Smart Minds

Smart Minds Kyle and Paul Lukes make up Smart Minds, an award winning public relations, graphic design, show pro

Kyle has always had an intense love of music and the written word. Starting with meeting artists like LL Cool J and Beastie Boys as a young girl, her curiosity for what goes on behind the scenes quickly grew. A journalistic career was calling her and she went on to start her freelance writing career shortly after leaving college. Since then, she has gone on to work for a variety of publications an

d websites, including HipHopDX, Wax Poetics, The Source, Thrasher Skateboard Magazine, Ghettoblaster, High Times, Bonafide Magazine, Kansas City Pitch, Little Village Magazine, and the Chuck D-curated RAPstation & HipHopGods. With experience in PR and booking, Kyle is poised for a long-lasting career. She currently maintains a position as the music curator/staff writer for HipHopDX while juggling other freelance obligations as well. Paul designed his first logo at the age of 15 for the Civil Air Patrol in his home town of Taos, New Mexico. He has been drawing and working with typography since he was first able to hold a pencil. Paul Started college at Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, CA and halfway through transferred to California College of the Arts in pursuit of more challenging critiques from the instructors. Paul graduated from CCA with a BFA with graphic design emphasis in 2008. Since then Paul has won an AIGA Gold Award and Best Magazine Cover Award from the Great Plains Journalism Awards for his typographic work and several other awards for his design work in advertising. He also runs Smart Minds and works as a designer for an assortment of clients including HipHopDX, Blu Marketing Solutions and many others.

I had the honor and privilege of leading the design for Bonfire Effect’s client holiday gift this year (at least this co...
02/26/2025

I had the honor and privilege of leading the design for Bonfire Effect’s client holiday gift this year (at least this component of it). We partnered up with local coffee masters to create a custom coffee blend/package design that is reminiscent of our Colorado/Mountain roots. I had a lot of fun illustrating the packaging as well as the post card that accompanied it.

For anyone who didn't get a chance to check out my art show a month ago, it will be running through tomorrow and saturda...
10/31/2024

For anyone who didn't get a chance to check out my art show a month ago, it will be running through tomorrow and saturday and then will be done. So if you want to check it out, go to Wayward in Old Town Fort Collins and check it out! You won't regret it!

10/25/2024

I’ll be hanging out at Wayward in old town Fort Collins tomorrow talking art etc. So if you are around and haven’t had a chance to come check my show out, come swing by between 11 and 2.

10/24/2024

Just got news that my design was chosen for the mural in Old Town Fort Collins. 10x20 foot installation on the side of the parking garage in old town! SO HYPED!

Any northern CO designers, come join us for our second CoLab Skills Showcase event tomorrow at CSU.
10/18/2024

Any northern CO designers, come join us for our second CoLab Skills Showcase event tomorrow at CSU.

Just sharing this project from a few years back that is still one of my favorites I got to do. Complete brand design fro...
10/11/2024

Just sharing this project from a few years back that is still one of my favorites I got to do. Complete brand design from the ground up, along with packaging. We were faced with a problem of having to order large quantities of the paper tubes due to large minimums but also needing them to be different for the different strengths of product. The solution(s) we came up with was for the oils we had a paper tube with a debossed indent, where we would then apply a product specific label with the info that was specific to that product. The deboss told them where to place the label each time and also made it flush so it didn't look like a label placed on a tube. Then for the balm we created a tube with two strengths on the front and when it was shipped/packaged they would check off what strength went in there. This was aligned with the brand being small batch and very custom in terms of how they served their customers. It was fun getting to solve these problems and also get to create a brand within the cannabis space that was atypical and departed from the w**d leaf centric design language that is all too common. Enjoy the pics!

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So grateful I got to be a part of this.
10/09/2024

So grateful I got to be a part of this.

In celebration of Steve “Zumbi” Gaines aka Zion of ZION I. Recorded live in Oakland, CA on August 22, 2021. Donate: https://gofund.me/dc12f8e9Tribute Shirts...

Still missing you my friend. Happy birthday The Gift of Gab (yesterday).
10/08/2024

Still missing you my friend. Happy birthday The Gift of Gab (yesterday).

My art show and winter gear drive for Homeward Alliance in Fort Collins is only a week away! I’ll be showing a few new p...
09/27/2024

My art show and winter gear drive for Homeward Alliance in Fort Collins is only a week away! I’ll be showing a few new pieces and there will be refreshments and great tunes from DJ Wadada. Come check us out and bring your old unwanted winter gear!

I'll be showing a bunch of new work at Wayward in Fort Collins next month on first Friday (October 4th). If you're in th...
09/11/2024

I'll be showing a bunch of new work at Wayward in Fort Collins next month on first Friday (October 4th). If you're in the northern Colorado area and want to check out some dope art, hear some great tunes and donate to a good cause, please come through!

The show will also be a winter gear drive for Homeward Alliance and a portion of the sales will also be donated to them as well. If you're not familiar with my art, feel free to check my previous posts to get a feel for it.

Along with my fellow artist, Devin Urioste, I'll be talking about my work and sharing it with an audience this saturday ...
07/22/2024

Along with my fellow artist, Devin Urioste, I'll be talking about my work and sharing it with an audience this saturday at Alto Gallery in Denver. This is the last week to see our Street Dialogue show and if you come during this time you'll be able to catch us there as well and hear about the artwork. So if you're in Colorado and love art, please come check us out! If you're curious about what the art looks like, check out my previous posts. Thanks so much for your support!

In case you missed it, I was a guest on an awesome podcast not too long ago. I talk about art, design, recovery, my craz...
07/10/2024

In case you missed it, I was a guest on an awesome podcast not too long ago. I talk about art, design, recovery, my crazy ass life and where I'd like to take it. If you want to get to know me better, check this out. And please leave a review =)

‎Show Create or Die with Marek Hosek, Ep From the Streets to the Studio - Paul Lukes' Journey of Recovery & Creative Transformation - Jun 15, 2024

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Fort Collins, CO
80521

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