NASA Stennis Space Center case study
The work happened in two distinct chapters: an original four-coin collector series, followed by two additional coins. Together they show how ambitious concepts become manufacturable metal through source-art correction, relief planning, finish tests, color proofs, physical samples, and practical packaging decisions.
The production story
Reference imagery and AI-assisted concepts were useful starting points, but recognizable structures and mission marks had to be corrected against accurate source material before production art moved forward.
A dimensional coin needs an elevation plan: which elements rise, which recess, how smoke and structures separate, and where type remains readable after the design becomes metal.
Finish, recessed contrast, enamel color, thickness, edge treatment, and presentation were evaluated through proofs and physical samples. Those observations then informed the later two-coin project.
Project One · Original four-coin series
The first engagement established the visual language and manufacturing workflow. All four designs needed consistent scale, dimensional depth, antique-metal character, readable edge and rim details, and presentation that felt like one coordinated series.
Project One · Coin 1
The engine story moved from presentation art to dimensional relief, edge lettering, finish comparison, and a physical sample. Dark recessed areas and raised engine detail had to create contrast without losing the force of the original scene.
Project One · Coin 3
An accurate test-stand image replaced an early conceptual version before relief work began. The corrected structure, propulsion energy, location language, and edge treatment then had to remain distinct at coin scale.
Project Two · Coin 1
This direction centered the people and place behind the work. The design review focused on separating foreground and background elements, strengthening contrast where useful, and keeping the message clear in an antique-metal treatment.
Project Two · Coin 2
The fourth design completed the original set. Front, back, and edge were reviewed together so the dimensional treatment, message hierarchy, and presentation worked as one physical object.
Project Two · Two additional coins
After the original four moved through proofing and production, a second engagement added two different coins. The earlier samples provided a practical reference for how relief, antique finishes, enamel, contrast, thickness, and presentation would behave in hand.
Project One · Coin 2
The Artemis design combined mission imagery with Stennis identity. Its progression makes the manufacturing sequence especially clear: technical artwork, mold planning, an uncolored relief proof, and then the color proof.
Project One · Coin 4
The companion coin required strong Center identity and a distinctive result suitable for presentation. The proof sequence documents how supplied vector artwork became mold-ready relief, then moved through successive visual reviews before production.
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