Chronicles is a repository of articles, client projects, creative musings and products. All content is copyrighted by MKN Design. Reproduction without express written consent is prohibited. To license a specific illustration or design, please contact me via email.

 

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Article
August 2025

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Designed to Speak
Designing an impactful ad often begins with curiosity and research. I can’t say that these 2 ads hit the mark, but I can say they were born from the kind of thinking I admire most. They’re inspired by the timeless VW Bug campaigns from Bill Bernbach, co-founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB), whose creative philosophy reshaped advertising.

What I admire most about Bill Bernbach’s philosophy is his belief that creativity isn’t decoration—it’s communication. His work showed that honesty, simplicity, and respect for the audience could be more powerful than any gimmick. That idea guides my own approach. Find the truth in what you’re saying, strip away what’s unnecessary, and design it so it speaks clearly and confidently. Below are the core tenets of Bernbach's philosophy:

1. Truth & Purpose: Creativity should serve the truth, not exist for its own sake.
2. Integrated Execution: Art and copy must work together; how a message is delivered matters as much as the message itself.
3. Respecting the Audience: Treat consumers as intelligent humans—direct, honest, and human.
4. Simplicity: Communicate a product’s essence clearly and simply.
5. Relevance: Messages must connect meaningfully to the consumer’s life.
6. Adaptation: Shape techniques around ideas, stay fresh, and don’t fear risk.
7. Stand Out: If you stand for nothing, you’ll have no one against you—and no one for you.

Well Used.
I like to think of myself as a well-used pencil. Not worn—just well practiced.
I haven’t gotten older—but sharper, simpler, smarter.
Over the years, I’ve refined how I help brands tell their story.
I’ve sharpened my skills—smarter strategy, sharper messaging, stronger design.
I’ve improved my process hundreds of times.
I’ve built stronger relationships, better systems, and smarter brands.
I’ve learned what to say—and, more importantly, what not to.
And why all this progress?
Because I focus on what lasts, not what’s trendy.
This is what matters:
Work that communicates.
Ideas that matter.
Design that lasts.

Less is More.
I’ve made my share of marks.
Some stayed. Some didn’t.
For every idea that made the page,
there were a dozen I erased.
Not because they were wrong—but because they got me closer to what was right.That’s the quiet work no one sees.
The pause before the next line.
The moment of clarity that comes from the unnecessary.
I’ve learned that erasing isn’t undoing.
It’s refining.
It’s how clarity finds its form.
So yes, I use both ends of the pencil.
Because good design isn’t about adding more. It’s knowing what to take away.
What remains is what matters:
Work that communicates.
Ideas that matter.
Design that lasts.

  • Learn how my principles guide a thoughtful, transparent design process—one that aligns your brand, business goals, and audience insights to create purposeful, engaging work.

    → Studio Principles & Design Process

Developing a Visual Strategy for Your Brand

↑ This graphic highlights the research phase (input) and the design phase (output).

Article
August 2025

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Developing a Visual Strategy for Your Brand
Bold, simple illustration systems can do more for your brand than you think. It’s not just decoration—it’s a visual strategy. Clean, memorable forms can make your brand instantly recognizable, adapt seamlessly across mediums, and connect with audiences in a way that feels authentic. That’s why I design custom illustarated visuals tailored to your brand’s personality, tone, and story. Built as a scalable system, they work seamlessly across your website, print materials, and social media graphics.

Visual strategies range from literal to conceptual, simple to complex, and extend across iconography, illustration, and environmental design.

The result? Illustrations that not only look great, but also communicate your brand, connect with your audience, and stand the test of time—just like the iconography system I developed with Monotype for Riot Games. View the project here.

To create a strong visual system that delivers real impact, I start by understanding your brand messaging framework and visual identity—what I call input. This includes researching your history, vision, and competitors to uncover what makes your brand unique. From this often-chaotic mix of insights, my role is to distill, clarify, and translate them into an authentic, distinctive, and cohesive visual system—the output. This stage takes time and care, often involving multiple revisions, refinements, additional concepting, and your feedback to ensure it aligns perfectly with your brand’s vision.

If your brand is ready for that kind of impact, let’s talk!

Why Visual Systems Strengthen Your Brand:

1. Instant Recognition
Bold, simplified illustrative forms are easier for people to recall and recognize across different contexts—whether on packaging, digital ads, websites, or a small app icon.

2. Strong Brand Personality
They convey confidence and clarity, giving your brand a distinctive visual voice that can feel approachable, playful, or modern depending on the style.

3. Scalability & Flexibility
Simple illustration styles hold up at any size—from a billboard to a tiny social media avatar—without losing detail or impact.

4. Cross-cultural Accessibility
Clean, universal forms often transcend language barriers, helping your brand connect with diverse audiences more effectively.

5. Consistency Across Mediums
Simple illustrations are easier to adapt for web, print, merchandise, motion graphics, or environmental branding while staying on-brand.

6. Emotional Connection
Even pared-down visuals can carry warmth, humor, or storytelling—making your brand feel human and relatable in ways photography alone sometimes can’t.

7. Modern, Timeless Appeal
Bold, simple illustrations can feel contemporary while avoiding overly trendy details that might age quickly.

8. Cost-effectiveness in Production
They’re often less expensive to reproduce, print, or animate than complex imagery, especially in multi-channel campaigns.

 

↑ A small glimpse into my chaotic artboard, filled endless icon variations and subtle adjustments.

The Soul in the System

Article
Tommy Allen from Rapid Growth Media
July 23, 2025

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The Soul in the System,
Michael Nÿkamp on creativity, AI, & the future of design

When designer Michael Nÿkamp considers his many years in the field, he offers more than just a list of accomplishments; he shares profound insights into human nature and creativity. In a world swiftly reshaped by artificial intelligence, his reflections serve as both a foundation and a call to action. 

Nÿkamp openly acknowledges the tension: AI is rapidly transforming all aspects of life. However, instead of sensational reactions, the perspective of this seasoned design professional is thoughtful and nuanced. He encourages us to participate in a dialogue rather than deliver a final judgment. In short, sometimes we need to sit with something before we can respond to it. 

“AI can replicate style,” Nÿkamp shared, “but it can’t replicate soul.”

And that soul, he argues, is the designer’s responsibility to protect—especially now.

Where Imagination Begins
Like many lifelong creatives, Nÿkamp’s journey started with crayons and curiosity. “As a kid, you draw just to draw,” he says. “There’s no right or wrong—just experimentation, just imagination.”

That experimentation continues to shape his approach today. Whether he’s developing creative strategies, designing, illustrating, or crafting brand identities, Nÿkamp depends on the intuitive play developed through years of hands-on, analog experimentation. He even encourages giving kids access to basic, tactile tools – such as paper, pencils, and crayons – not necessarily as a career pathway, but to foster critical thinking.

Nÿkamp consistently underscored this idea: when we allow children to make freely, they learn how to think freely. That flexibility, he believes, will be essential in an AI-driven world.

Tools are not the Threat—Disconnection is
Today, many run around like Chicken Little proclaiming that the sky is falling when discussing AI replacing designers, but Nÿkamp sees it as about relationship, not replacement. He says AI can assist designers – for example, using Photoshop presets for tasks like replacing a background fill or refining language in client materials with ChatGPT – but he knows its limits.

“Because I’m an experienced (and hopefully wiser) designer, I’m showing up with more than just technical skills,” he says. “Those foundational skills still matter in an AI-driven world.”

He perceives the real danger not in the tools themselves but in the temptation to bypass human connection completely. To Nÿkamp, when design turns purely transactional, we forgo not only nuance and empathy but also the chance to create something genuinely meaningful.

A Familiar Model: AI as the new Junior Designer
Nÿkamp reflects on his early experience in the design industry, where he worked under an experienced art director. As a junior designer, his role involved executing ideas from his senior, making quick iterations, and absorbing knowledge through this creation process, which is common within many industries. 

Over time, through repeated exposure and practice, he developed the ability to think like a director: strategically, systematically, and empathetically.

“As a junior designer, I had to do a lot of things. I was the hands of the art director,” he says. “And you learn through that process. You hate it—but your own ideas come out through it.”

From this perspective, he sees AI not as a replacement but more as a willing intern or assistant. It can adhere to instructions and produce initial ideas, yet it still needs guidance, judgment, and oversight.

“You still need someone to direct that no matter what,” he emphasized. “Creativity, imagination, and those wow moments where things connect—that’s still ours to do.”

Sensitivity, Strategy, and the Soul of Design
Nÿkamp repeatedly returned to one word: sensitivity. Whether he is interpreting client cues or reflecting on his own emotional experiences, his work is driven by a profound attentiveness to the individuals at the other end of the communication.

“When you are designing something, you are being sensitive to the people that you’re creating for,” he says. “Sometimes it’s not even for others—sometimes it’s for yourself.”

He believes that the true worth of design is in the emotional experience it evokes, not just the visual appearance. While AI can replicate shapes and tone, it cannot derive inspiration from real-life experiences such as heartbreak, joy, or the depth of long-term collaboration.

Michigan as creative soil
Nÿkamp, based in Michigan, has observed the state’s transition from a manufacturing power to a subtle yet influential design center. However, he is concerned that the focus on marketable skills such as user experience and user interface might cause us to overlook something more fundamental.

“We’ve kind of lost the soul of what painting is, or what design is, from pure expression,” he says. “It feels like a production line.”

He champions the conservation of fundamental, analog techniques in design education—like sketching, storytelling, and manual work. These are more than just nostalgic practices; they are essential tools for cultivating voice, vision, and conceptual clarity.

Designing for a World in Transition
We’ve been interacting with AI for a longer time than many realize – through Google autocomplete, Grammarly suggestions, and spam filters, all examples of this evolving tech. However, what’s changed now is the speed and breadth of AI's development. For Michael Nÿkamp, this signals that creatives must now take time to reflect, adapt, and lead the way.

“Designers need to keep asking better, deeper questions,” he says. “That’s how you build work that resonates on a real level.”

His final call is not to turn away from technology but to infuse it with more human touch, embracing what he refers to as the “wandering” that fuels creative expression. After all, ideas don’t always come instantly; they require space, questions, and connection with people.

A Story We’re Still Writing
Michael Nÿkamp doesn’t provide simple solutions, but he clarifies that design will persist because people will, too. Tools may evolve, and the speed of change will quicken. However, the fundamental needs to connect, to move, and to imagine remain as essential as before.

This serves as a reminder that we have always depended on tools to support our thinking. Like any effective collaboration, the outcome varies based on who holds the pencil and their intentions.

Photos provided by Tommy Allen and Michael Nÿkamp of MKN Design. Please visit his website for more examples of his work.

  • Tommy Allen, a Communications Major from Calvin University, is a founding member of Rapid Growth and the innovative placemaker behind the "no topic off-limits" weekly G-Sync column as well as the author of more than 2,500 stories on the Greater Grand Rapids art scene from 2008 until March 2020.

    → Link to Article on Rapid Growth

Strategy Requires Creativity

Article + Client Projects
July 2024

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Strategy Requires Creativity
I remember when all creative concepts were hand-drawn. I honed this skill during my college years studying illustration and design, and continue to use it to this day. Nowadays, most clients don't see my sketches, as presenting 'polished' work has become the norm. Nevertheless, my sketches are what made the project.

For me, sketching is essential for visual problem solving and connecting ideas. It continues to help me to create strong visual concepts not only requiring a skilled hand and a good eye, but also empathetic, critical, and conceptual thinking.

If you're seeking human insight, creativity, and thoughtfulness, I can help your brand craft strategic, compelling and unique solutions based on your business objectives, your brand, and your consumers.