Skateboarding has been a huge part of my life since as long as I can remember. I’ve fallen in and out of love with it throughout the years, but its always been a crucial lens through which I explore my world. It’s shaped my music taste, how I dress, how I talk, and so on.

Your ultimate goal as a young person that skates is to grow up to become a sponsored skateboarder. You dream of your name on the bottom of a board. Of getting coverage in the most important skate magazines. Of putting together a video part that showcases your skills and your style. Of having a shoe contract and a pro shoe.

I think that’s why so many skaters grow up to become designers or to start brands. Something about controlling the visual identity of a thing has always been so closely intertwined with the act of skateboarding. I can’t tell you how many “brands” I’ve thought up over the years that I’ve tried to make real.

The word “HUM” had been swirling around in my brain for the past couple of years, however. It’s simple, punchy, and incredibly fun to design letterforms for. I think it also, in a sense, alludes to the ever-present hum of motion and action that you pick up on living in a place like New York City. There’s a low, soft sound that just never goes away here. It felt like the perfect metaphor for this place.

I’ve also been super into graffiti recently. I don’t write, but I think that skaters and writers tend to view their environments in similar ways– seeking out hidden urban refuge for their craft. Exploiting architectural anomalies and pushing the boundaries of where people can go. Both graffiti and skate are artistic responses to the urban world that’s been set out before us.

I came up with a really simple set of block letterforms that felt accessible to both groups– and it’s super fun and satisfying to write. The shapes and shadows leave enough of a youthful, cartoon element while the design as a whole still feels gritty and imperfect. The square, shadowed letterforms were inspired by writers like FUNGI/MR MR in Chicago, where I’m originally from.

It’s one thing to have these all comp’d up in a sketchbook, but how to make it real? I don’t own a screenprint that can print on skateboard decks. I certainly don’t have a pressing machine that can apply giant vinyl stickers with either.

I’d been seeing a lot of footage lately by a skate crew out of New York called Late Nite Stars. I really appreciate the concept of branding a crew of friends– having a name, a youtube channel, a logo, even some t-shirts. It’s been a fixture in skateboarding since the beginning, (hence why I think skaters make great designers) and what LNS is doing is really cool.

What I was noticing in their videos was that they were riding branded boards– Antihero, WKND, etc.– but slapping a massive LNS logo sticker over the graphic guerilla-style. I hadn’t really seen anything like this before. Not only was it like they were able to have a board brand before even having a board brand, but I felt it followed a macrotrend with my generation, which is the incessant need for branding and image curation.

Being introduced to LNS unlocked the design my first HUM logo. I wanted something loud, black and white, and in your face. I wanted it to build off of that letterform I’d created earlier on. Some sketching and drafting, and I eventually landed here:

Figuring out how to digitize my sketches in Illustrator was a trip. This opened up a whole new world for me. I loved the imperfect-ness of this one. I wanted to make it feel like someone had drawn DIY-style on the blank bottom ply of a board. I shipped my design to a decals manufacturer based in Minnesota and got one printed. I copped a blank 8.25 and boom. I had a skate brand. Kinda.

The most important part of this process for me was learning that you CAN make something real. You can take that silly sketch you’ve been staring at in your notebook and make it a physical decal on a board. You can look down at your board and think “that was me, I made that”. I am not quite sure yet where HUM goes, but I’m excited to push more personal boundaries with design, skate, and graffiti in mind. I’m excited for what’s to come.

July - December 2025.