating otherworldly blends and single origin coffees. From farm to cup, they create some of the most exciting coffee coming from the Bay Area.

The brand was inspired by vintage concert posters, woman-fronted Alt Rock of the 90’s, and The Craft. I implemented varied techniques from the hand drawn brand, to sourcing photography for the labels, and packaging with a subtle nod to the typography of boxing-style concert posters.

Please contact cherishprie@gmail.com for more information on work.

www.wearemucho.com

Flash Art

This is an ongoing collection of symbols from my sketchbooks, including inspiration, and flash art for some tattoos I’ve handpoked.

Long sleeves and sweaters collaboration capsule available for purchase through Steezy Lurkers!

JEIA IDENTITY

Jeia (pronounced: JAY-uh) is a producer, DJ and fingerdrummer. Drawn to Toronto’s rising music scene, she moved to Toronto in 2017, leaving behind her career in Indonesia’s music industry to start over stronger. She has produced electronic-infused RnB music and remixes for singers and rappers alike. Her background as a drummer is very prominent in her production, combining dancey grooves with smooth melodies that RnB is known for. She has performed in a few notable events in Toronto beat scene, including Frequencies, The Build and Raw Vibes alongside Stlndrms and Elaquent, blending live fingerdrumming with a traditional DJ/beat set.

The identity was largely inspired by Indonesian art, locking patterns and female power. The typography nods to the grid of an electronic drum machine, built of individual squares. The logo its self stems from various electronic identities such as RCA and Roland.

VAN DYKES JOURNAL II

The second Van Dykes Journal showcases work by photographer Devyn Galindo and written interviews transcribed on the road from Los Angeles to Seattle. The interviews and photographs are stories of Dyke identity and queerness—and what that means for us during 2020. Devyn made the trip in their ‘78 green Westfalia VW van, lovingly named Sweetpea, inspired by a caravan of lesbians who called themselves the Van Dykes—roaming the US and Mexico in the 1970s.

This project hopes to dismantle the the great American road trip that focuses on the ability of whiteness to camouflage itself against the American landscape, while identifying stories of survival and visibility against an America that seeks to erase QTPOC narratives.

The second installment focuses inward, marking the fall equinox and the end of a year where everything has been questioned. Darker, more psychedelic images line the pages—a solid departure from the last journal.

Typeface: Attila Sans / Custom

THE MARTYR’S CROWN: VOLUME II
BY JOSEPH NICKLEY AND MICHAEL JOHN HARTNEY

The Martyr’s Crown: Volume II is a beautiful collection of meditational paintings by fine artist and tattooer Joseph Nickley and painter Michael John Hartney. Each spread shows an interpretation of the same figure by both artists and takes the reader on a journey through the masculine and feminine and the archetypes that play a part in both painters lives.

In Volume II of their work, I selected bespoke details like black edge painting, a black gloss foil stamp on the cover, and carefully selected typography for the written works. The mystique of the book begins with the nondescript cover, a symbol that recurs in many of the paintings within. The nature of the paintings transcend religion, and border on psychedelic, so the design solution was pared back and minimal to properly showcase the work. Through material selection and print techniques, the end result is a sophisticated and almost biblical-in-nature publication.

ADIDAS x MUSEUM OF ICE CREAM EVENT

I was asked to create custom flash designs for an experiential event, themed around a collaboration between the Museum of Ice Cream and Adidas. The two day event celebrated the release of the new Supercourt shoe by Adidas as well as their ongoing collaboration with the MoIC.

Customers who purchased a pair of Supercourt shoes during the private event could choose a design or monogram to be permanently foiled on to their new shoes using a hot foiling pen.

VAN DYKES JOURNAL

Photographer Devyn Galindo and I collaborated on a bespoke book containing photographs and interviews from a trip across the United States in their ‘78 green Westfalia VW van. The Van Dykes Project l is a travelogue of 3 months on the road, inspired by a caravan of lesbians who called themselves the Van Dykes—roaming the US and Mexico in the 1970s. This project hopes to dismantle the the great American road trip that focuses on the ability of whiteness to camouflage itself against the American landscape. For two brown queer folks navigating this space, the promise of safety looks different. As we move through these spaces, we hope to identify stories of survival and visibility against an America that seeks to erase QTPOC narratives.

I worked with Devyn and created an identity system for the book as well as other collateral in response to the aesthetic nature of the psychedelic and free love movements in the 70’s. The outcome blends that movement and hand-done nature with the aesthetic of the present. The resulting visual language seeks to convey a feeling of uniqueness, boldness and queerness.

Books and clothing are available for purchase through Printed Matter, NYC or Otherwild or through www.vandykesproject.com

Product photography courtesy of Devyn Galindo.

Typeface: Attila Sans / Custom

GPS Logo

Musician and electronics programmer, GPS, approached me to design their new electronic music project. What makes GPS unique is that they create midi controllers made out of programmed gaming ephemera.

The identity seeks to communicate wires from traditional electronic gear and futuristic minimalism.

Rejected logos at the very bottom!

36 DAYS OF TYPE

36 Days of Type is a project that invites designers, illustrators and graphic artists to express their particular interpretation of the letters and numbers of our alphabet.

36 Days of Type is an open call of restless creativity where participants are challenged to design a letter or number for each day, showing the outcome of the ability to represent the same symbols simultaneously with thousands of different participants’ perspectives.

36 Days of Type is a project that aims to be a space for creation around typography and its endless graphic possibilities.

I chose to create a cohesive set of minimal 3D rendered typography using Cinema4D and Photoshop.

Posters can be purchased via Society6 here.

CARE

Care is a line of luxury unisex skincare items with the duality of simplicity in design and complex scientifically proven botanical ingredients. Care features a line of 52 individually packaged products with a sleek soft touch box and foil engraved bottles.

The typography was developed to mimic the visual sound of a sigh of relaxation encased in a rectangular shape to signify protection. A soft sans-serif embodies the gentle yet sterile quality that Care emotes.

Creative direction, photography and design by Cherish Chang, Mel Rith & Alejandra Hernandez

PRO-BONO CLIENT: Creative Growth: Beyond Trend Pop-Up Shop

PHOTOGRAPHY: Michael Spicka

I worked on floor plans and spatial design with Imprint Projects to produce a retail store for Creative Growth's yearly fundraiser and fashion show, Beyond Trend. 

The event featured over 200 individual pieces of art available for purchase in the Pop-Up shop. Creative Growth Art Center serves artists with developmental, mental and physical disabilities, providing a professional studio environment for artistic development, gallery exhibition and representation and a social atmosphere among peers.