Artist Statement

       Dominic Cockrell is a senior graphic design major at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His body of work is made up of digital design, illustration and some artistic expression pieces. Dominic’s primary focus lies in sports design and branding, where he’s always been passionate about logos, uniforms, and merchandise. This passion was born from playing video games like EA’s NCAA football and Madden, where he’d scroll through hundreds of logos and uniforms in his formative years.

     Dominic considers his designs and work to be heavily influenced by modern aesthetics and some grandiose art deco themes. His personal brand, Seventh Mask Creative, represents the evolution of Dominic as a designer. Rebranded from 7Seventeen in 2025, Seventh Mask alludes to Dominic’s background in football, but also represents masks as a covering, just like a brand for a team or business. Your brand is your mask, many people fall under it, and many faces are covered by it.

Designers like Jeremy Nelson and Matthew Wolff have been an inspiration to Dominic and their work as freelancers and collaborators have modeled what kind of quality a professional designers bring to the table. Dominic himself has worked extensively with various entities at the University of Nebraska-Omaha such as the UNO bookstore, the Department of Spirit and Tradition, Baxter Arena, and UNO Athletics. In his three years with the UNO athletics department, Dominic has made multiple anniversary logos, earned a part time position with Baxter Arena, and has continued building his portfolio.

       As a former athlete Dominic believes in competition amongst designers, its a healthy way to test abilities and find inspiration through others work. But regardless of an individuals talent, Design is a team sport, and a collaboration that leads to a final result. Dominic believes that the moment a client’s eyes light up is the moment you know your work was worthwhile, their satisfaction is your satisfaction. Dominic’s intention, be it freelance or part of a team, has always been to bring high quality work to the clientele, work that can proudly represent them as a team, group, and organization.

-DC7