Art and Design Department Rebrand
The Problem:
With this project, I was asked to create a branding campaign for Bethel University’s Art and Design Department that will be used to promote the program to current and prospective students. The campaign has to acknowledge the existing Bethel Brand while visually communicating the unique spirit of the Art and Design Department.
The Solution:
I approached this big design project first by doing initial research on Bethel’s branding and the current Art and Design Department branding through analyzing social media, brand guidelines, and conducting my own interviews. After finishing the research I determined three words that encompassed the feeling I wanted to portray through my design; relationship, faith, and experimentation. From there I did visual research and created mood boards and narrowed those down to brand guidelines that helped me determine the direction I wanted to with the design. I solidified my ideas with the tagline “Called to Create”. Called to create was centered on the idea that each individual student has come to be a part of the Art and Design department for a different reason, but we have a strong connection in that we were all called to create by God. Since we were children, making was a part of every day, whether that was painting, drawing, or making a mess it was ingrained in our human nature. Through the integration of color, organic shapes, and intentional simplicity the Art and Design department can be more widely seen for how it makes its students feel. Called to create. Allowing the creativity of their younger selves to explore again. Then I created the promotional brochure, banner stands, social media campaign, and merch. As I developed each element I adjusted the branding to ensure cohesive and interesting designs with lots of versatility.
The banner stands work together as a pair to stand out among a crowd and hold a sense of playfulness and professionalism while also communicating general information about the Art and Design department. Helping to inform current and potential Bethel Students on what the Art and Design department has to offer.
The social media campaign was developed with five repeating content social media post categories: examples of relationships in the department, highlighting parts of the department, highlighting student work, event promotion, and professional artist inspiration. The Instagram story content focuses on interacting with current and prospective students. The voice is very inclusive and familiar. The design campaign was created to be viewed both as individual posts and as one cohesive piece when viewed on the grid.
