David Gehlen
Hi, I’m David.
My friends describe me as genuine, thoughtful, and diligent. I’m passionate about sports, fashion, mental health awareness. My favorite part of the creative process is the moment when I realize what a project is all about. My strengths include visual storytelling, brand identity, and experience design.
“Authenticity is the journey of figuring out who you are through what you make.” -Donald Glover
POINT C
Point C is an initiative to raise awareness for the importance of mental health as it pertains to the lives of student-athletes. Although mental health is a pillar of holistic wellbeing, it is often neglected due to stigma and miseducation. Point C recognizes coaches and athletic administrators as the key influences in a student-athlete’s experience and is here to guide them in fostering a positive mental health culture for their programs. Meditation is an emphasis of the project that highlights the benefits of mindfulness for managing anxiety and achieving goals. Point C provides a “coach’s journey” to map out the path to successfully cultivating a community that values student-athletes’ mental health.
STREETLETES
Streetletes is a sportswear brand for everyone who plays for the pure fun and love of sports. We believe sport is sacred, an experience outside of our everyday reality that has the power to universally unite. At the same time, sports are completely made up phenomenons that is born out of our innate need to play, create, and be in community. The transcendent nature of play captures our imaginations, inviting us to join in the lifestyle. Above all, we are inclusive, because sport is for everyone. Streetletes currently has a number of projects in development, including a website, a podcast, print publications, apparel collections, and various apps.
KING’S VALLEY RESERVES
King’s Valley Reserves is brand identity and product design project based off of LeBron James and his appreciation for wine. The emerging culture of wine appreciation and collection has become a hobby for many of the NBA’s most premiere players. This is especially culturally significant as athletes intentionally position themselves as players, not only on the court, but also in the business world. Wine is a symbol of class and good taste, an interest that requires attention to detail and dedication to craft, traits often in common with elite athletes. I researched sneaker seeding kits, sleek and sophisticated aesthetics, color and materials, as well as the personal values of the brand’s inspiration, King James himself.
