Michigan Tech Assets

The project: Create marketing assets for fall semester events based on the theme: Children’s Books. Multiple clubs and committees had voices in the design process and all of the final illustrations had to be cohesive despite the different styles.

The process began with rough designs of the mascot in five different book styles to ensure he’d be recognizable across every style and to build confidence in the project. Once those were approved by all groups involved, work began one event at a time. Most marketing materials hadn’t been created yet, so it was up to me to come up with silhouettes that could fit into various pockets of text but also stand alone or be sound when cropped. Additionally, all illustrations had to fit within the established university brand while not infringing on the copyright of the books they took inspiration from.

Addressing these challenges meant being particularly thorough in every phase of development. It was simple enough to create assets to fit into different shapes, but I didn’t know how many times they might need to use a single piece. To ensure they had everything they needed, I created each illustration with levels of separation. Most props and background elements could be isolated from the character so they could use the illustrations as a whole or fill in smaller gaps without having to crop them down.

The final character designs and illustrations resonated well with the student body. Lots of positive feedback and engagement during the featured events and even fanart of the mascot, Blizzard, in the different styles.