Mote Marine Laboratory Coral Farmer Hats

Mote Marine Laboratory had an initial design they wanted to bring to life as a finished product.

Mote Marine Laboratory came to us with their "Support Your Local Coral Farmer" artwork. My job was to translate it into a manufacturable design and turn it into a high-quality finished product.

We turned their original artwork into an embroidered patch, then selected the right cap silhouette and materials to complement the design. We completed the product with custom private labeling, creating a finished cap that stayed true to their original vision.

Mote then came back with a second idea that was only a slogan: Protect Our Reefs. I created the graphic and developed the bucket hat around it, from the patch artwork through to the finished product.

Mote's coral farmers are doing hands-on work to rebuild Florida's threatened reefs, growing resilient corals in land-based and underwater nurseries before planting them back into the ocean. Their team has already restored more than 216,000 corals, with some now reproducing and helping create new generations in the wild. These hats help support the research and conservation efforts that make this work possible.

I was the lead designer and product developer on this project and worked closely with Mote Marine Laboratory from their original artwork through the finished hats.