LET’S DO SOME DMG
From ZENIGMA to DMG
Originally Team ZENIGMA, an online esports amateur organization decided to localize and rebrand under the name Des Moines DMG. As one of their designers, they asked me to create a design, so after much research, this is what I came up with in the end. They wanted to emphasize the gaming scene within Iowa and have a mix of both traditional and non-traditional sports combined.
After some research, I found out Iowa went on a decade where they wanted to amplify Iowa's art culture, so I used this and ran with it. The designs are heavily inspired by artists like Keith Harring and Timothy Goodman.
We wanted to create something that felt personal, engaging, and unique to both Iowa and the gaming scene. We wanted to be leaders for everyone.
Art Direction Jewell Melisa Morton
Designer Jewell Melisa Morton
Artist Jewell Melisa Morton
2022
The original DMG launch featured a staff of 40 and the games: League of Legends, CS:GO, Valorant, Legends of Runeterra, Apex Legends, Overwatch, and Rocket League.
All graphics were created and designed to meet both Instagram and Twitter formats to increase outreach.
2022-2023
We were advised to move towards animations to follow the algorithm, but with a small team and even faster turnovers, it was time for trial and error.
2023
While we loved the animations, we felt that the motion wasn’t quite on brand, so we decided to re-evaluate and go back to our more traditional look and go for something more visually impactful: which meant a lot more drawing.
For a final stand concept, although it was never officially released because Des Moines DMG had to close its doors, these were the concepts I had thought out. We wanted to keep some of the old, but also show that it was our final stand if we had been able to make this push.
2023 Merch
As a team, we were tasked with creating a line of merchandise. The merch shown are the pieces I created.
I directed and created, 30+ hoodies, 30+ shirts, 10+ jerseys, 10+ crop tops, 10+ joggers, and more.
The images shown to the side are unreleased DMG merch that cannot or will not be published that I was created. This does not showcase all of the work produced during my time at DMG, but a scope of the designs when creating the merchandise that were created and released.
