Design Lecture Series

The base of the identity system hinges on a simple combination of rectangles that serves as both a brush stroke for hero type, as well as frames for image and block assets. The continuity that the core component brings to the system continues to support the narrative of connection between students and lecturers, course content and lecture content, and the school with the rest of the design world.

The gesture of "things falling into place" was born out of a lived experience of reflecting on years of lectures and how they've impacted our own ethos. The core movement applied to these assets created from the base components was a simulated descent in which assets collapse into a pile, and then fall away off screen. This, combined with two layers of 'meta'-content (the underlying grid system and informational text) create a motion system that captures the everchanging relationship design students have with their work, and the passing influence each lecturer imbues upon their lives.

Each lecturer brings different energy and bodies of work to the school, and so the colorways we assigned for the system were unique to each speaker. We chose a darker palette for fall and a lighter one for spring, with each unique palette selected to compliment the lecturer's work.

In addition to their talks, our team interviewed each lecturer to get the inside scoop on their hottest takes on design, freshest advice for students, and deepest cuts for inspiration. These interviews were published in a series of mini zines as take-home souvenirs for attendees, as a complement to each talk.