The History of the WTRH Crest 
Denise Yates and I are both passionate about Welsh Terriers and the future of our beloved rare breed. From sourcing difficult-to-find photographs, to collecting oral histories of record holders, Denise has worked tirelessly on this project. What she has accomplished is remarkable, and her dream of making this history accessible is a gift.
I was honored to be brought on to develop the website, graphic design and crest art for WTRH. WTRH is more than just a website– it is a living, breathing archive. WTRH preserves a rich heritage and is ready for new history as it is made.
My vision for the WTRH logo was a crest in the British or Welsh tradition. Historically, crests were visual in nature because at the time they originated and were used most, the majority of people viewing them were not literate. Any text that was displayed would typically be mottos, often in Latin, that only a few would be able to read. I decided that the fundamental concepts of the WTRH should be represented in the visuals, and that the text be presented as secondary. I decided that the only true text on the crest should be descriptive words about the breed in Welsh. I asked Denise to supply me with suitable words. The crest began as a drawing in India ink, which I then translated into a carving, and then a carving in wood, which I printed as a block print. At that point, I needed to bring in the eye of another designer. I brought in my sister, who is a professional in cultural heritage preservation and has a Masters in Museum Studies.
Having studied medieval literature in my undergraduate degree, specifically that of the Arthurian legend, heraldry was an interest of mine and I enjoyed the opportunity to work on this project. Emma had already come up with beautiful foliage for the mantling, a trophy in place of the helm, and the terrier crest, which I thought would be complemented within the shield by the simplicity of the flag of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales. With a focus on ensuring the mantling would be accurate and unique both in monochrome and in full colour, I refined Emma’s design and we worked together to position the flag in the centre of the crest. Hand-lettering and calligraphy are a hobby of mine, and the final step was to model a font based on Welsh stone carvings for the motto.
Once I was finished with the hand-drawn lettering and revision of Emma’s original hand-drawn crest, Emma got to work digitizing it. This is a lengthy process involving vectorizing and smoothing the resulting lines so that it can be easily printed at any resolution for a wide variety of printing needs.
The WTRH crest was officially completed December of 2018, by Kesler sisters Marika and Emma.
In December of 2019, it was announced that the Welsh Terrier Record Holders Official Crest by Emma Kesler, Marika Kesler, and Denise Yates was nominated for a Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell Medallion for best “Single Illustration or Painting.”
The History of the WTRH Crest
Denise Yates and I are both passionate about Welsh Terriers and the future of our beloved rare breed. From sourcing difficult-to-find photographs, to collecting oral histories of record holders, Denise has worked tirelessly on this project. What she has accomplished is remarkable, and her dream of making this history accessible is a gift.
I was honored to be brought on to develop the website, graphic design and crest art for WTRH. WTRH is more than just a website– it is a living, breathing archive. WTRH preserves a rich heritage and is ready for new history as it is made.
My vision for the WTRH logo was a crest in the British or Welsh tradition. Historically, crests were visual in nature because at the time they originated and were used most, the majority of people viewing them were not literate. Any text that was displayed would typically be mottos, often in Latin, that only a few would be able to read. I decided that the fundamental concepts of the WTRH should be represented in the visuals, and that the text be presented as secondary. I decided that the only true text on the crest should be descriptive words about the breed in Welsh. I asked Denise to supply me with suitable words. The crest began as a drawing in India ink, which I then translated into a carving, and then a carving in wood, which I printed as a block print. At that point, I needed to bring in the eye of another designer. I brought in my sister, who is a professional in cultural heritage preservation and has a Masters in Museum Studies.
Having studied medieval literature in my undergraduate degree, specifically that of the Arthurian legend, heraldry was an interest of mine and I enjoyed the opportunity to work on this project. Emma had already come up with beautiful foliage for the mantling, a trophy in place of the helm, and the terrier crest, which I thought would be complemented within the shield by the simplicity of the flag of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales. With a focus on ensuring the mantling would be accurate and unique both in monochrome and in full colour, I refined Emma’s design and we worked together to position the flag in the centre of the crest. Hand-lettering and calligraphy are a hobby of mine, and the final step was to model a font based on Welsh stone carvings for the motto.
Once I was finished with the hand-drawn lettering and revision of Emma’s original hand-drawn crest, Emma got to work digitizing it. This is a lengthy process involving vectorizing and smoothing the resulting lines so that it can be easily printed at any resolution for a wide variety of printing needs.
The WTRH crest was officially completed December of 2018, by Kesler sisters Marika and Emma.
In December of 2019, it was announced that the Welsh Terrier Record Holders Official Crest by Emma Kesler, Marika Kesler, and Denise Yates was nominated for a Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell Medallion for best “Single Illustration or Painting.”
