GRAPHIC DESIGN

STATE PUBLICATION COVER

To refresh interest in the topic and gain attention among the public, the Alabama Secretary of State’s office hosts an annual cover art competition for upcoming election publications in the state. I submitted a cover art design for the 2022 Election Cycle, and it was selected from hundreds of submissions across the state as the cover for the 2022 Alabama Voter Guide. As the cover art designer, I visited the capitol, where I met the Secretary of State and Director of Elections and received physical copies of the voter guide.

My vision was a stack of mail on a table with a postcard of Alabama on the top. The picture on the postcard is the capitol building in Montgomery. I continued the mail theme for the back cover by placing the required address and websites on a stamped envelope. Because this is an official government publication, I did not want to stray from the standard color scheme of red, white, and blue that election materials typically reflect.

Check out this article to learn more: https://www.uwa.edu/news/IMC2022

TUSCALOOSA RIVER MARKET RACK CARD

I redesigned the Tuscaloosa River Market rack card under the guidance of City Venues Operations Manager Alexis Clark. Although the River Market hosts weddings, they wanted the new card to show the venue’s versatility for all types of events.

Instead of the classic black and white color scheme, I chose to use a dark navy with white to make the card stand out from similar venues that most likely use traditional black and white. I utilized the River Market’s website to find the information I wanted to highlight on the new card. While testimonials are great, the previous card did not list any information on the venue other than rental options. Therefore, on the new card, I immediately knew that it needed to have the building specs and location to show clients all the possibilities the venue offers.

I also updated the pictures. On the front, I even placed the information underneath the photos like captions. And on the back, it has the exact same information as the previous one, but I did add vertical side bars to visually separate the rental options. I also removed the address and contact information that was previously at the bottom on the back because it is already listed on the front.  Overall, I believe the new rack card is more vibrant than the previous one, not only due to pictures, but also because the small change from black to navy makes a big difference.

Below is the old rack card on the left and the new one on the right.

Old, front

Old, back

New, front

New, back

POST-IT REBRAND

As part of a creative project, I rebranded a company. By the completion of this rebrand, I had created a new logo, a brand book, a dynamic mood board, and more.

The company I chose was Post-It because I probably go through one set of sticky notes each month.

Although Post-It now offers a wide variety of office and school products, I wanted to maintain the focus on sticky notes, which marked the beginning of the brand’s history in 1968.  

Check out the final brand book and dynamic mood board or click the toggles below to learn more about my rebranding process!

RESEARCH

As with any project, the first step is always research.

I needed to find out what problem(s) Post-It solves and what makes Post-It different from other companies to fully understand the brand.

I visited their website and social media outlets to get a feel for their current branding, understand how they operate, learn their history, and ultimately decide how I wanted to go about the rebranding.

LOGO DESIGN

                                     

A company’s logo is the foundation of its brand identity, so it only made sense to start the design process with the logo. 

The two old logos featured multiple sticky notes in shades of yellow, as seen above.

I used a single, bright yellow sticky note with a handwritten font in the new logo. Using elements (the sticky notes and the colors yellow and black) from the two older logos in the new logo design maintains the trust between the brand and its existing customers. Using elements from the old logos in the new logo shows existing customers that Post-It is not abandoning their entire branding but modernizing to stay up to date on trends in today’s digital society. I was inspired to go modern with the new logo because of the Post-It app’s launch in 2019. I also wanted to make sure the new logo would work on the square shape of the app’s icon.

TYPOGRAPHY

                                     

Brand typography is a visual element that arranges a brand’s written copy legibly and aligns its messaging with its personality.

Header – Chalk Brush: For the header, I chose a thick, handwritten font to emulate the writing of a sharpie marker that people often use when writing on sticky notes. Because this is a decorative font, It is best suited as a header font because it could interfere with legibility as a body font at a smaller point size.

Sub-Header – Helvetica: For the sub-header, I chose a simple, sans serif font that would contrast nicely with the display font I chose for the header.

Body – Roboto: And for the body, I used another sans serif font that is considerably thinner than the sub-header font to provide a clear distinction between the two fonts.

ZONE MAGAZINE

In the Fall of 2022, I had the pleasure of serving as Editor-in-Chief of UWA’s ZONE Magazine, an annual sports publication produced by IMC students.

I led a team of 6 students to produce a 48-page magazine in 7 weeks. I approved all production elements, including ads, stories, and layouts. I also designed half of all page layouts and ads. Along with an editor’s letter, you can also find my writing on page 29.

Check out the complete edition at uwazone.com.

TUSCALOOSA CELEBRATION ON THE RIVER

As a graphic design intern for the City of Tuscaloosa, I created graphics for the City’s 2022 Fourth of July Celebration on the River (COTR) event at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater.

Along with a new logo, I designed 100% of the graphics, including billboards, signs, social media graphics, event headers, and slides for the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater screens.

The previous logo used shades of red, white, and blue, like one would expect to see for this holiday, but the shades (teal and coral) gave off a tropical vibe. In the new logo I designed, I kept the same elements like the fireworks and font but changed the colors to the standard color codes of the United States of America flag and added stars to replace the tropical vibe with a patriotic one. I also removed the stroke around the letters so the new logo is easier to read.

Old Logo

New Logo

For the social media graphics, I made sure that an image was the focus of the design because the caption area would be able to give more details. Also, the City often pays to boost social posts, and a 20% text-to-image ratio is required to promote posts on Facebook, so I had to keep that in mind when designing. I also included the City’s logo in each social graphic as a requirement for all city social posts. This year, the City of Tuscaloosa debuted a holiday version of the city logo using the colors red, white, and blue to be used solely for COTR graphics and content.

I also made signs for the “Kids Zone” area and a large photo backdrop. In the past several years, the COTR has been sponsored by the City of Tuscaloosa and the Tuscaloosa Parks and Recreation Authority (PARA). Still, this year was the first COTR to be supported solely by the City of Tuscaloosa. Because of that, the City’s logo needed to be front and center on signage, such as for the “Kids Zone,” to show citizens and event attendees that the City of Tuscaloosa was sponsoring 100% of this year’s COTR event and its activities.

I also created slides for the screens at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater that would be shown during the event. The slides included sponsor thank yous, event times and more. 

CITY OF TUSCALOOSA INTRANET

The City of Tuscaloosa’s intranet, the Hub, centralizes all city employee communications and resources in one easy-to-access location. It is only about a year old and is still new to employees. The primary goal of my work was to increase the understanding and use of the Hub among employees.

My first task was to make one-sheeters for employees to learn how to do certain things on the Hub, like bookmarking an article, RSVPing to an event, recognizing a coworker, and more. I created the hashtag #HubHowTo for this series of one-sheeters that provided a step-by-step process with screenshots. The PDFs I designed are now available on the Hub for employees to view, download, and print.

I also made slides for the Hub to go on the TV screens throughout city hall that corresponded with each of the one-sheeters. The colors I used are from the city’s visual identity, and those colors are Industrial Gray, Champions Gold and Choctaw Black. To complete my assignments for the Hub, I worked closely with the City’s webmaster, Donald Malone, to ensure my graphics were meeting his approval.

TUSCALOOSA LITTER CAMPAIGN

During my internship with the City of Tuscaloosa, I worked on a $20,000 littering campaign funded by a grant for the City’s Environmental Services Division (ESD). This grant supports education and awareness of different environmental needs, and this year, Tuscaloosa ESD asked that the focus be specifically on littering and litter prevention.

My first task was a graphic for the sides of the City’s brand-new mechanical garbage trucks.

I am not from Tuscaloosa, but I learned from the Environmental Services Division that it’s a safety concern for the waste workers if the trashcan is not in the correct place, especially with the new mechanical arm trucks. I know next to nothing about garbage trucks, but what I can relate to is safety because no matter where you are or what you’re doing, safety is always the number one priority. That’s why I decided to focus on curbside etiquette for trash pickup using a three-step process that not only helps to keep workers safe, but also helps toward the goal of litter prevention.

The three steps I highlighted show that all trash must be bagged, the lid must be closed, the arrows on the lid must point to the road, and the trashcan must be placed on the curb. I utilized the campaign’s color palette and fonts in all graphics to keep things cohesive. The color of the trashcans in this graphic matches the city trashcan color, and it was the perfect place to put the city logo. All graphics also feature the campaign hashtag and a website link to find more information.

For the billboard graphic, I used the same layout as the garbage truck graphic, but the three-step process on the billboard relates to roadside etiquette since people will be driving when they see the billboard. This billboard targets people who drive with loose trash in the back of their vehicles. I placed the city logo on the side of the red truck on the billboard to match the city trucks with the city logo on the front doors. Using the same layout and color palette shows that the billboard and garbage truck graphics are part of the same litter campaign.

SOURCE WATER PROTECTION WEEK

As a graphic design intern for the City of Tuscaloosa, I created social media graphics for Tuscaloosa’s Source Water Protection Week.

The previous year’s graphics featured the logo and dates, but the city wanted the graphics to be more educational this year.

The first graphic I made was to inform people about the term “source water” because it’s not a word you hear every day. The graphic featured the question “what is source water?” and the caption to the post had the definition.

The next two graphics featured a litter component not only to tie in the ESD litter campaign but also to show how litter cleanups help protect Tuscaloosa’s source water. I was given the totals of how much litter was collected during the three district cleanups since January of this year, which inspired me to create a “by the numbers” graphic. After making that graphic, I decided to make one more with the combined total from the three cleanups.

Compared to last year, my designs are more vibrant and provide more life and interest than a static landscape photo. Even though I did use a landscape photo in the first graphic, the wave-like elements indicate movement and water motion to counteract the static photo.

Old Graphics

New Graphics

LUCKY BRAND MEDIA PLAN

Famously known for its jeans, Lucky Brand is an apparel company that went bankrupt in the spring of 2020.

For this media plan, I researched Lucky Brand and its previous advertising efforts among the different media channels to determine new approaches to improve its sales.

After an in-depth analysis of Lucky’s primary and secondary target markets, I created, designed, and developed three promotional campaigns using three different media types to capture the attention of Lucky Brand’s target markets perfectly. After completing the research and promotion designs, I combined everything in a 15-page media plan. Take a look!

 

 

CARDS FOR THE KIDS

Phi Mu Fraternity’s national philanthropy is Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals. A local chapter’s philanthropy chairman wanted cards that its members could color to send to kids at CMN Hospitals.

Before designing these “get well soon” cards, I researched and found that children’s hospitals recommend encouraging words on the cards. Furthermore, hospitals discourage the use of phrases like “get well soon” and “feel better” that reference to illnesses since some of the patients suffer from medical conditions that are chronic, life-long, progressive, or terminal.

To ensure that there would be no complications with these cards, I chose a message from an online list of pre-approved phrases. When designing the cards, I added a 1/8-inch border to make a cleaner and more professional look. I made sure to feature the sorority on the back of the card, but I also added a place for members to sign their names to make the cards even more personal to the kids who receive them.

SORORITY HOLIDAY CARD

My university’s Phi Mu chapter wanted a Christmas card to send their alumnae and surrounding community. The only requirement I had to follow as I designed the card was to keep costs low, so I used a generous amount of white space to create a minimalist and elegant design that would print with little ink usage.

I used pops of pink throughout the design to match Phi Mu’s official colors of rose and white and chose a muted maroon to add a touch of holiday color.

To avoid using the typical greeting of “Merry Christmas,” I used “Happy Holidays” instead because Phi Mu is a sorority that welcomes women of any or no religious belief, so the card needed to be inclusive towards everyone.

Lastly, I made sure to include Phi Mu’s official symbol, which is a quatrefoil.

MIMOSA RIDGE BROCHURE

When designing a tri-fold brochure for a wedding venue, I used black, white, and dark red to match the venue’s current website. The use of the same colors across multiple platforms instantly creates a stronger brand identity for any business.

I created an updated brochure because the former one for this venue was nearly ten years old; it was outdated in information and design.

In the new brochure, I updated the information and pictures and added social media, website, and address information to provide various methods of contacting the venue and conducting further research on its services. I used a serif typeface throughout the newly designed brochure that is elegant yet simple enough to stay true to the rustic charm of this venue perched above the white bluffs of the Tombigbee River in rural Sumter County, Alabama.

CABIN MAGNETS

Located in Belmont, Alabama overlooking the Tombigbee River, the cabins at Mimosa Ridge are approximately thirty minutes from the nearest convenience store.

The owner wanted to ensure that guests were informed of the items they could purchase without traveling away from the venue, so he asked me to design two different fridge magnets for every cabin.

I kept the layout of both magnets the same but changed the colors to reflect the advertised item. I kept a cool color palette for the ice magnet, and for the firewood magnet, I used warm colors.

I knew these designs would be placed side-by-side on each fridge, so the use of the same layout creates a cohesive look, with the blues and oranges providing the perfect complementary contrast.

ARTS 'N AUTISM BROCHURE

Arts n’ Autism is a non-profit organization in Tuscaloosa, Alabama that provides early intervention, after-school, and summer camp programs designed to meet the special needs of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD). Arts n’ Autism uses an informational brochure to promote their summer camp programs, and because these camps’ activities change from year to year, they always produce a new brochure each Spring.

I had the privilege of designing the 2022 Art ‘n Autism Summer Camps tri-fold brochure. I used three main colors to represent the three camps they offered for 2022. The front of the brochure includes all three colors, camps, and three photos to provide a quick look at what this brochure is about. As the brochure opens, you will find registration information such as when registration starts and how to register. For the three inside panels, I designated one panel for each camp, which is easily noticeable and clear with the use of a different color on each panel. Lastly, fundraising details and contact information can be found on the very back.

TYPOGRAPHY INFOGRAPHIC

Learning the elements of typography provides a better understanding of how to pick a suitable font and apply it effectively within design projects.

As a graphic design student, I created an infographic on the plethora of typography terms to quickly familiarize myself with the definitions while simultaneously designing a portfolio piece.

The sharp, clean lines throughout the infographic convey the formality of the information. At the same time, the unique twist on the popular color combination of red, white, and blue is eye-catching and unexpected.

The distinctive color palette captures readers’ attention as the diagonal red lines guide their eyes down the infographic.

The combination of sharp lines with striking colors makes this infographic easy to notice and the information within it easy to understand. 

To view the entire infographic, click below!

 

 

HISPANIC AMERICANS INFOGRAPHIC

As part of a project with Hispanic Americans as the target market, I created an infographic to guide future marketing decisions towards this consumer group.

Knowing information such as population and geographical data, values, and buying power allows for better-targeted investment decisions when engaging demographic groups.

Having complete control of the design, I knew I wanted to make it playful and fun to contrast with the unexciting, statistical data throughout the infographic.

The vibrant and highly saturated color palette, along with faceless people, a playful font, and an abundance of visual content reflect the playful vibe I was going for in this infographic.

Click below to view the entire infographic!

 

THE BRASS MONKEY MENU

When redesigning the menu for a local restaurant and bar, I incorporated western elements such as the eroded title font since this venue was previously known as “The Brass Monkey Saloon.” I also added a distressed texture over the entire menu to mirror the rustic, weathered charm of the building that it calls home. 

The Brass Monkey’s logo is an image of three monkeys, so I kept the color palette of the menu in correlation with the black and white image.

I designed the menu with ease-of-access in mind, so it is formatted as a horizontal front-and-back menu.

MOVIE POSTERS

I created three movie posters using a single movie title, Desperate Measures. Each movie has its own genre and synopsis. Take a look below!

HORROR

A woman wakes up to find her family gone and her doors and windows boarded up with no way to escape.

WAR

After a mass bombing, a soldier is separated from his team and must survive in foreign lands by becoming an ally of the enemy.

DRAMA

Diagnosed with cancer during his senior year of high school, Collin is desperate to finish his last season on the soccer team and help his team make it to the state championship tournament.

CONTACT ME

Have a question? Let me know!