LOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST
AGENCY: BLUE ION
Services: Art Direction, Brand Identity, Print Collateral, WEB DESIGN
In my Art Director role at Blue Ion, I worked with Lowcountry Land Trust (LLT), a nonprofit land conservation organization focused on protecting significant Charleston lands. I was appointed as creative lead for the Lowcountry Land Trust rebranding and website development. Through an extensive design overhaul, we developed an identity that depicts the human element of trust alongside the natural aspect of an acorn. The final logo displays the notion that through time and human action, an acorn (which is indigenous to Charleston) can grow into a strong oak tree through the preservation of woodlands.
DISCOVERY & EXPLORATION
For this project, we worked with board members of Lowcountry Land Trust to develop a branding system that spoke to the core mission behind this organization. Through extensive interviews with the client, the common thread was to bring people together through the history and preservation of land. The human element became the focal point for branding exploration.
PROJECT TYPE
COLLABORATION WITH COPY DIRECTOR, WEB DEVELOPER, AND PROJECT MANAGER
TIMELINE
apr - sept 2015 (21 WEEKS)
PROCESS OVERVIEW
During this branding exploration, the use of joining hands quickly presented itself as a strong solution to the "human element" that was needed in this mark. Various examples of joining hands and natural elements were explored. The final decision arrived to use elements of an oak tree since this was one species of trees that are indigenous to Charleston SC. Through feedback from the client, the final concept was simplified to the use of shaking hands in the form of an acorn.
The final combination mark demonstrates an agreement with people and land in the pursuit to preserve the land and environment.
WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
We approached this task with the question, how do we get more people involved and donating? With that in mind, I lead design in collaboration with lead programmers, copywriters, and project managers to help simplify large amounts of information in a visually engaging way. With the help of reorganizing and developing a new site map and rewriting all of the current copy, I was able to develop a design system to reflect what was needed.
SEAMLESS MOBILE DESIGN
Designing for mobile was one of the larger challenges due to the large amounts of content we had to display. The final solution allowed for modular design elements so that images and headlines could stack during a mobile experience.
