Gabriel Lavelle
GABRIEL LAVELLE
I like to make cool stuff that people love. With a background in music education and nearly a decade of experience in creative operations, I’m well-versed in establishing the structure and clarity that let creative people do their best work. I’ve worn many hats over the last 10 years, starting out as a drum set teacher after college, to eventually managing program operations at a music school here in Pittsburgh. This portfolio is a collection of the physical and digital design work I’ve had the opportunity to personally build along the way.
Designs & Products
Sunburst School of Music | 2025–2026
KLVN COFFEE LAB COLLAB
The Brief
Partnered with local roaster KLVN Coffee Lab to release a collaborative coffee blend in time for the 2025 Winter Recitals, the school's biggest fundraising event of the year. The goal was to offer a premium, community-focused merchandise option to drive donations for the Sunburst Scholarship Fund, which allows students to take music lessons at a reduced cost or for free.
The Process
Managed the hands-on production and product curation: designed the vector artwork in Illustrator, transferred it to a carving block to hand-carve the stamp, and personally hand-stamped every coffee bag. Coordinated with KLVN to secure inventory and met with their roaster, Inna Kim, who roasted a blend that our team loved.
The Deliverable
A design collaboration that contributed to a total of $1,500 raised during the December 2025 Winter Recitals.
APPAREL
The Brief
Designed a custom branded t-shirt in time for the 2025 Winter Recitals, the school's biggest fundraising event of the year. The goal was to give the community something fun to wear that would help drive donations for the Sunburst Scholarship Fund.
The Process
Managed the end-to-end production pipeline: created the design layouts in Adobe Illustrator, set the production budget, and coordinated directly with a local print shop.
The Deliverable
Launched a successful design that contributed to a total of $3000 raised between December 2025 and June 2026.
STICKER LINE
The Brief
I designed two branded stickers in response to student demand, as well as the school's need for more fun, cost-effective brand touchpoints.
The Process
Designed and prepped the final vector artwork for print using Adobe Illustrator, selected matte and holographic finishes for the custom die-cut designs, and coordinated directly with a local print shop for production.
The Deliverable
Launched two popular sticker designs that met student demand and expanded the school's merchandise options, with all proceeds helping raise money for the Sunburst Scholarship Fund.
Promotional flyer designed in Adobe Illustrator for Sunburst School of Music
Promotional flyer designed in Adobe Illustrator for Thanakarn Limtham Jazz Trio
Promotional flyer designed in Adobe Illustrator for Sunburst School of Music
Promotional flyer designed in Adobe Illustrator for Sunburst School of Music
EVENT FLYER DESIGNS
The Brief
Design promotional flyers for a diverse lineup of music programs, community events, and faculty concerts. Because the events ranged from experimental jazz tributes to rock showcases, the visuals needed to completely pivot styles to match the specific genre, artist requests, or target demographic, all while keeping essential event logistics legible.
The Process
Designs were tailored to specific genres by translating creative input from instructors and musicians into distinct layouts, utilizing Adobe Illustrator for typography and crisp vector composition, and Photoshop for specialized texture and image effects. The workflow focused on speed and adaptability, utilizing clean file structures to allow for fast text updates, pricing revisions, and layout variations across tight production timelines.
The Deliverable
A highly versatile collection of multi-channel marketing assets. Each project was optimized for its specific destination, resulting in high-resolution CMYK prints for physical poster distribution and scaled RGB files built for digital promotion and social media feeds.