Brand Design and Printmaking
Project: DAAPworks is an event showcasing the creative achievements of the graduating class from the top-ranked College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of Cincinnati.
Challenge: For the annual 2023 DAAPworks, I was tasked with interpreting a zero-waste concept provided by alumni and transforming it into a comprehensive brand from a simple napkin sketch. Additionally, I led a design team of three, coordinating our efforts to meet the project goals. My final responsibility involved managing the dissemination of printmaking tasks to team members according to the project timeline.
Napkin Sketch Competition
The DAAPworks branding for 2023 began with a napkin sketch competition among the college's distinguished alumni. The winner of the competition was chosen by a panel of judges, consisting of one senior student from each program within DAAP (Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning).
The Winner
Ultimately, our Industrial Design alum, Danny Chambers, won the competition with his zero-waste initiative concept for the end-of-year capstone gallery.
"If you have sketched on a napkin, odds are you have also ripped a napkin. This submission makes use of rips from heavy-handed pen marks to create a zero-waste DAAP logo. The design pattern utilizes 100% of the material, flipping the cut-out ‘d’ to a ‘p’ and carrying the first cut-out ‘a’ to become the second. In this way, it does more with less waste. It's inspired by the work of DAAP students who are considering the broader impact of their creative practices. Also, this napkin was used as a napkin before it became a logo idea."
- Danny Chambers
Initial Ideation
Once the concept for the 2023 DAAPworks branding was finalized, I began ideating the hero mark for the gallery. We started by sketching out various ideas to explore different design possibilities.
DAAPworks 2017
Given that the tagline for 2023 is "Refine and Repurpose," I decided to revisit and repurpose my favorite DAAPworks branding from 2017. The goal was to take the initial concept and reinterpret it through Danny's vision.
Since the winning napkin sketch utilized the napkin as a textile rather than relying on pen strokes, the 2017 DAAPworks branding will be placed in an isometric view inside a box representing the napkin. Here, the "AP" in the mark can be extruded to align with the zero-waste concept.
Illustrating and Prioritizing Legibility
While the direction to revisit and repurpose the 2017 DAAPworks branding was promising, my mentor raised concerns about how consumers would perceive the hero mark. As a result, ensuring legibility became a top priority in the forefront of the 2023 branding efforts.
Initially, we thought we had the hero mark for DAAPworks 2023 after multiple rounds of ideation. However, as additional designers joined and discussions on how to differentiate each school during the event ensued, we shifted from considering four colors to a more innovative approach inspired by Danny's vision. Dividing each school by the texture of their likely waste material reinforced our "refine and repurpose" tagline. Yet, sharing the final mark with the new team revealed legibility issues, especially with the Cannu typeface's thin terminals, necessitating further refinement of our brand guidelines.
Brand Guidelines Vs 1
Implementing the Identity
After presenting the 2023 DAAPworks brand guidelines to the DAAP dean, it was time for the grand reveal! Announcements were made through a banner showcased on the official DAAPworks website, integrating the hero mark and the identity for the end-of-year gallery.
The initial identity iteration featured the hero mark set against a textural painting, a creation by one of our longstanding students, embodying Danny's refined and repurposed vision.
Multiple iterations were crafted and pitched to my boss and mentor for approval before publishing on the DAAPworks website.
The textures representing each school were designated as follows:
- Design: Fabric
- Architecture: Cardboard
- Art: Charcoal
- Planning: Planning Ma
Final
Brand Guidelines
The final banner I created received appreciation from my mentor, although she suggested tightening it up.
A wonderful Semester long project !