brand identity role: art director + graphic designer
about
humber polytechnic’s in-house, student-run creative agency was entering a new era and looking to rebrand. newly appointed faculty director, jessica fowler, wanted NEXT to feel fun, contemporary, and reflect the “by students, for students” ethos. this branding challenge was pitched to over 120 advertising and graphic design students.
below is the evolution of the winning concept to NEXT’s present visual identity.
client
NEXT Student Agency
collaborators
maja mahovac - graphic designer parjad minooei - web developer kyle peacock - graphic designer ekaterina smorodina - graphic designer
origins
slide 1: this is the original mood board used to pitch our concept of "the creative notebook". literally born from playing with paperclips, it reflects how our best ideas can come from scribbling in the margins and fiddling with desk junk.
the dual accent colours—evoking pens—illustrate collaboration and fluidity to the agency's creativity. the handwritten font, the scribbles, and the physical ephemera communicate that there are genuine people behind the brand.
slide 2: after presenting our initial concept, the client asked for something more bold and energetic. so, we inverted the proportions of white and black to highlight emphasize contrast and changed the colour palette to be broadline fluorescent. to make the branding feel more fun and energetic, we introduced a hand-lettered treatment to the photography.
this visual identity went on to be chosen as NEXT's official branding.
our winning student team comprised of: maja mahovic, kyle peacock, ekaterina smorodina, and myself
visual identity evolution
before lauching, it was decided that for scalability and legibility purposes, the original paperclip wordmark needed to change. our student team created a bolder, more impacful wordmark that incorporated NEXT's tagline, and retained a nod to it's origins.
website design
in anticipation for its second year, i worked with NEXT director, jessica folwer, to refresh and simplify NEXT's visual identity.
we moved from serif to sans-serif typefaces for NEXT's typography for a more contemporary and cohesive visual identity.
we also decided to strip back the use of physical ephemera and hand-drawn accents for a cleaner look.
NEXT's website was created in collaboration with web developer parjad minooei
NEXT in action
currently in their second year, NEXT continues to provide amazing opportunities for humber students to grow and gain industry experience with real world clients, helping to secure internships for students, and creating networking opportunities with industry professionals.
it's been incredibly rewarding for me to have been a part of NEXT's journery from the beginning. i'm excited to see it continue to grow and evolve over time.
