There was already a strong brand in place, but implementing consistency and smoothing the gaps between digital and print were a focus of my few years here at UT. Launch of branding section in fall 2021. In support of that effort, I onboard all key branding positions across the college with brand trainings, ensuring we have both a welcoming brand presence to answer questions but also quick sharing of key branding assets. This eliminates staff inefficiencies caused by spending time recreating existing materials.

Our most recent large-scale brand initiative has been transitioning and enhancing the college and department website UI kit. Over the summer, I worked closely with an external contractor to lead the design improvements, manage the project, and implement the transition—supported by our internal staff, IT team and leadership. The timeline was ambitious, and I’m very proud of what we accomplished.

With the arrival of a new boss and a shift in our email marketing strategy, I reworked the typography CSS to a mobile-first perspective and validated the updated coding through extensive testing. The result was not only a modernized newsletter design but also a collection of customizable email templates that our department coordinators could use to ensure consistency and efficiency.

We developed an infographic style toolkit to help put a spotlight on the best and brightest features of the Cockrell School of Engineering.

To accelerate print production, I designed an integrated suite of layouts that unifies typography, branding and visual composition for our most frequently produced materials, including brochures, folders, proposals and fact sheets.

Expansion of the original icon set for rapid production of infographics, websites and powerpoints. Aligning the style to the university branding.

Templates for a multitude of assets - like reports, flyers, certificates - were created in both Word (for non-designers) and InDesign (for designers).

Motion graphic templates (.MOGRTS) library developed for faster video production by team members, while maintaining brand alignment. Like this Virtual Visit series.

Social media templates developed in XD have proven to be very useful for our department coordinators. Though we recommend using simple photos whenever possible as the lead, we recognize there are times when a few words can add to our storytelling, particularly in threads.

These are now being converted to Adobe Express.

Adapting the brand to the variety of tones - from undergraduates to donors is part of the challenge of higher education. But there’s a lot of fun adopting new technology like Instagram stickers, filters keep me on my toes.

Every year, I look forward to designing the holiday card for the Dean’s Office—it’s one of the most enjoyable projects I take on. One of my favorite designs was an intricate Art Deco concept inspired by the architectural details of our then-new EER building. Featuring copper foil on the cover and a perforated die-cut “ornament” element, the card was created not just to be opened, but to be kept and reused as part of the recipient’s holiday décor.

In support of our college and its academic programs, I design staging, signage and promotional materials that create a cohesive, brand-aligned in-person experiences tailored to the audiences each one serves.

We went to a fully-digital publication for the 2020 edition of the editorial showpiece, Texas Engineer. CMS sourcing, custom code adaptions, illustration/animation work.

Especially proud of our team for producing all the content during pandemic. And the slideshows were all responsive design. Like this article, on engineering mask innovations, written and photographed by yours truly.

Direct mail is also sent aligning to the launch date to strategic audiences to encourage traditional readers of the print magazine to go online. Various design and mailing strategies have been used in the last 5 years to successful increase digital readership.

Launched in fall of 2021, the We Are Campaign aims to create a community spirit across the Cockrell School of Engineering by highlighting strategic common points of pride.

“We Are” Microsite linked to QR code, incorporated into all our print materials and signage.

Central installation of graphics on stairwell in central gathering spot was well received. Many visitors and student groups now use for photos.

A series of retractable banners developed to get the key messaging out beyond our central location, used across campus and at recruiting events.

Free stickers and shirts, hits the hearts of almost any undergraduate right?

In addition, an ad campaign was developed with similar styling and placed in a key communication piece to boost awareness and faculty recruitment.

Materials designed for departments to use during graduate recruitment weekends. Templates were created to easily adjust for varied disciplines. The goal was to create visuals that were quickly identified for visitors first experience on campus.

Posters, powerpoints, programs and digital signage developed to create cohesive experience for major programmatic campaigns and events.

Folder and handouts for the weekends events including customized agendas created with Word templates.

During quarantine, recruitment assets shifted to online avenues, we developed password-protected microsites to recreate the network and community experiences.

When I began in November, John Goodenough had already been named as the Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry. Within weeks of my arrival to Austin I was working to help highlight his work and achievements and sending that work to present in Sweden. A pretty good start.

This presentation had 16 video clips and a few animations. We intentionally chose a minimal design approach so the research innovation could shine. Proud to say it traveled well and we got a few compliments from the peanut gallery after the event.

Our Dean even tweeted from Sweden from the presentation.

Photobooks compiled after the event and given to participants in Goodenough’s journey. I wish you could feel this paper.

Departments publish annual magazines, reports and proposals. All of which needed some TLC. I’ve begun the process of a master editorial stylesheet and reworked several publications. Annually, we produce 5 department and one school magazine.

[before & after]

Annual magazine Longhorn Liftoff, The Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics

[before & after]

Annual magazine Pulse, The Department of Biomedical Engineering

[before & after]

Annual magazine Energy One, The Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering

[before & after]

Annual magazine Texas Mechanical Engineer, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering

[before & after]

Annual magazine People + Places, The Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Though it’s not my strongest skill, I’ve stretched my capabilities to support the increasing need to illustrate and animate abstract concepts in support of our news and marketing efforts. It’s been a rewarding journey to adapt myself to the UT brand illustration style.

News summary reels were added in the post-COVID landscape to give a bit more grab to our research efforts. And again, video templates were designed using Powerpoint, to allow for easy adoption with zero staff training.

T-shirt developed for grand opening of Innovation Center. Design goal: innovation is often through iteration.

Presentations developed in support of corporate partnerships for six research impact areas.

Animations and video were added to help illustrate concepts like collaboration, decoupling of elements and transformative impact.

Fundraising team support includes support of central campaign, custom proposals and impact reports, on-demand pitchdecks and stewardship support.

Annual touch points through direct mail pieces include birthdays, thank yous, personal impact reports and videos.