Identity Project
Creating uniformity that feels effortless
T L D R
The Problem
On Day 1 of my employment (‘15), I met with managers to establish some short-term needs and when asking about brand a brutal lack of excitement set a rebrand exploration in motion that I knew I could pitch and bring it to life
My Role
As Lead Designer, I designed (w/ 1 other print designer), organized/hosted reviews for execs and prioritized assets for the soft rollout.
My Value
It took a month and went so well that I get tasked to incorporate into new product offerings, whenever they come. It earned me more responsibility as the creative figurehead in design at the company.
Before I Was Employed
It Was a Bit Messy
My Initial Audit
Can This Be Recreated Easily?
Yes. It is simple and can be recreated in color, black and white.
Is it versatile across mediums?
Yes. It can support vertical and horizontal versions. Some thin edges might be a little tough on print, but it is not that bad.
Is it striking enough to last over time ?
No. It has a clip art-feel, which might be because of the colors that seem to mute each other. It feels forced to look like the letter T.
My last test is a profoundly emotional, super subjective test, but important none the less…
We Werent Excited
•
We Didn't Care
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We Werent Excited • We Didn't Care •
A Redesign Begins
Our focus was a logo. It seems like a small singular ask at the start, but I knew it would spark a larger identity that would shape our public face.
After interviewing the owner and other managers about the name and its pathos, it was on me to leading the art direction with another designer, relaying all the evidence that could inspire us to imagine a new logo, which ultimately meant triangles on triangles. You can see the progression from left to right, sketching and testing color and ultimately finding the symbol.
Creating The Guide
After several reviews that tweaked our direction, the consensus in the room was using negative space to form a house was the direction, a la Fedex or The Oscars.
With the typography, I wanted to keep something from the past and I still think Futura was/is a stunning font, but they were using the condensed style and all it took was a little pivot to its regular state that made the room buy into our pitch.
Color has always been a tall obstacle for me. Luckily my Jr. designer was totally my opposite. She loved colors and print in ways that i never would and filled in competencies, which made each other stronger. And while I trusted her to experiment different palette, ultimately we went with black and white rules, adding muted colors as products presented further branding opportunities.
8 Years On…
Business Cards
Social Ads
Event Videos
Email Newsletters
Brochures
Podcasts
Websites
It’s been a long ride and you never really appreciate the range of work until you have some time to breath. I learned so many things and still have so many ideas. I feel like I have a new lease on design life when I received the green light on a redesign. We’ve been rolling it out slow, but its been worth the wait.
It is something that essentially has been my baby for a very long time. I think not only does it button up the work that I started, but puts a solid marker on what I think the present and future can grow into.
What I Learned
I have gained a ton of skills. At the beginning of my career I felt confident identifying inspiration to dream up an idea I anted to see, but I felt it took me a while to manifest it into something that could convince you of its potential or current success. Today is much different. I’m still learning new things, but I’ve also built a solid vault of reliable skills to help me produce many ideas I’ve encountered through my career.
I learned the ability to communicate ideas in more detail and the ability to uncover the root of issues when there is a disconnect in the feedback loop. I learned to strategize business objectives by asking specific questions that would determine the type of user journey I wanted to create.