Background:

For this project, I decided to create a family crest for my immediate family, to include my Mom and three brothers. To do this, I needed to determine the heart of our connections, the things we had in common. In almost every instance, my mom was the common denominator and source of our memories growing up.

 

Brainstorming and Researching:

Our family hails from Phoenix, Arizona, so right off the bat, I knew I wanted to use cacti in place of the crest's laurel.  Prickly pear alone would have been a great substitute due to its shape, but I felt I had to include a saguaro, as it's so iconically Arizonan.

The symbols were a little less obvious. I didn't want to base the entire design around my mom alone, so the symbols had to represent us all. My brainstorming came up with:

• Warm weather: We all prefer it, and my mom and older brother are notorious for wearing shorts and sandals year-round, no matter what the weather says. Must be the desert in our blood!
• Cats/dogs/animals: Growing up, we have always had and loved animals. At one point we had seven cats and two dogs in the house. I wanted to include them in this piece. (Maybe a heraldric-style cat and great dane?)
• Soccer: My mom played growing up, and years later my brothers and I somehow all fell into is as well. We all played through school, and when I aged out of select teams, my mom signed us both up to play indoor soccer together. At one time, four of us were playing on the same co-ed team indoor team.
• Baking: My mom makes lots of deserts from scratch. Most holidays at home include at least a few different baked goodies. Her chocolate chip cookies were especially loved. Need a dish to take for a party at school? She would whip up a double batch each time, enough for the class with leftovers for us. (Those cookies were really popular with my friends!)

 

Building:

I realized as I played with shield shapes that I could include another family staple: our living room fireplace. Over the years, each holiday, birthday, or milestone, we'd hear the same thing: "Alright, stand in front of the fireplace!" Being the most photogenic part of our house, innumerable photos have that fireplace just beyond our shoulders. I built the shape of the mantle into the top of the shield to pay respects to that family tradition.

Ever atop the mantle, I also included a rendering of the little statue my mom has had since before any of us were born in place of the "crest" itself.

As I looked between my shield sketches and what I already had here, I realized I had another opportunity to show off our home state; the 'ray' striped pattern used on the shield comes from the Arizona state flag.

 

Typography and Motto:

Since this was about our current generation rather than a legacy, I wanted to keep the type pretty simple and modern. Some phrases I considered included, "Get All Your Calories In Early" (my mom's policy on eating sweets before dinner), and, "Smiling Is My Favorite" (a line from Mom's favorite Christmas movie, Elf). The former wasn't quite right, and the latter was too much focused on Mom rather than the entire family. I picked, "It's Only a Foul if the Ref Sees It." This is a joke my mom has made about playing soccer. (We're actually pretty laid back on the field!)

I also made sure to mark our Air Force family travels! From Luke AFB to RAF Lakenheath to Goodfellow, we've moved around a little. My older brother and I have moved away from Texas now, but those three places were home to all of us.

 

The Result:

 

All combined, I think I've achieved a good mix of classic and modern to create a very personal family crest. I kept the palette simple for easy printing and modifying, but generally wanted to stick with warm, deserty vibes. And what can I say? I'm a sucker for that red Sedona dirt.

 

And I couldn't help trying it out in ASU's maroon and gold! There was a long time my older brother wore nothing else.