Rentacrate — Illustrations and animation for a rentable moving crate company


Rentacrate is a moving service that sells reusable, stackable crates to make moving fast and easy. When they came to Barrel to help elevate their brand, I got the opportunity to create illustrations and animations for their website. My favorite part about working on this project was seeing how quickly my illustrations became a core part of their brand identity!

Year
October 2022 – May 2023

Scope
Illustration, Animation
Client
Rentacrate (via Barrel)

Team
Designer & Illustator: Valentin Nguyen 
Design Director: Christine Carforo






Creating a trustworthy and nostalgic illustration style


My challenge was to redefine Rentacrate’s illustration style that feels memorable and authentic to their audience. I drew inspiration from timeless and vintage editorial illustrations, like the ones in publications like The New Yorker, and embraced a casual style that feels both contemporary and classic. As a result, I reimagined the illustrations with a playful narrative full of character, nostalgia, and trust. 



Sketches of various dogs (aka your friendly moving buddy).



Illustrating the ease of moving


A hand-drawn quality brings an organic touch to the illustrations. I illustrated the ease of moving by keeping the line work and colors clean and simple. This ties into their vintage branding and ensures the illustrations stayed timeless and consistent across different platforms and contexts.


Los Angeles residential illustration
Los Angeles residential sketch
Seattle residential illustration
Seattle residential sketch
Washington D.C. residential illustration
Washington D.C. residential sketch


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