Our Story

"What started as a project to create a new typeface-identity for the City of San José turned into a bit more as the years went by."

It took months of iterations to get to what we now call-- 'Merely Starting Points'. A sleek and stylish emblem-like typeface! The piece was our reflection of the different typographical signs we see in and around the city.

This design remained stagnant for months; posted on a personal Instagram and Tumblr with little attention. Then came an opportunity. It was 2016, SJMade had its then first Screenprint Showdown Contest and this designer was one of 50 finalists Not knowing what would be the outcome, I was happy, to say the least.

Then came the curiosity of what else I could do with the design.

After it had gained recognition and brought a bit of attention, we thought "what could we do with it?" By this time Snapchat had now gained traction as something more than nudes and filters. It served as a platform for people to share important events, daily updates, large public events and more importantly a community for designers via Geofilters. It seemed to be an opportunity to get more use of my design. So-- we submitted it... with a little hope of it making it as a permanent Geofilter for the City of would be "designers" or "entrepreneurs", again I had my doubts.

Now we are here. This design is currently in circulation as a Snapchat Geofilter and available in most of the City of San José, CA. Over a 2 million people have viewed, used, and interacted with this iconic symbol. It’s recognizable worldwide.

What's next? Those strong thoughts, I once had of creating apparel and garments using this design and a YouTube show, are now a reality because of the die-hard fans of the piece. For now, it will serve as a platform to collaborate with other associations, co-op’s, and businesses. It's not a logo, or a brand, it is our style and culture. It's us!