Illustrating
Stewardship.
PERPETUITY - 2025
Designing and illustrating a landscape worth protecting.
Background
The Sacramento Valley Conservancy (SVC) is an accredited nonprofit land trust founded in 1990 that protects the natural landscapes, wildlife habitats, agricultural lands, and public open spaces throughout California’s Sacramento Valley. Through land stewardship, conservation, and community engagement, SVC preserves these environments for future generations.
For its annual fundraising event, Treasures of the Valley, SVC partnered with Touchstone Brewing Company to release a limited-edition beer, Perpetuity. The collaboration called for a custom beer label that would celebrate the Conservancy’s mission while encouraging awareness and support for protecting the region’s landscapes and wildlife.
Problem Statement
The challenge was to create a beer label that communicated the Sacramento Valley Conservancy’s conservation mission while remaining visually compelling, memorable, and authentic to both the organization and Touchstone Brewing Company’s brand.
Process
Rather than beginning with visual trends found in craft beer packaging, I immersed myself in the landscapes the Sacramento Valley Conservancy exists to protect. Research into the Conservancy’s preserves, native habitats, wildlife, agricultural lands, and trail systems revealed that the region’s greatest strength wasn’t any single landmark or species, and rather it was the interconnected relationship between them.
That insight became the foundation of the design.
Instead of treating each landscape as an isolated scene, I used flowing curves to weave wetlands, rivers, agricultural fields, and hiking trails into one continuous composition. The movement of the landscape echoes the wingspan of the Great Blue Heron, chosen as the central figure because of its presence throughout many of the Conservancy’s protected areas. Supporting wildlife including ducklings, dragonflies, and grazing cattle were intentionally selected to reinforce the diversity of habitats while illustrating the balance between conservation and working agricultural lands.
Throughout the illustration process, I refined the composition to improve clarity, hierarchy, and storytelling. Some elements from the original concept were removed to reduce visual complexity, while others evolved through collaboration with Amy Rodrigues, Communications & Marketing Director for the Sacramento Valley Conservancy. One notable refinement replaced a deer with grazing cattle, strengthening the narrative by more accurately representing the Conservancy’s stewardship of both natural ecosystems and agricultural landscapes.
Color also became an important storytelling tool. Greens and blues reflected the valley’s rivers, wetlands, and open spaces, while warm oranges captured the glow of Sacramento sunsets. Together, the palette mirrored both the environment itself and the tasting notes of Perpetuity: a hoppy pale ale with citrus, fresh grass, and the feeling of spring mornings across the valley.
Results
The final illustration was selected as the official label for Perpetuity, the collaborative fundraising beer between Sacramento Valley Conservancy and Touchstone Brewing Company. By transforming the Conservancy’s mission into a cohesive visual narrative, the design helped celebrate California’s protected landscapes while supporting a community partnership dedicated to conservation, education, and environmental stewardship.
HERITAGE OAK - 2026
Illustrating an oak rooted in a landscape worth protecting.
Background
Heritage Oak is my 2026 beer label design for the Sacramento Valley Conservancy (SVC) and Touchstone Brewing collaboration. SVC manages Deer Creek Hills Preserve, approximately 4,600 acres of protected land in southeastern Sacramento County. Its rolling grasslands, blue oak woodlands, and seasonal creeks support wildlife, conservation education, and outdoor recreation. The preserve also remains a working cattle ranch, bringing land stewardship and agriculture together.
Following my Perpetuity label, I approached Heritage Oak as another opportunity to communicate the preserve’s identity through illustration. This time, I centered the composition on the oak, a defining feature of the landscape and a visual connection between the land, its wildlife, and the effort to protect it.
Problem Statement
The challenge was to make the heritage oak the unmistakable focal point while communicating the wider landscape it belongs to. I wanted the tree to feel rooted in a living environment, with surrounding animals and landscape elements contributing to the story rather than competing for attention.
The compact label required careful balance between illustration and beverage information. The design needed to convey the oak’s presence and significance while maintaining clear hierarchy, recognizable wildlife, and a cohesive composition at its final printed size.
Process
I built the illustration around the oak, using its branching structure and canopy to anchor the scene. Around it, I incorporated cattle, California quail, a red fox, three swallows, and a stream. Together, these elements expanded the narrative beyond a single tree to suggest the relationship between woodland, grassland, water, and the animals inhabiting the landscape. The cattle also connected the illustration to the preserve’s identity as a working ranch.
I developed the artwork in Illustrator using simplified vector shapes and silhouettes. This approach allowed me to adjust individual elements while maintaining a consistent visual language across the scene. A limited palette connected the landscape and wildlife, while orange sunlight accents introduced warmth and contrast.
As the composition developed, feedback guided further adjustments. I refined the balance between the oak and its surroundings. I reduced the tree’s scale and adjusted the animals’ sizes so the oak remained central without overwhelming the available space. I also revisited the sky color to improve the relationship between foreground and background. These revisions strengthened the hierarchy and helped the smaller details remain distinguishable.
Results
The resulting label uses the heritage oak as a clear visual anchor within a cohesive illustrated landscape. Its supporting details communicate wildlife, cattle ranching, and a sense of place while the simplified vector forms suit the compact packaging format.
Alongside Perpetuity, Heritage Oak adds another perspective to my work for the SVC and Touchstone Brewing collaboration. The project demonstrates my ability to develop a visual narrative, respond thoughtfully to feedback, and refine scale, color, and hierarchy without losing the central concept.