Rentacrate — Illustrations and animation for a rentable moving crate company.


Rentacrate aims to make moving easy, quick, and sustainable. They are known for their reusable crates that can be stacked and rolled to make the moving process all the more efficient. When they came to Barrel looking to elevate their brand, I created illustrations and animations for Rentacrate’s website to show how easy it is to use their service. My favorite part about working on this project is seeing my illustrations quickly becoming a core part of Rentacrate’s brand identity!

Year
October 2022 – May 2023

Scope
Illustration, Animation
Client
Rentacrate (via Barrel)

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






Reimagining a trustworthy and nostalgic illustration style.


My challenge was to redefine Rentacrate’s illustration style to create a memorable and authentic impression on their users. I reimagined the illustrations with a playful narrative full of character, nostalgia, and trust. 

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.



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



Illustrating the ease of moving.


A hand-drawn quality brings an organic touch to the illustrations. I embraced the imperfections in my line work to convey that moving isn’t always a smooth process. However, Rentacrate’s goals is to make the moving process as easy as possible. 

So, I illustrated that 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 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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