Cliff Graham

Project Overview

As the saying goes, a warrior is only as mighty as his pen, which means Cliff Graham is a mighty man indeed. Drawing from his experience as a military veteran, Graham created the Lion of War franchise, a book series so popular it’s making the jump to the silver screen. The secret to his success? A concept that fuels both Graham’s life and his stories: kavode, a word Hebrew warriors used to describe a certain gravitas that comes with a life of purpose, meaning and vision.

So when Graham approached us to create a digital brand and web presence to represent his work, we allowed kavode to guide us, too. The result? A product as exhilarating as the man—and the stories—it represents.

Content Strategy

Commander of words

Inspired by tales of biblical warriors and his own military background as a U.S. Army officer and veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, Graham’s writing appeals to a predominantly male demographic, which meant our task was to communicate masculine ideals in nonthreatening ways.

To develop our strategy, we joined forces with Rhetorik Creative, the video production company that produced the heart-pumping video that appears on the web site’s landing page. This creative collaboration allowed us to identify how we could best meet Graham’s objectives with innovative solutions.

Logo Design

Built to last

In the Bible, an arrow often symbolizes spiritual truths, a metaphorical image that seemed to be an important part of not only the Rhetorik trailer but also of Graham’s life. Drawing from this symbolism, we scratched his existing logo and created something entirely new: a monogram pierced by an arrow. The mark is distressed, giving it a battle-worn yet timeless feel, a combination that we would also use in graphical badges for other sections of the website.

User experience

Battle ready

With the foundation of the brand in place, we infused the site design with cinematic elements that created an adrenaline-fueled user experience. High contrast images and landscape shots of Graham encountering rugged adventure upped the intensity of the experience, and also served as fixed backdrops for scrolling content. With relentless attention to the little things, and a careful handling of the bigger aspects as well, the results have not just increased Graham’s brand awareness but have also captured a legion of new fans.

Mission: accomplished.

“You have been so excellent to work with. You helped us streamline our media presence with practical guidance.”
—Katie Doerksen, Five Stones Media