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Project Overview

PROJECT: 2016 HERO[series]
LOCATION: Detroit, Michigan

VETERAN: Michael Roberts
BRANCH: U.S. Marines
DESIGNER: James Naugle

VIDEO: Josh BeebeRay Rushing
PORTRAITS: Cody Ross
VENUE: Swords Into Plowshares
PARTNERS: AIGA DetroitDetroit BootsQuicken Loans

Design Story

“BEAT AS ONE”

Military families endure some of the toughest challenges possible; not only during deployments, but sometimes even more so after they return home. Battling mental illness, Michael and his wife Myra struggled at first to rejoin their lives together.

Within his design, the drum sticks and music notes represent the impact music has made on their family and how it brought them all together again, while the heart symbolizes his wife’s belief that, “Love is the main ingredient needed to heal the invisible wounds of the heart, soul and mind.” His design is an encouragement for individuals, families, and communities to come together in love, patience, and empathy to help overcome their differences in order to live in harmony and “Beat As One.”