ARTIST BIO
Benjamin Yelich is a graphic designer based out of Buffalo, New York. He currently works full-time as a Design Operations Associate at New Era Cap. Benjamin graduated from Alfred University with a Bachelor's in Art and Design in May 2023.
Ben knew from an early age that he wanted to go into the art field. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up as a kindergartener, he strayed away from the traditional firefighter and astronaut answer and instead picked up a crayon and marker to begin his journey as an artist. He could often be found destroying white tee shirts in his younger years by coloring them with permanent markers to make his own custom sports uniforms. Unfortunately, there were only so many tee shirts in a dresser. He was running out of tee shirts that were mother-approved for public wear. This was when his curiosity for sports design turned digital. He learned early graphic design skills with Microsoft Paint and, shortly after, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. He then refined his skills in high school and college.
Through his time as a designer, Benjamin has found many freelance oppoortunities and experiences. In high school, he was leaned on to design shirts for any occasion where custom shirts were needed. In college, he found himself doing gameday graphics for the football team for which he played. He was also the Social Media Director for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, creating designs to inform the student body of special events and weekly home games! He also designed multiple logos for his friend's local polka band, Captain Tom & the Hooligans.
Benjamin is also very active in the local sports world and music world. He spent his collegiate career playing football for the Alfred University Saxons for four and a half seasons. Ben was the first football player at Alfred University to complete at least four seasons and graduate with a BFA since 2003. He now participates in many adult recreational leagues and coaches the Depew Modified Boys Lacrosse team. He has also participated in many choirs, bands, and other ensembles over his career. His learned instruments are the Piano and the Saxophone family.
Benjamin is uniquely Buffalo bread. He is driven, loyal, and enthusiastic about everything he has been a part of. His goal as an artist is to continue to create life and give people a voice through design within his local communities. He looks to create stories through material, whether it's of the design itself or a piece of clothing passed down through generations because of the memories it creates.
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New Era
In the summer of 2022, Benjamin Yelich was fortunate to receive an offer from New Era Cap Inc. to be a Design Intern for the Apparel team. This was the summer between his junior and senior years of college. After graduation, he found himself in a position to apply for a Design Operations role within the same apparel team, where he now works full-time. Click here or the image to the left to see some of the projects he has worked on during his time at New Era.
Senior Show
As stated in the Artist Bio, Benjamin Yelich earned a Bachelor of Art and Design from Alfred University. In the final year of the degree requirements, it is the expectation for each student to create their Senior Thesis Show. Each student is given a space in which it is there own to transform. Click here or the image to the right to see the work and exhibit that Benjamin made for his Senior Thesis Show.
Alfred University SAAC
Benjamin Yelich always found himself wanting to leave a legacy with everything he has been a part of. In middle school and high school, he found himself partaking in the class office. This evolved by the time he was in college. In his sophomore year, he partook in the Alfred University Student Athlete Advisory Committee. This group was made to give Student-Athletes a say within the Athletic Department. During this, he was hand-picked to be an Executive Board Member of Alfred Univeristy SAAC as the Social Media Director. This role was ever-evolving, and the Athletic Communications Director wanted to mentor a pupil to learn his position. He was even given a chance during his junior and senior years to participate in the Empire 8 Conference SAAC Summit, where they were given NCAA legislation to vote upon. Click here or the image to the right of the work during his time as the Social Media Director for Alfred University SAAC.
Alfred University Football
Benjamin finds great pride in his time as an Alfred University Saxon. There are not a lot of people who can say they have completed four years of college football. Between daily workouts, daily practices, film sessions, and team meetings, college football is not for the faint of heart. It is mentally and physically demanding. During his time there, he would routinely see a freshman class of eighty athletes dwindle to just eight by their senior year. He also finds great pride that in nineteen years, he was the only person to do it while completing his degree in Arts and Design. While playing, he managed to receive significant playing time and be a member of the leadership council during his junior and senior years, along with designing the gameday graphics. Click here or the image to the right to see the work he created for the Alfred Football team while he was a member.
Depew Lacrosse
In 2010, his father, Michael Yelich, created the Depew Lacrosse Club, a club lacrosse team that competed at the high school level. At this time, the school could not afford to pick up a new sport as they were actively cutting programs, so Depew competed in the Independent Lacrosse Club. This was in large part to give Benjamin, his brother, and other Depew athletes a chance to play lacrosse at the high school. In 2018, the team officially moved to Section VI New York State play. Benjamin still holds the single-game save record of 27 saves and the career save record of 497 as the goalie during that time. Upon his new journey past college life, Benjamin found himself wanting to give back to the game he loved. He designed gameday graphics for the 2023 Boys Varsity team which his brother coaches and is now the Modified Varsity coach for the 2024 season. Click here or the image to the left to see the work he made for the 2023 Depew Varsity Lacrosse team.
Portraits
Portrait work is some of the most rewarding art that Benjamin creates. Each of these portraits was done through freelance work and was designed with the intent to highlight the individuals' personalities. Click here or the image to the right to see the portrait work he has created.
Captain Tom & the Hooligans
Since the creation of the band in 2019, Benjamin Yeich has been the Graphic Designer and the Brand Architect for the local Buffalo polka band Captain Tom & the Hooligans. During that time, he has created multiple logos for their band and their events. He also manufactured and painted a music stand for them to use. While on stage, you can see their logo, designed by him, painted on the stand, hanging from a banner behind them, and the drummer's bass drum. Click here or the image to the left to see the work he has made for Captain Tom & the Hooligans.
Ranch is not Made on Wings
During Benjamin Yelich's sophomore year of college, he was in an Intro to Print class. For one of the assignments, the students were tasked to create a propaganda poster about an issue that they felt very deeply about. True to his Buffalo roots, Benjamin only had one issue that he felt he needed to touch upon: the debate over ranch or blue cheese with wings. This project was a five-color, wood reduction print in which ten copies with alternative color schemes needed to be created. This meant there needed to be heavy planning alongside the design. After the design was created, the first step was to print your lightest color. With ten copies and five colors each, it meant that the first ten prints needed to have perfect registration so that the next forty would line up properly. After the ink was dry and the wood block was cleaned, step two was embedding the design into the wood, making sure it was embedded backward so that when it was printed, it would print right side up. Finally, the tedious task of removing the wood for the next color, mixing ink, printing ten times, cleaning after every color, and repeating until the image was created while keeping the registration perfect every time to ensure the image came out clean. In this process, he created his most rewarding piece of work. It also sparked the most debate during critique day. Click here or the image to the right to see the Ranch is not Made for Wings propaganda posters.
Ripples
During Benjamin Yelich's junior year of college, he was in an Advanced Print class. For this assignment, the students were tasked to fill a wall with prints. The subject was their own to choose. Benjamin was and still is intrigued by geographical maps. For this project, he created a topographical map of the Western New York Region spanning the Buffalo and Rochester metropolitan areas, as well as the western side of the Southern Tier. With each layer of the map, a layer of foam was glued to create a three-dimensional aspect to engage the viewer. The prints used were all laser-cut wood prints of local colleges, landmarks, and natural parks in the region. Click here or the image to the left to wall piece "Ripples" Benjamin has made.