Phil Markel

Rogue Farms is all about growing the revolution—from ground to glass. This package design series introduced Rogue Ales & Spirits’ new Rogue Farms line, featuring beers crafted exclusively from ingredients grown at Rogue Farms in Independence and Tygh Valley, Oregon. Each brew showcases a key ingredient or unique aspect of the farm, brought to life through detailed hand-drawn illustrations on the front of each bottle.

For this project, I created original illustrations for each label, designed the bottles and packaging, developed graphics for the digital retail catalog, edited product photography, and produced digital marketing and sales assets.

Additionally, I illustrated the Rogue Proprietary Palate, a visual guide highlighting all the crops grown at Rogue Farms.

This hand-illustrated and lettered design was created for Powell's Books, featuring the iconic Powell’s red book tightly squeezed by a sly, slithering serpent. Originally designed as a playful souvenir for both snake and book enthusiasts, it quickly gained popularity. Thanks to the success of the sticker, the design evolved into a beloved snake-themed mug and t-shirt!

To enhance campus navigation, student engagement, and overall vibrancy, I designed a comprehensive signage system for Mt. Hood Community College. This project included:

Student Services Hub Signage: Clear, welcoming signage to help students easily locate essential support services.

Campus Window Graphics: Dynamic, branded window displays that added personality and excitement to high-traffic areas.

Student Union Signage: Bold, engaging visuals that reinforced the space as a central hub for connection and activities.

Campus Welcome Signs: Large, visually appealing entry signs that set a warm and inviting tone for visitors and students.

Student Resource Posters: Strategically placed posters highlighting key campus resources, ensuring students stay informed.

Beyond improving wayfinding, these designs fostered school spirit and engagement, serving as backdrops for social media moments and student interactions. This project balanced function with creativity, making the campus more navigable, lively, and student-friendly.

Outdoor Adventure was a transformative exhibit at the Portland Children's Museum, turning over 1.3 acres of previously inaccessible land into an immersive outdoor play space designed to inspire exploration, creativity, and a deeper connection with nature. As part of the Museum’s Marketing team, I played a key role in developing communication and design elements that helped bring this vision to life.

My contributions to the project included:

Brand Identity: Designed the visual identity for the exhibit, ensuring a cohesive and engaging look across all touchpoints.

Sponsorship Materials: Created a compelling informational packet for corporate sponsors to secure funding and community support.

Signage & Wayfinding: Developed a comprehensive signage system that guided visitors through the space while enhancing their understanding of the environment.

Interactive Elements: Designed educational components that encouraged hands-on learning and enriched the visitor experience.

This project was a unique opportunity to merge design, education, and outdoor play, reinforcing the Museum’s mission to foster creativity and curiosity in children and families.

Roots is a locally owned nonprofit tap house and restaurant that brings together craft beverages, high-quality Southern-inspired cuisine, and exceptional customer service in a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere.

I had the privilege of developing the complete brand identity for Roots, including the logo suite, style guide, and branded merchandise. My process began with in-depth collaboration with the owners to uncover the heart of Roots—its strong connection to the Lake Oswego community. A key inspiration was the Oswego Iron Furnace, a historic landmark built in 1866, representing resilience, craftsmanship, and local heritage. The primary logo highlights this iconic structure, creating a brand that feels authentic, rooted in history, and deeply connected to the city it serves.

Deliverables:

- Comprehensive logo suite & brand identity package

- Website and social media asset design

- Stationery & print collateral

- Branded apparel & merchandise (glassware, apparel, etc.)

This project was an exciting opportunity to craft a brand that honors its local roots while creating a strong, memorable identity for the community.

This branded merchandise collection was inspired by Powell’s Books’ iconic Rare Book Room (RBR). Through detailed illustrations, I captured the unique elements and charm of the RBR, transforming its sophisticated mystique into approachable, relatable designs.

The goal of this project was to reach a broader audience, introducing the Rare Book Room to those who may have found it intimidating or inaccessible. By blending artistic creativity with strategic branding, the merchandise brings a sense of warmth and familiarity to the RBR, encouraging curiosity and engagement with Powell’s treasured collection of rare and historic books.

The result is a line of products that not only celebrates the Rare Book Room but also invites customers to connect with its story in a meaningful and approachable way.

Established in 1982, the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival is an annual three-day celebration of jazz culture hosted by Mt. Hood Community College, featuring renowned musicians, student ensembles, and community events.

As the Visual Design Strategist for MHCC, I led the revitalization of the festival's brand and visual identity to enhance its impact and appeal. I developed comprehensive brand guidelines to ensure consistency across all materials and refined the festival's logo, striking a balance between its rich history and a modern aesthetic.

Beyond branding, I designed a wide range of assets to create a seamless and engaging audience experience. This included merchandise, on-site signage for wayfinding and stage backdrops, and a full suite of marketing materials—including print and digital advertisements, social media graphics, and email campaigns. Additionally, I crafted a visually engaging event program that highlighted artist lineups, schedules, and festival history.

By integrating a cohesive visual strategy across all platforms, I helped elevate the festival’s presence, attract a wider audience, and reinforce its reputation as a premier jazz event in the region.

As the Design Manager at Powell’s Books, I developed a diverse range of creative assets that embodied the brand’s iconic status in the literary world while engaging a wide audience of book lovers.

Here is a range of promotional campaigns that I created for Powell’s, ranging from collaborations with Portland Nursery to our Best Books of the year list.

These projects demonstrated my ability to translate brand values into compelling designs, manage cross-functional collaboration, and adapt creative strategies to various platforms and audiences. Each piece balanced artistry with functionality, ensuring Powell’s Books remained a beloved cultural institution in the minds of its customers.

These are examples of the teaching series and event graphics I art directed and designed for Rolling Hills Community Church.

Each sermon series explores a diverse range of topics—from in-depth Bible studies to thematic teachings and special events. My role was to develop a distinct visual identity for each series, designing graphics that capture the essence of the message, spark curiosity, and encourage engagement. Through thoughtful composition, typography, and imagery, I aimed to create compelling visuals that resonate with the congregation and enhance the overall storytelling experience.

Borland Free Clinic’s mission is to bring hope and healing to vulnerable people in our community as an expression of Christ’s love. The vision for the Borland Free Clinic is for every person in the South Metro area of Portland, Oregon to have the blessing of access to quality healthcare that is respectful and compassionate.

I had the privilege of developing the complete brand identity for Borland Free Clinic, including the logo suite, style guide, signage package, and digital assets.

This project was an exciting opportunity to develop a brand that is doing so much good in our community through free health care services.

I was tasked with creating a a gift box set for the staff team at Rolling Hills. The vision of the church was to be more biblically focused, allowing God to lead us through His Word. I illustrated this camp lantern and designed the scripture text surrounding the drawing as the focal point on the project. I also created a typographic treatment of the scripture to use on the box, card insert and signage.

Each gift box included: graphic tee, gift box, mini poster, instruction card, journaling Bible, pen, small lantern and tag.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. — Psalm 119:105

The Field Station is a part of the Outdoor Adventure exhibit at Portland Children's Museum. This space was designed for families to prepare for their big adventure as well as calming down after a day outside. My role for this project was to design this exhibit and follow it through to completion. My process included moodboarding, illustrating the completed room, ordering furniture, selecting paint/textiles/wood, staging shadow boxes, designing all signage, illustrating an interactive map, and dressing the space for visitors.

This illustration series was a passion project inspired by our family’s wonderfully eclectic collection of coffee mugs. Each watercolor drawing captures the unique charm and personality of these everyday vessels, turning them into little works of art.

Discover the latest additions to the collection on Instagram @philmarkelcreative — just follow the hashtag #MarkelMugs to see more!

I had the pleasure of designing the brand identity for my good friend Huck's hot sauce company, Huck's Humboldt Hotties. The goal was to create a brand that stayed true to Huck's vision — quirky, playful, and proudly celebrating a queer and veteran-owned business. The visual inspiration for the mushroom characters came from Huck's tradition of decorating his market booths with stuffed mushroom mascots. I brought that charm to life through a vibrant color palette and an illustrative style that honors the brand's queer values and down-to-earth spirit. These hot sauces aren’t just fiery and delicious—they’re packed with personality!

Follow Huck's Humboldt Hotties on Instagram: @hucks_humboldt_hotties

These digital portrait illustrations were both fun and challenging to create. I enjoy capturing each face, allowing their personality to shine through. To create these, I used the pen tool via Illustrator.

The human headshots were commissioned spot illustrations for Barista Magazine, and the pet illustrations were done for various clients.

Bacon and eggs. Peanut butter and jelly. Salt and pepper. The campaign for We Go Together Like... Marriage Conference was designed to help remind couples how they fit together. 

We Go Together Like... was a fun, friendly conference designed to reach a younger demographic. The bold style illustrations and variation made the campaign seem friendly and relatable. An animated gif, showing the various sets, was used on social media channels to promote the conference. Another aspect of the social campaign included a set of cutout boards. These were set up at the church lobby for people to interact with and take photos with their significant other. A unique hashtag was visible for people to post and tag their images.

I was responsible for developing the name, designing the campaign, directing the overall concept, creating the deliverables, and managing the project. The deliverables that were created included: logo mark, poster series, animated gif, social media promotional assets, website graphics, illustration sets, presentations, cutout boards, notebook takeaways, and postcards.

This postcard collection features 12 unique designs inspired by the treasured books from Powell’s Rare Book Room. Each postcard showcases a hand-painted watercolor illustration, created by me, capturing the charm and character of these rare and valuable books.

The paintings embrace a wonky yet endearing style, celebrating the individuality of each book while highlighting their elegance and significance. These vibrant watercolor designs were thoughtfully transformed into postcards and sold as a beautifully curated set, offering a playful yet refined way to bring the Rare Book Room’s magic to life.

As the Graphic Designer for Rogue Ales & Spirits, I had the privilege of working with an excellent brand. Through designing packaging for Rogue, I have been able to honor the legacy of the famous PDX carpet, help a Oregon nonprofit raise money for a new exhibit and collaborate with an iconic artisan textile company to create some beautiful bottle designs.

Some of the packaging I designed for Rogue include:

- Pendleton Pilsner

- Voodoo Doughnut Mango Astronaut Ale

- Portland State University Viktory Ale

- PDX Carpet IPA

- Sunken Vessale (Oregon Coast Aquarium)

- Rogue Rations condiment collection

I designed and developed the communications strategy for Search and Respond: Pray, Discovery, Share, annual all-church initiative. Below is the campaign blurb:

God is inviting us to Search and Respond; keeping our eyes open and hearts in tune with Him, ready to respond in whatever way He asks.

This ministry year God is calling our faith family to pray for the lost, discover where He is leading and share the Gospel.

This illustration has been featured in multiple issue of Barista Magazine. The section of the magazine features two coffee experts answering questions about various coffee equipment.

I was responsible for branding Cycle City: A Spin on Bikes, an in-house exhibit at Portland Children's Museum. This exhibit uniquely reflected Portland through an exploration of the creative potential of bikes beyond transportation. I created the brand to be playful, inviting, and Portlandy. Deliverables I designed included: all marketing signage, large outdoor banner, dedicated webpage, digital advertisements, posters, postcards, informational booklets, aprons, and a donor recognition sign.

I created this campaign, because I have never been to a round-up before and have always wanted to go. I felt that I might stick out and look awkward if I didn’t know what to expect. I thought that others might feel the same way, and ... a project was born. The Pendleton Round-Up Campaign was designed to help round-upers feel more comfortable. I created a “How to be a Cowboy” Kit, a booklet outlining what is involved in the Pendleton Round-Up, posters, and a window cling for your car (to make you look more like a cowboy).

Yeehaw!

I love to eat pineapple. So, to honor my love of this delicious fruit, I decided to create a series exploring different pineapple designs.

More coming soon!

This illustration was featured in April + May 2017 of Barista Magazine. The article talks about how best to rebrand your coffee business or cafe. I first sketched the design on paper, then rendered the digital illustration through Adobe Illustrator.

As the Graphic Designer for Rogue Ales & Spirits I was responsible for creating visual communication materials to build and strengthen the Rogue brand.

Here I highlighted some digital graphics I created during my time at Rogue. These graphics were used on the main website, online store, social media and email marketing. 

This collection of fabric was so fun to design! I have a passion for beer and would love to brew my own spirits one day. Through this line of fabric I wanted to connect textile design with home-brewing. There are three parts to this collection: ingredients, the brewing process and patterns. Not only is this fabric ideal for the home-brewing beer lover, but is also educational for those that don’t know much about the brewing process. 

This illustration was featured in the April + May 2016 issue of Barista Magazine. The article explains how coffee shops can utilize social media to promote business. I used this concept to illustrate the main social channels as a cafe workers.  

This dynamic, multi-faceted campaign was developed for Rogue Ales & Spirits, capturing the rebellious spirit of the brand while celebrating community and adventure. I designed a wide range of creative assets, including: a politically inspired propaganda-themed poster, a custom Rogue Nation crest, and an eye-catching RV wrap that transformed Big Al, the Rogue Nation President, into a traveling icon of revolution.

Additionally, I created a striking illustration of Big Al in the distinctive Rogue style, along with cohesive digital ads, email templates, and social media assets to support and amplify the campaign. As Big Al traversed the country, toasting to the revolution and encountering fellow Rogues, the campaign's visual storytelling united audiences and elevated brand engagement.

Through bold design and consistent messaging, this project successfully embodied the spirit of Rogue, fostering a sense of revolutionary belonging and rebellious pride among its followers.

As the Graphic Design Manager at Portland Children’s Museum I was responsible for overseeing consistency in all visual communication materials ranging from print to web to spacial design. Some of the projects I worked on included: exhibit design and branding, menu design, event invitations, capital campaign fundraising materials, apparel design, postcards, maps, package design, brochures, and web design. Through my work at the Museum, I have learned a lot about marketing, production, and the communications field.

I have also designed and branded exhibits for the Museum. These projects include The Art Gallery, The Field Station and Outdoor Adventure.

This project was so fun! This was a volunteer service project through my church. I was asked to design and art direct a visitation room at a local DHS facility. Since I have a connection to the Children's Museum, and all the other rooms were Portland themes, they wanted this room to reflect the Museum. I decided to approach the space as a mini Portland, designed for families with small children. My dad, Dan Markel, helped me to build a bridge structure and slide. The mural behind the bridge is a kid-like version of Downtown. Other local landmarks include, Mt. Hood, the Willamette River (the blue carpet), and the Children's Museum. I was honored to be apart of this project and hope that this room serves as a functional and beautiful space for families to connect.