Balloon Brigade

Anti Balloon-Release Campaign + Nonprofit Identity

Client: Balloon Brigade (Nonprofit)
Agency: Arcana Academy
Role: Identity, Art Direction, Web Design, Merch Design, Photography, Motion
Type: Brand Identity, E-comm, Merch, Posters, Photo + Motion

A brand built to stop balloon releases.
Balloon Brigade raises awareness that balloon releases can be deadly to marine life, and organizes shoreline and ocean cleanups off the LA coast.

Design system built to educate, fundraise, and scale across merch and campaigns.

Above: hover over image

Logo Design:

Balloon meets skull

A simple symbol for a simple message: what looks harmless can be lethal.

Below: A Venn diagram to lock the vibe (Retro CA x Nautical x Tactical = “80s surf pirates”), then quick sketches translating it into the balloon skull mark.

Merch System

Merch that funds the mission

A merch program built to feel like a real brand, not a nonprofit giveaway. Loose system, consistent craft: lots of line art, bold icons, and wearable graphics.

Influenced by the “workwear + surf” energy of brands like Deus Ex Machina: flexible, graphic, and quality-led.

Line-art driven: fast to expand, easy to print, easy to remix.

Web

E-commerce website

Designed the Balloon Brigade site to sell merch, explain the problem fast, and route people to action (donate, learn, volunteer).

Found at Sea

Recovered balloon photography

Balloon Brigade collected discarded foil mylar balloons off the LA coastline. We photographed them in-studio like artifacts: dramatic lighting, high detail, hard to ignore.