Dustin Lee James Foundation
The Dustin Lee James Foundation reached out with a special request: to create a design for their annual fall fundraiser BBQ. This event brings together friends, family, and community members to honor the life and legacy of Dustin James, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. The fundraiser features a silent raffle packed with donated items—from YETI coolers to local event passes—alongside great food and heartfelt connection. Backed by a family of proud Texas A&M graduates, the foundation raises funds for pancreatic cancer research and supports an A&M scholarship that helps 1–2 students receive their class rings each year. The challenge was to design a piece that felt deeply meaningful to the family while also drawing attention and encouraging support for a great cause.
Discovery
Unlike typical projects where I start with a moodboard, this design began with in-depth research. The Dustin Lee James Foundation already had an established visual identity, so instead, I focused on learning about the foundation itself and the life of Dustin James. My goal was to ensure the design honored his legacy in a way that felt personal and authentic to those who knew him.
Through my research—and a personal connection to Dustin’s wife—two meaningful symbols stood out: his signature cowboy hat and the Texas A&M Aggie ring he proudly earned. These became the heart of the two custom designs I developed moving forward.
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In addition, the foundation shared a previously commissioned design that hadn’t fully met their needs. I was asked to apply my design experience to refine and rework it to better support their cause.
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I carefully selected typography for each design that balanced clarity with character. In the ring design, I used Montserrat SemiBold for its clean, modern look and strong readability, even when alternating colors.
For the hat design, I paired Filmotype Western and Beastly to evoke a bold Wild West feel, adding extra personality. The rope lettering was created with a custom brush script, bringing a hand-crafted, rugged touch to complete the look.
Sketches
With the design direction in mind, I focused on fine-tuning a single sketch for each of the two new concepts. Additionally, I recreated and recolored the original design provided by the foundation in Illustrator, transforming it into my third concept. This approach allowed me to present a polished version of the original design, better aligned with the client’s needs, instead of starting from scratch with a new sketch.
1st Iterations
I presented these concepts to the client, who was thrilled with all of them. They decided to use each design for their BBQ fundraisers over the next few years.
The new designs required only minor adjustments, while the redesign of the previously commissioned design needed no changes at all.
Final Design
For the final round of designs, I made a few small but important adjustments. In the ring design, I removed the periods at the end of the repetitive sentences and changed the capital "B" to lowercase. For the hat design, I added texture to the ribbon and adjusted the phrase “the hell outta” to be all lowercase for a more cohesive look. Additionally, I created a version of the ring design without the surrounding text and logo, making it more suitable for use on magnets and stickers.
Reflections
Designing for the Dustin Lee James Foundation was an incredibly rewarding experience. Even though these designs were donated, I found myself especially proud of the work. Being able to create something that held deep personal meaning and evoked real emotion from the client made this project one of the most impactful in my portfolio.