C.E.I.
Creating a brand that encompasses the concept of education for the whole person. The Character Education Initiative (C.E.I.) is a three-year program designed to infuse character education into ACC general ed courses in order to develop intellectual qualities within ACC students. My team and I were tasked with creating the brand for the new initiative that reflects their core values. This includes a new logo, brand guidelines, and a mock website to see the brand in action. As a part of ACC, the client did not want a brand that clashed with the greater institution but was still visually distinct enough that incoming students would be able to tell regular classes apart from the special C.E.I. courses. This brand also had to be flexible enough to have the ability to expand as the initiative has plans for further outreach and future conferences.
Visualizing inner growth!
We began with the development of a logo that can reflect the abstract concept of internal growth and be able to stay visibly distinct at small scales, since the main use of the logo would be as document headers or stamps next to select class courses on rosters. The final was a team effort, and the logo of a spiral was selected by the client. Our rationale for the logo is that the spiral symbolizes the twists and turns students go through in self-reflection and growth. I aided in the art direction of the brand guideline, ensuring the information presented there would be usable for any future designer brought onto the project and the client themselves. This included the creation of the colors and assets used throughout, color correcting for accessibility, and making sure our rules made sense.
Logo sketches
Web sketches
Since I was the most familiar among my team with web design, I was also tasked with the creation of the web mock-up. The client already had a Google site in place, but they wanted to see the brand implemented. I optimized the website by breaking up the text-heavy content into scanable chunks, showcasing our brand where it made the most sense to draw attention. The ultimate goal of the site is to be an information hub where interested faculty and potential students can learn more about the initiative. Being a good designer doesn’t just mean having the technical skills; it also means being able to effectively interact with both your client and team. This project also saw me as the main point of contact, spearheading kick-off calls and providing support to my team in any way I could. I learned not only the process of creating a new brand, but also how to manage a project as big as this one.
Guide & Website
