inter·punct

inter·punct is a student-run architecture journal at CMU that stretches beyond traditional architecture.

Project: Develop a series of promotional pieces that will increase awareness and elevate the status of the journal for its 2017 re-launch. Use the organization's CMYK color palette.

Problem: There was very low awareness of the journal and it was not perceived as dynamic. Its black & white format (which could not be changed) gave the impression of an out-of-date traditional architecture journal. The challenge was to create materials that would increase the awareness of the journal and communicate its cutting edge, current feel that extends beyond architecture. The brief was to work with current logo and promotional color palette.

Produced: 2 Poster Series, Digital Video Projection for Launch, Documentary Video of the Re-Launch Event

View the videos: 📹 Video 1 Video 2 📹

Solution: In my design, I wanted to feature the actual journal, to bring the black & white format forward but bring it to life and make it more dynamic and current. Part of inter·punct's identity is that it  “it disrupts, agitates, demystifies.”  While it was important to reference architecture, I wanted to go beyond that and communicate this disruptive, active part of its identity. For this, I created a black & white palette that is activated by brightly colored, structural, wire-frame shapes that re-shape themselves and move around the journal dynamically. The wire-frame shapes reference architecture but their dynamic movement and re-shaping hinted that inter·punct was not a traditional, staid journal. 

Impact: The poster series drew new readers and got the attention of students beyond architecture. It established a memorable look that generated more attention and made people curious about the journal. Attendance was high at the re-launch event and the digital projections and new look communicated dynamism and created buzz and curiosity.

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Lunar Gala

Lunar Gala is CMU's student-produced fashion show. I collaborated with the team of fellow designers on the Lunar Gala board to create the branding and identity for Sonder, the 2017 show. We created Posters, Tickets, Programs, Press Passes and Digital Promotional Material to create a cohesive style and language across the show as a whole.

02

The Cut Magazine

Project: Full magazine treatment and layout for re-launch of CMU's first music magazine. Collaborated with designer Sharon Yu.

Problem: The Cut is Carnegie Mellon University’s first music magazine, a fully student-run publication seeking to provide music news, reviews and more to expose students and Pittsburgh residents to all kinds of music. Once a progressive, popular publication Started in 2007, The Cut Magazine was fading from the forefront. The original publication’s black and white theme was constraining the photographs and making the overall magazine feel dull, no longer engaging the audience. They needed to rebuild the magazine from the ground up, with a completely new look and feel that would break through the clutter and re-engage students and residents of Pittsburgh.

Produced: Rebuilt magazine from the ground up, including new type system, image treatment, sections, and modular grid.

Solution: We spent time getting feedback from music lovers on campus and around Pittsburgh and working closely with the editors to rebuild the magazine. We spent weeks choosing and iterating type pairings, image treatments, page layouts and formatting of the book. The final result was a completely re-thought punchy magazine for the November issue release.

03

Innovation Builders
(2015)

Project: Develop identity and branding for the company as well as individual product
lines for innovation training and services. 

Problem: Innovation Builders is a spin-off of spark!Consulting, a Corporate Innovation Consultancy to Fortune 500 companies in Healthcare and Consumer Goods. Innovation Builders was created to focus on teaching Learning and Cultural Organizations how to become collaborative innovators and transform their organizations and their learners for the 21st century. They needed to communicate their identity as a new, fresh company but with deep innovation expertise. The initial designs they developed in-house did not engage the target customers, did not communicate the key elements of collaboration and, specifically, “people” development.

Produced: Logos, word-marks, Business Cards and other collateral materials, presentation graphics

Solution: After attending and observing an Innovation Builders Bootcamp and meeting extensively with the founder and employees, I designed a logo that emphasized empowering people. I also helped create a tag-line “Building Collaborative Innovators for the 21st Century” that would further emphasize their commitment to developing people into innovators and to emphasize their focus on the future.

Impact: The new identity and branding has created an exciting brand with a high degree of professionalism. The founders report that the target customers are responding positively to the changes and that the look and feel both fits in with the target customer base and stands out as a differentiator among other businesses. 

04

Tartanhacks

Project: Brand identity and promotional materials for Tartanhacks 2017, CMU's largest hackathon.

Problem: Tartanhacks was facing increasing competition from other hackathons. They had never engaged a professional designer to create branding or a logo and they felt they needed to stand out and elevate their brand. Their old branding had iconography that did not speak at all to what they did or what they stood for. They also wanted to create more awareness and trial by novices and new students.

Produced: Logo, Posters, T-shirts, Outdoor Promotional Banners, Website Look & Feel, Video of Event

Solution: I wanted to make sure the logo and materials reflected the activities of the hackathon, but also made it feel fun and engaging. I also wanted to create something that could be animated, bringing a sense of dynamic fun to the event and make it feel accessible to novices and newbies. I created a bold logo to get attention that integrates a circuitry aesthetic and iconography. The main graphic element I used were colored bars reflecting how colored code looks on screen, in a low-fidelity way.

Impact: The new logo, outdoor banners, t-shirts, promotional materials and website got attention and increased participation by 30% for the 2017 hackathon.

"Noah's branding gave our event an air of professionalism and quality that exceeded our expectations. He captured the spirit of our hackathon, but set us apart from our peers." — Scott Krulcik, Director of Technology @ ScottyLabs

05

Beechwood Arts & Innovation (2015)

Project: Develop new branding and identity for this multi-arts non-profit that is redefining what the arts experience can be for the 21st Century.

Problem: Beechwood Arts is a 501(c)3 who’s mission is to change what the arts experience can be for the 21st Century by bringing together artists from many fields to collaborate. They also use cutting edge technology to bring visual art to life and to conduct 2-way streaming with other locations for all their events. While all of their activity is cutting edge and the art they present is contemporary, their branding was very old-fashioned and evoked history rather than the future. The challenge was to pay tribute to the history of the arts, while making it clear that Beechwood was focused on the future.

Produced: Logo, Business Cards, Promotional Mailer, Documentary Short Film

Solution: Getting their name from a 300 year old beech tree on the property, I wanted to incorperate it into the identity, but have it appear in an updated, more abstract way. I also wanted to make it clear that Beechwood was about innovation, multi-arts and personal connection, which is what we heard when we talked with patrons and artists that attended and participated in Beechwood’s events. I helped create a 3-word tag to accompany the logo “Intimate, Immersive, Innovative” that further defined what they were about. After the identity was complete, we created a promotional, documentary-style short film where we featured participants and patrons of all ages and backgrounds talking about their experience. The film clearly brings to life the collaborative, innovative nature of the organization and the place. 

06

Arogya Tea (2013)

Project: Full-line Package Re-design to improve the customer shopping experience for complex assortment of teas.

Problem: While customers loved Arogya’s teas, the current shopping experience was often confusing and uneven, due primarily to the existing packaging which did not allow the customer to easily distinguish between tea varieties, did not communicate the benefits of each tea, did not offer the customer complete information on how to prepare the tea, and did not communicate in the multiple languages needed. Functionally, the client wanted labels that were affordable and easy to apply.

Produced: Re-designed packaging labels and logo treatment

Solution: After watching customers shop, hearing about their experience, and iterating through several designs with the client, I designed an intuitive visual labeling system that guided the customer through the shopping experience through color. To create a label that communicated “natural” as well as “quality”, I used a brown paper label with a sophisticated but natural color palate. To keep the color system simple and easy to shop, I created a dual-label system. The primary label ran vertically to the top of the package, making the color visible across all packages and making it clear where the lines for each type were located and distinguishing them from each other. In addition, I included a button label that contained critical information about the use of the tea and also handled the second language elements.

07