OBJECTIVE
The Student Alumni Council (SAC) is a club at the University of Cincinnati dedicated to planning Homecoming and connecting current students to alumni. As Vice President of Marketing, part of my job is to create merch for members. I wanted my final design to reflect Cincinnati pride while also representing the SAC community.
EXPLORATION
I started by researching other merch designs to find inspiration. I was quickly drawn to more illustrative styles, as I wanted to incorporate my passion for drawing into my final design. I then brainstormed Cincinnati cultural staples that are important to the identity of the University of Cincinnati and the Student Alumni Council.
SKETCHING
After the exploration phase, I began sketching physically to quickly draw different concepts. I wanted my design to capture the family-like community SAC represents through friendly graphics. I also explored utilizing the phrase "Earn your stripes," a slogan used by the club. Ultimately, I chose the iconographic design because of its illustration.
DIGITAL ITERATIONS
In this stage, I focused on refining my icons. I originally wanted to outline them in a rougher, more pencil-like style, but realized a smoother finish added a cleaner quality. I then evened out the shapes to make them more geometric and uniform.
TYPE EXPERIMENTATION
I wanted the text on my design to follow the whimsical style of my icons. I experimented with several typefaces until I landed on "Elite." I chose this style because of its retro, friendly feel. The smooth quality of the typeface also correlated with the roundness of the icons.
COMPOSITIONAL ITERATIONS
Once I finalized my individual components, I assembled them to create a balanced composition. I also edited a few icons to even out the negative space and fill blocks of color. I then created my own script typeface and added small embellishments to tie everything together.
FINAL DESIGN
