THE CITADEL
ART DIRECTION • GRAPHIC DESIGN
ROLE
Art Director
TOOLS
Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
GOAL
Design an informational textbook that ties into the sophomore curriculum for the Corps of Cadets and fosters a sense of connection, inspiration, and desire to adhere to the principled leadership model.
PROJECT RESEARCH
Research was for this project was conducted via a collaboration between myself, the Associate Director for Professional Leadership Programs, and a Citadel graduate who was a history major. We researched each of the cadets featured in the publication with help from the Citadel archive museum.
USER PERSONA
Having an understanding of the target audience was paramount in determining the tone and direction of this project. Citadel cadets navigate a very demanding and challenging environment. Inspiration is a great tool to motivate cadets through the difficulties. Understanding how they feel, think and operate helped us choose the proper subjects to research and what achievements to highlight that cadets could relate to. We aimed to highlight past cadets that current cadets could see some of themselves in.
"The first exposure I had to female graduates was the reception that they had - I want to say it was Friday afternoon - with all the women from here at The Citadel."
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- Sarah Zorn, The Citadel's first female Regimental Commander
VISUAL DESIGN
The Associate Director for Professional Leadership Programs envisioned a design for the vignettes that had a similar look and feel as the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal certificate. He emphasized "gravitas" as being a central and necessary element to the final design.
In keeping with the Citadel brand, I pulled from the cadet diploma art in an effort to utilize familiar and desirable graphic elements in the profiles.
CADET DIPLOMA
VIGNETTE
I felt that these designs proved to be too similar in appearance despite the Associate Director's approval. I suggested that we pivot to something simpler and cleaner that also held it's own identity apart from any other publication at the school. I eliminated the scripted text and minimized the heavy usage of blackletter typefaces. I also created more visual hierarchy which resulted in a more streamlined design and increased readability. Finally I added full page imagery that alternates throughout the book and provides contrast to the text heavy cadet profiles. Below is the final result.
CHALLENGES
There were some challenges along the way. The biggest of which was the usage of The Citadel Seal. Though the Associate Director wanted to use the seal due to it's status a symbol of the Citadel, it is reserved for officially sanctioned uses: executive level stationary, legal and official documents such as diplomas and transcripts; formal academic ceremonies; and permanent building insignia. The element was a component in numerous early iterations of the vignette design and caused us to have to pivot on the art direction.
ADDITIONAL GRAPHIC DESIGN
Below are more examples of some of the work I've done during my time at The Citadel
PRINT PUBLICATIONS
Leadership Development Program Guide
Principled Leadership Symposium Program
Summer SUCCEED Appreciation Breakfast Poster Series
ILLUSTRATIONS
Leadership Day T-Shirt Design
Challenge Coin Designs
More Than The Score - Academics x Athletics Collaboration Logo
VISUAL DATA
Often times I am given nothing more than a written idea or rudimentary sketches that must be translated into visually appealing and easily digestible data.
