When Bugcrowd asked me to design a samurai helmet made out of over 100 names, I was excited to take on the challenge. I started out by looking at a variety of bugs native to Japan to use as inspiration for the piece. After deciding on a rhinoceros beetle from Southeast Asia, I used different elements to sketch out a variety of helmets, with one being chosen.

Moving to the next phase, I made some modifications to be more in line with the Bugcrowd brand, including the hexagonal medallion on the top of the helmet. The design was then vectorized and shaded. We created a matching medallion, that would also apply to the challenge coin, to add to the forehead.

Then came the task of adding all of the names. The larger the name, the higher they were ranked in the MVP program for the year. In total I added ninety eight different pseudonyms to make up the helmet. Each name’s placement was carefully chosen to make sure it would be still be legible.

After creating the t-shirt, I moved on to the coin. Using the medallion design on the helmet, I created a mock up of how the coin should be made in 3D and instructions for the casting company to follow. It was required to include the Bugcrowd “b” and year on the opposite side. I consulted on the material used, black nickel, as we wanted it to be a dark coin. The final product resulted in a nicely weighted coin for each MVP.

The last step was the sticker designer. I went for a simple design, utilizing features from the coin, such as the beetle. Originally I offered multiple colorways, however we landed on using a simple grey as the accent color. This was a great choice, as the Bugcrowd staff decided to get the grey alternative for themselves.