#identity-design

this self is built from the inside out, a design of my own.

this is the blank flag, feel free to make your own terms (i will probably post some myself soon id-design is a term for individuals whose experience of self comes from an internal making theyve grown into or created over time. it's not necessarily chosen, not spiritual, and not assigned at birth. id-design is the state of being a certain way. it does not shift majorly with time or with influence, it is just the way you are.

But first, some background.

tenKsolar originally hired me to be a graphic and web design intern. The basic job description listed updating web content, creating trade show materials, drawing technical diagrams and revising printed materials as responsibilities. I saw the position as a opportunity to try a lot of different things related to design and dip my toes into some marketing. Add that to steady hours and a short commute and I was sold.

Within the first week, my manager asked me if I was up to completely redesigning the website. It was a daunting task, but I was game. The old website (pictured below) was a mess. One of my coworkers lovingly described it as a "choose-your-own-adventure" website, as the code was broken, the organization was illogical and content was unstructured. I started from scratch.

I started with a lot of wireframes. So. Many. Wireframes. I was fresh out of art school and my brain needed something to bridge between art and design. Drawing was just the thing. As I mentioned in a previous post, I displayed my work so my coworkers would provide feedback.

About partway through the wireframe process, my manager asked me to explore the redesign of a new logo. The existing logo was okay at best and hard to work with. Marketing materials were described as "heavy" and "unfriendly." I believed that the success of the website hinged on the success of the brand as a whole. So a new indentity was created.

More sketching ensued. I presented 3 almost final concepts that were whittled down from 135 sketches. One was chosen to go through weeks of revisions until the final was solidified.

The new logo and new website made it easy to completely redo the entire identity. Printed materials, letterhead, PowerPoint templates (the hardest part) and a brand book were developed. The website remained my focus, though. I greatly improved my coding skills (thanks to Ben and a helluva lot of googling ) and became engrossed in the nuances of interactive design and development.

The new logo and website represent tenKsolar's innovative product and customer service, respectively. The new logo is bolder, more flexible and system oriented to reflect tenKsolar's innovations in solar technology. It also will allow the company to evolve and grow with minor modifications. During my internship, tenK Energy was established as subsidiary of the larger tenKsolar. Their logo is nearly the same, allowing for further brand equity development.

tenKsolar is a manufacturer that does not sell its products directly to customers, but they market to installers, end customers, investors and financiers, to name a few. This posed a challenge. There are a range of users--with varying solar expertise--that would be visiting this site. The content architecture and navigation reflects this. It's easy to scan with the use of headings, but contains more detailed information for experts. A variety of content--ranging from technical papers, illustrations, photographs and paragraphs--suits a variety of users with different learning types and knowledge of solar.

I knew from the onset that fitting all of the information on the page was going to be a challenge. A few of my early drafts were even more type-driven than the final result. I usually come up with a great visual first and then fit the type around it. This time, I worked in reverse. Once I had a solid typographical vision, I then created my image.

The image is really simple. I cut-out a human chain and taped it to my kitchen wall (thus the texture). I originally did this for draft purposes only and intended to make a trip the imaging lab to shoot a high quality image with professional lighting. However, this image was very well-received and fit perfectly with the type. Why mess with a good thing?

Here's my final solution, with all of the various pieces:

"Twelve" is the title of the upcoming Apparel Design Senior Fashion Show. Our client (students from the senior apparel design class) pitched their idea to the class back in September and we've been working on the project ever since. On Tuesday, we showed our final designs to the students. Here's mine: