This project began with one very general prompt: identify a problem in your community, either St. Louis or Washington University. I worked with an amazing five-person team of fellow Sam Fox (Washington University's visual arts school) designers. Together, over three months, we collaborated, ideated, and delegated to build an implementable and engaging solution.
Through a variety of informal conversations with students, interviews with school employees and Wash U alumnae in St. Louis, and a cohesive student survey, we came to the conclusion that the most effective way to begin tackling braindrain, considering the short time we had and our resources and backgrounds, was to figure out a way to connect students with civically-engaged courses. After a crazy and ever-changing initial generative process, we finally arrived at a problem statement.
My primary design responsibility was to develop the branding and brand guidelines for the expo. We wanted it to feel personable and playful yet productive, all without being childish. Every decision and element has significance: the three components of the wordmark represent the different levels of community we inspire to bring together with Civic Expo.
