Anthony Zych sees art as the next step in hockey marketing and publicity.

The Columbus Blue Jackets graphic designer believes that through design and creativity, interest in the sport can be enhanced to a higher degree. So far he has backed up this logic with several stunning posters advertising various Blue Jackets games during the season.

From a Blue Jackets fan ‘mowing Maple Leafs’ to a coyote chasing after Columbus mascot “Stinger” through the desert, Zych’s designs have perked the interest of hockey fans in the Columbus area and beyond.

View photos Photo from Anthony Zych's website. More

You can check out his entire portfolio here.

“The thing I find the most special about these, we’re using the world’s most universal language to communicate something, and as a graphic designer that’s our job – which is to communicate visually,” Zych said. “Every language, every written word out there, it all came from art. All the old caveman pictograms and everything that was adapted and turned into a full language – art has been the one constant language everyone has been able to understand. So you may not be a huge hockey fan, but art can communicate something to you that may get you involved or interested in hockey.”

Zych, a Columbus native who started working with the Blue Jackets in 2011 shortly after graduating from Ohio State, said the idea for the posters began about four years ago. It was only this season when they became a reality.

He calls these posters “the little monster nagging me in the back of my head.” Not from a negative perspective but more because he’s constantly thinking about how his next piece will look.

“The way I overthink so much of these posters that I become my own worst enemy sometimes like changing my mind and changing how I want to do something or changing a style midway through when I already have one drawn, but it’s fun,” Zych said. “It’s a great process. I enjoy it. It’s become something, quite frankly, I didn’t expect it to take off like this and I don’t think anybody else did. It’s nice to see people enjoying some of the creative stuff we’re putting out here.”

View photos Photo from Anthony Zych's website More

Zych grew up involved in art, which he said was fostered by his mother. When he was in fourth grade he took Saturday morning art classes at the Columbus College of Art and Design.

Story continues