#artg476

1

Packaging Design

The challenge of this project was to redesign a series of three products while ensuring visual cohesion both within the set and with the overall brand identity.

For this redesign, I aimed to preserve the core elements of the original branding while introducing a combination of photography and illustration to create a more engaging visual. Designing for a can presented an additional challenge, requiring careful consideration of the surface and how the layout would affect the composition to maintain clarity and balance. 

The final outcome enhances the original designs by creating a more dynamic and visually interesting product line, successfully balancing playful illustrations with photographic elements while remaining consistent with the original branding.

2

Branding

The objective of this project was to develop a comprehensive brand identity for an existing hotel. The selected property, Sea Flame Beach Resort, already had a distinctive visual identity; however, it presented an opportunity to be refined and modernized.

One of the main challenges was the logo design. My goal was to effectively represent both the ‘sea’ and ‘flame’ elements while remaining aligned with the brand’s existing character. Through various ideations and refinements, a solution was achieved that successfully balances both concepts within a cohesive and contemporary visual mark. Once the logo was established, the remaining elements of the identity developed more easily, from the color palette to the merchandise and stationery. Each component was designed to maintain a consistent visual identity, resulting in a unified and refreshed brand experience.

The final result is a cohesive and elevated brand experience, maintaining consistency all across while reinforcing the hotel’s unique identity.

3

Design Victoria/ Wayfinding

The objective of this project was to develop a wayfinding system for Design Victoria, a real design event held in Victoria, BC. This project was approached as a conceptual academic exercise, with the goal of creating a solution that closely reflects a real-world application. 

As a group project, one of the initial challenges was collaborating effectively while ensuring a cohesive visual outcome, given the variety of styles within the team. Establishing a unified direction required clear communication and alignment throughout the design process. My primary responsibility was the development of the event brochures, along with contributions to the street signage. In addition to applying the existing brand assets, I incorporated textures and explored typographic hierarchy to enhance visual interest and improve information clarity. A set of icons was also developed to support navigation, which was consistently applied across both the brochures and street signage.

Introduce the client or project 

My case study is Rypl, a clothing brand focused on water usage awareness 

This brand also uses hidden designs with hydrochromic ink to bring awareness to saving water and its importance. 

The clothing in this brand is made while using less water in the production, making it more true to its purpose. 

Present the design problem 

Percentage of fresh water in the world 

__% 

With the answers of a survey from more than 30 people, I discovered that most people think that showering is the main reason of water waste. 

Recap your role 

We can all make small changes in our habits to reduce our water consumption 

Design something out of the ordinary to capture people’s attention to the matter in a more fun and modern way, instead of relying on the usual marketing campaigns. 

Share the solution you designed 

Creating a clothing brand 

Walked through the steps of your design process 

Rypl is inspired by Vancouver Island.  

Creating the branding 

Researching the ink 

Patterns 

Mockup with clothes 

Describe your results 

Cool-looking clothes 

Note any key learnings 

1

Packaging Design

The challenge with this project was to redesign a series of products (3) that looked cohesive within themselves and the brand. For this redesign, I wanted to focus on keeping the branding as close to the original but mixing both images and illustrations. Working with a round surface was a small challenge that I had to keep in mind to be successful, besides staying on brand. The final product was more interesting than the original and perfectly balanced the fun illustrations with the images while maintaining the branding.

2

Sea Flame Rebrand

The objective of this project was to create a whole branding identity based on an existing hotel. The hotel I was working with, Sea Flame Beach Resort, currently has an interesting branding, which could be slightly more modern. A challenge I had was with the logo; I wanted to show both the “sea” and the “flame” parts while maintaining the branding. After various ideation sessions and some changes, I finally found a design that showed a balance of both.

3

Design Victoria Wayfinding

Mood board

Visual Identity

PART 1 | Ideal Workspace

Covet Studio (https://covetdesign.ca/) / Hooman Studio (https://hooman.com/):

(small-ish studios in Vancouver)

Covet Studio. They do a little bit of everything from branding to packaging design and websites.

Hooman Studio. They do mostly web and app design, but they also do illustrations, logos and packaging design.

This studios aligns with me as a designer, because both of them look like they have a good work ethic and encourage creativity and fun in their designs without being unprofessional.

I think they are a good fit for me, because they're both small/medium size studios, which I find more appealing than a smaller studio or working by myself. Both of them do/ focus on a fields that I really enjoy, like packaging design, or in things that I want to get better at, like web and app design. I think there's a lot of potential to grow personally and as a designer in both studios.

And on the other hand, I think I'm a good fit for them, because I can offerer them a fresh perspective for some projects as well as potential for international expansions because of all the different languages that I speak.

PART 2 | Portfolio Site Planning

March 25 - Proof 1 ready

March 18 - Spell proof and add resume/ other details to the site

March 11 - Place projects *with* rationales

March 4 - Rationales

Feb 25 - Start layout (b&w) and edit projects that need tweeking

Feb 18 - Reading week

What is your Domain Name? 

marianamendezdesign.com

What platform are you using? What is your reason for your choice? Have you committed to a specific template?

Adobe Portfolio / Carrd

List the menu links you’ll use in your portfolio:

About me

Work/ portfolio (class & personal projects)

Resume

Contact

List 4–6 projects you'll showcase for your portfolio:

Packaging Design

Hotel Rebrand

Poster

Illustrations

Design Victoria Brochure

Determine:

Where do you need to fill holes in your showcase? What will you do specifically to fill holes?

Create more mock-ups, refine some projects, fix LinkedIn, revise artwork, proof my resume.

Provide a low fidelity wireframe (sketch or image) of your home page basic structure.

PART 1 | Creative Brief

PART 2 | How to get a job

What examples did you explore?

Spotify

Bobbi Brown

Disney

What point(s) stood out to you?

To use successes and failures in your portfolio

Add credits/ descriptions

Create conexions and ask a as many questions as you need

Show more about you and your personality/ you outside of design

Have a curated portfolio

Avoid "coming soon..." projects

Were there common points made across the three you read?

Add descriptions of the work (brief)

Have variety

Referrals help a lot