PSU and WV Commemorative Tickets
Celebrating iconic moments through collectible design.
Created to commemorate major sporting events, these premium ticket designs blended nostalgia with modern craftsmanship. Custom illustration, typography, specialty finishes, and thoughtful production techniques elevated each ticket into a collectible keepsake for fans.
Client: Highmark Health
Commissioned by: The Gush Company
Role: Art Direction • Illustration • Print Design • Production
Deliverables: Commemorative Tickets • Illustration • Typography • Print Production • Specialty Finishes
2024 Series
The Challenge
Design a commemorative ticket series that celebrated the unique identity of each NCAA football program while maintaining a cohesive visual system across the collection. Each ticket needed to incorporate team-specific colors, slogans, logos, and cultural references while functioning as part of a unified keepsake program that fans would want to collect and preserve.
The Concept
Inspired by the geometric compositions of Austrian artist Koloman Moser, the design system combined vintage influences with a contemporary sports aesthetic. The flexible visual framework allowed each ticket to incorporate unique school colors, logos, slogans, and traditions—including references to Penn State's Stripe Out game—while maintaining consistency across the series. The result was a collection of commemorative tickets that celebrated each university's identity while functioning as a unified program.
The Execution
Designed as a limited-edition series of approximately 800 tickets, the final pieces were intended to feel more like collectible memorabilia than traditional event tickets. Careful consideration was given to paper selection, foil application, embossing, and overall production quality to create a premium keepsake while ensuring the design remained the focal point. Every material and finishing choice was made to enhance the tactile experience and reinforce the collectible nature of the series.
2025 Series
The Challenge
Following the success of the 2024 series, the challenge was to create a new collection of commemorative tickets that felt fresh and unexpected while remaining connected to the established program. Each design needed to celebrate the unique identity of Penn State and West Virginia through team-specific colors, slogans, logos, and cultural references, while maintaining a cohesive visual language across the series.
The Concept
Designed as a companion to the 2024 collection, the 2025 series embraced a more fluid and energetic visual language. Dynamic forms, movement, and layered compositions created a deliberate contrast to the structured geometry of the previous year while maintaining the same commitment to storytelling, collectability, and school-specific identity.
The Execution
Produced as a limited-edition collectible series, each ticket was developed with careful attention to material selection, print production, and finishing techniques. Team colors, logos, slogans, and subtle cultural references were customized for each university while maintaining consistency across the collection. Premium papers, metallic foils, and embossing details helped transform the tickets from event souvenirs into keepsakes designed to be collected and displayed.
