Helping Iowa Suck Less: Sheena Green - Designer

Last month we asked you who some of the best designers in the Iowa creative community were. Here's the first profile on someone whose work was recommended to us. Sheena Green has her hands on all sorts of projects and is helping Iowa's design suck less. Read on and stay tuned for even more profiles in the future.

In the south part of Iowa born and raised, the ISU College of Design is where I spent most of my days. Actually… I still spend most of my days on the Iowa State campus but as the designer for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I handle our recruitment and alumni pieces from start to finish. Sometimes I get to play photographer, shoot director, or cutline writer. Other days I’m a prop maker or window sign installer. Let’s just say I see a lot of variety in my projects. But in my spare time I like to enjoy the more adventurous side of life, which has spilled over into some side projects I work on.

My good friend Graeme Cameron started an axe company called Base Camp X a little over a year ago. He asked me to design the logo and essentially breathe life into the brand. We have an amazing client-designer relationship where we just “get” what each other is thinking. I’m currently working on a new website which we’re really stoked to unveil.

On the graphic Ts I designed, I’m on the women’s and Graeme is on the men’s, they should be available soon. It’s been a blast seeing axes with my logo burned into the helves end up in the hands of Neil Young and featured as Gear of the Year in National Geographic. Overall, Base Camp X has been an amazing outlet for my design; it looks totally different from the stuff I do for Iowa State.

Anyone who knows me knows I like to shoot guns. My search for shooting gear 99% of the time leads to frustration. To solve that I’m dreaming up gear with a couple of my best friends who are expert shooters/hunters. We hope to launch our business, Lioness Gear, sooner rather than later. I’m passionate about shooting and that energy just flows into what I’m designing. I love it.

The most pertinent piece of advice I’ve heard lately was from Paige Craig at ThincIowa: “Think big. Execute small.” I hear ya, Paige, and I’m on it.

Thanks, Sheena. ISU and Iowa are better thanks to people like you.