Georgia Tech Computing

Project Overview

• Description:

  Visual Rebranding

• Company:

  Georgia Tech College of Computing

• Role:

  Visual Design, Interface Design, Art Direction

• Years:

  2011–2015

About Georgia Tech Computing

Georgia Tech's College of Computing, based in Atlanta, is consistently ranked among the top 10 computing programs in the nation. The college includes four schools and multiple research centers, attracting students and faculty from all around the world.

My Contribution

I worked with Georgia Tech's College of Computing for over four years. During this time I took on many responsibilities including visual design, art direction, and interface design. I led visual rebranding efforts for all communications materials, and created a design system for use within the College's schools and research centers. I led design efforts for redesigning the college's suite of websites, and assisted the team with information architecture and front-end development. I also managed multiple student employees and took on project management duties for various communications projects.

Inherent Challenges

When I began working with Georgia Tech in 2011, their communications and marketing materials were notably inconsistent from a visual standpoint. It was clear that the College, as well its affiliated schools and research centers, needed to present a much more consistent brand to their audiences. The college's websites were also in great need of a redesign. Additionally, as the only designer serving the College of Computing, it was impossible for me to support all of the projects needed by our schools and research centers.

Branding Consistency

The College of Computing created print and digital communications materials for four main audiences: students, faculty, alumni, and donors. These materials had inconsistent visual style, messaging, and branding. I collaborated with the college's Director of Communications to establish distinct messaging and a uniform visual presentation. I worked within Georgia Tech's institute level style guide, which mainly dealt with color and logo usage, while providing the college with its own unique visual identity.

Through meetings with leaders and stakeholders across the college, we established that our people were our strength. To help represent this, I provided project management and art direction for numerous photo and video shoots of our faculty and students, generating assets for use in future communications projects. I set up typographical systems and an accessible visual style to be used across all communication mediums, establishing reusable templates for letterhead, direct mailings, and newsletters.

Redesigning the College's Websites

I served as lead interface designer for redesigning the college's suite of websites. After we identified our primary audiences, I assisted with the creation of user personas for students, alumni, faculty, and donors. We began with redesigning the college website, and I led the creation of wireframes and high-res mockups, while also contributing to information architecture and front-end development.

We used the college site as a blueprint for the schools and research centers, but I also contributed distinct homepage layouts for the schools to help them cater to their specific users. As the school and research center sites would be maintained by staff members without design training, I created a design system to help them create new content while staying visually consistent. The design system included colors, typography, and various components, as well as design templates for commonly used print materials.

Outcome

Rebranding efforts for the College of Computing led to a clearer message and stronger visual identity across all mediums. Updated websites were now responsive, consistent, and strongly branded. The creation of a design system helped schools and research centers work more efficiently as well.