About

Kevin Cantrell Studio believes in the power of the word as a basic unit of human connection and understanding. As a typographic-centered design house, we are wordsmiths in the most literal sense, forging each letter, each sentence, and each logo, by paying excruciating attention to the details of the written word. The basis of good branding, marketing, and human engagement starts with having something important to say, and then portraying it sublimely.

KCS commits to fully understanding what your brand has to say. We then internalize those goals, beliefs, and desires, making them our own. As experts in the history of typography, we write, explore, draft narratives and design lettering forms that will convey your message on meta levels of literal & graphical meaning. Together, we create an opulent visual vocabulary for your brand and campaign that is exciting in variety, distinction, and cohesion.

Services

Branding

We don’t design logos. We design rich Branding Systems that adapt your brand to engage customers appropriately at each touch point. Rote repetition is anathema as customers engage you online, in packaging, through advertising, at point of sale and experientially. Our Branding Systems include the right media for the right moment: a proper Brand Strategy Architecture, Word & Graphic Marks, Monograms, Seals & Badges, custom brand Patterns & Fonts, Packaging, Mobile & Web, Signage and Dynamic Media for social marketing. Explore our Branding Systems:

  • Hotel & Luxury

    With a natural, meticulous attention to craftsmanship, KCS has an affinity for the refined perfection of luxury branding.

  • Food & Spirits

    We share the love of small batch craftsmanship of our food & spirit clients. Together, we create stand-out quality in the minds and mouths of your customers.

  • Services

    KCS helps businesses and services build differentiated, memorable branding systems amidst a competitive marketplace.

Campaigns

Similar to our branding offering, we partner with ad agencies and brands to design type-driven advertising. We are adaptive and can engage at a high strategic level conceiving of original advertising creative and executing against the concept. But, we also engage our clients against defined briefs to design spot-on creative leveraging our typographic and lettering expertise. Campaign elements can include creative work for Print, Web or Social.

Packaging

The Kevin Cantrell Studio’s forte is packaging design. From concept to final design, KCS takes it a step further with production-ready art & print vendor management to produce exquisite objet d’art packaging true to its vision. Specializing is multi-layer embossing combined with experience in advanced printing techniques, we produce packaging that is visually stunning, sophisticated, and tactile in the hand. In fact, we often think of this as touch branding.

Interactive Design

I am digital therefore I am. Every brand sooner or later must put up a web shingle. While most businesses exist in social media arenas, to be considered legit a website presence -a digital center of gravity if you will- is requisite. We design elegant, responsive sites that deliver your brand across mobile, tablet and desktop environments. Working with our UK based development partner we deliver cost effective, end-to-end interactive sites for our brand & advertising customers.

Team

Kevin Cantrell Founder & Creative Director

Head of his eponymous studio, Kevin functions as the creative director and design lead for all KCS client projects. Kevin has a deep understanding and love of lettering and typographical aesthetics. Earning a BFA in Graphic Design from Brigham Young University, 2008, he established his signature typographical aesthetics applying them to clients such as: Nike, Putnam, M&RL, Neenah Paper, Fetcham Park (UK), Harvard University, Princeton University, Phillips Exeter Academy and Cottonhouse Hotel (Barcelona). His work has been recognized by Communication Arts Design and Typography Annuals, Graphis, Type Directors Club, Print Regional Design Annual, the One Show. Kevin was named one of Print Magazine’s 20 under 30 New Visual Artists 2014 and is an Art DIrector’s Club (ADC) Young Gun 12.

Erik Attkisson Management & Strategy

Erik is a renaissance talent with business management and brand strategy experience honed during 19 years of brand marketing working for and with entrepreneurial and Fortune 500 companies. He managed Motorola’s global entertainment marketing, was the CMO of mobile accessory brand Case-Mate, and founded creative talent management agencies, Satellite Office and &Reach -now in their second decade of operations. His clients have included: IBM, Gatorade, FYI Network, Verizon, Target, adidas, Microsoft, Bacardi, and others. He holds a BA from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of management. He was granted a design patent for the Windows 7 desktop along with colleague Chuck Anderson and is the recipient of multiple innovation design awards from CEA and a Webby. In the 90’s, Erik was the drummer and one of the founders of the seminal, live hip-hop band Chucklehead.

Recognition

Awards

  • ADC Young Gun 12

  • Print New Visual Artist 2014

  • ADC 97 Gold Cube

  • ADC 97 Best of Typography

  • TDC 59-64

  • TDC 62 Juror's Choice

  • Comm Arts Design Annual 53, 55

  • Comm Arts Type Annual 3-8

  • Print Regional Design Annual '12, '13, '14

  • Graphis Type Annual '15, Gold

  • Graphis Design Annual '14, Silver

  • Graphis Letterhead 8 Platinum (x2)

  • SF Spirits Awards Gold & Silver, '16

  • The One Show, Merit '15

  • AIGA SLC Copper Ingots, '08-'09, '11-'15

Select Press

  • Mr-Cup Excellence Selection

  • CA Online Gallery, Lost Prophet

  • CA Online Gallery, Tabletalk Magazine

  • CA Online Gallery, Alsirhan Shoes

  • CA Online Gallery, Bent Shoe Brewing

  • The Dieline

  • GDUSA 2015 People To Watch

  • TDC Talk 2016 on branding

  • AIGA Portfolio Review 2018, Dreams