Hornet Heartbeat
Lead Designer · Brand Identity · Visual System Development
Student Engagement Identity
Most Institutional Identities get applied. This one was adopted.
Work
Hornet Heartbeat is a student engagement initiative under the President's Office, and it needed an identity that could live in official channels and in student hands simultaneously. That's a harder brief than it sounds. Too polished and students ignore it. Too loose and it loses institutional credibility.
INITIAL CONCEPTS
APPLICATION
I developed three distinct identity concepts, each exploring different relationships between the heartbeat motif, Sac State's brand system, and the visual energy of student life. The selected direction balanced expressiveness with adaptability: a mark and graphic language that could anchor swag, social, and print while leaving room for the students running the account to make it feel like theirs.
REFINED 2ND ROUND
STYLE GUIDE
That last part is what I'd point to as the real success. The students leading Hornet Heartbeat's social presence have made the identity their own. They're producing swag, stickers, and content that applies the system with real care. An identity system that gets used that well, by that audience, without ongoing intervention, is the intended outcome.
A shared resource drive with logo files, texture graphics, and a visual usage guide supported rollout and continues to support campus-wide implementation.
Scope
Logo system (multiple concepts developed, one selected)
Visual identity and graphic system
Style guide with sizing, color, and application guidance
Asset library for campus use
Social, merchandise, and digital application examples
Reach
Actively in use across student social media, campus programming, merchandise, and promotional materials. Student-led adoption ongoing.
