Caleb Nugent Design Company

Caleb Nugent Design Company I LIKE OLD LOGOS. Co-Founder and Brand Designer at BrandFoundry Collective
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06/01/2026

I don’t know man, could be the move

05/08/2026

Nothing scares me more than creating cliche designs.

Trost Water Gardens is a luxury water feature company wanting to compete in luxury markets. The founder, Ben, comes from four generations of nursery owners, so a plant icon seemed perfect.

But there’s a problem. Thousands of plant icons exist, and they all feel generic.

I noticed something though: almost all the plant logos I viewed use circular shapes, whether in the typeface, leaves, or overall form.

So I went the opposite direction. I combined organic, flowing shapes with a rigid, structured container.

The result is something that stands out among the others instead of blending in.

When a cliche concept feels right for a project, don’t just give in to the expected. Take what you like from that cliche and mix it with something unexpected.

05/01/2026

If you’re going to use AI images as a company, what’s the best way to do that while staying on brand?

That’s something we had to work through with Blackbox, an incredibly powerful AI tool for developers.

They wanted a clear set of guidelines for how, where, and when to use AI generated imagery in their design.

The important part, and really the important part of using any tool, was understanding the strengths and weaknesses of AI image generation.

What does it do well? What does it do poorly?

Yes, it can depict people and realistic objects, and it’s getting really good at it. But there’s still a chance of a bad generation or a lot of bad generations slipping through, and I didn’t want to run the risk of one of those representing the brand.

So instead of leaning on AI for hero images or focus images, which we kept real photography for, we built guidelines around using it for texture elements throughout the brand.

So instead of using it for images that drive the story, we set up a system to use it for images that support the story.

When you’re thinking about AI generated images, or even any other tool, start with a really good understanding of what the strengths and weaknesses of that individual tool are.

When you understand that, you’ll be in a way better position to use the tool effectively.

04/29/2026

Wrapped what has potentially landed an all time favorite project spot this week.

Tremendously excited to share more of this brand and the story behind it as I get things buttoned up, but for now, enjoy a small taste.

04/22/2026

All roads lead back to grunge_noise_texture_no_52.png

04/03/2026

My emotional story of creating a chalkboard for my office and the dramatic change it had on my work.

I’d say 3 of these 4 I didn’t start doing because I wanted to be a better designer. But in doing them I’ve found dramati...
03/25/2026

I’d say 3 of these 4 I didn’t start doing because I wanted to be a better designer. But in doing them I’ve found dramatic benefits for my design work.

Four things I do that make me better at design:

Do stuff with your hands, think in 3 dimensions for a change, then watch how refreshed your mind becomes when you go back to 2 dimensions.

What makes you unique as a designer is your breadth of interest and experience so nurture that. Learn outside of your industry.

Design things you love! When work gets tedious and less enjoyable, it’s these projects that keep your mind fresh and capable.

Learn to draw! Don’t have to be good, but learn the process. Learn shadows and lines. Find out how to dictate the world visually.

[BLACKBOX.AI | Visual Identity Design]ai is an AI-powered coding platform that gives developers access to 300+ of the wo...
03/24/2026

[BLACKBOX.AI | Visual Identity Design]
ai is an AI-powered coding platform that gives developers access to 300+ of the world’s top AI models, all in one place.

Among, a massive set of features, Blackbox puts Claude, GPT, Gemini, and hundreds more into a single platform for the developer so you can run them all at once and pick the best result.

At its core, the platform combines the best models with autonomous agents and vision tools that turn ideas into shipped code, fast.

We developed a visual brand identity for Blackbox.ai that communicates the qualities of both power and simplicity, built for developers who move fast.

02/03/2026

Would you be so kind as to tag on this video so they can see how dear this Ford Explorer is to my heart and perhaps open their minds to the possibility of a brand new merch line for a 24 year old car.

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