Astra: Global Artistry, Personal Expression
Astra Mission:
My goal for this branding project is to create a safe space for tweens. When Claire’s, Justice, and American Girl Dolls were all the rage - there felt like a community for girls and tweens to be girls and tweens. I’m talking fake cell phones with a lip gloss and a mirror, scratch and sniff t-shirts, and flip-flops.
Now with social media and TikTok skincare trends, young girls are wanting to be older than they are and rush through their childhood. They are missing out on the crucial years of girlhood and “cringey” years.
I wanted to create a brand that shows girlhood is forever, but you have to experience especially as a girl/tween. I wanted to create a brand that helps young girls understand that there is no “one size fits all,” or one beauty standard to follow but also develop understanding for growing older and not letting others take advantage of you. With pedophillia being so normalized in America - I want girls to be confident in themselves and know the power they hold that no man should take away from them. My wish for myself as a tween was to know more about me and my bodily autonomy as I grew up, so no one could take advantage of me for not knowing crucial information about my own body. Schools do not have the proper education for girls about their own bodies, which is a huge issue.
With all those wishes and intentions for a brand, I decided to create a community. Astra became an artistic community for girls, where Astra would collaborate with artistic women all around the world to bring kits to girls. These kits could include ancient/generational skincare tips (not manufactured modern tips), jewelry making, crafts from different cultures, and tips for when your period starts. I want each kit to be designed by an artist and their niche/specialty. It has to be a kit that can be social media viral and catches the eye of the skincare tween audience. I thought about how Astra could be a girl scout-like community, but with funds needed, the kits can help be the starting point for Astra.
Original Moodboard and Inspiration
Project Description:
This project challenges students to create a branded campaign for an event of their choice. Event campaigns use design to promote experiences, foster anticipation, and create a unified visual presence across touchpoints. Students will define the event concept, audience, and purpose—then develop a cohesive brand identity that builds excitement, communicates essential information, and delivers a memorable experience before, during, and after the event. The campaign will take the form of a singular event brand, but may also coordinate with a parent organization’s identity.
Objective:
By completing this project, students will:
Create an event brand that moves from concept to applied outcomes.
Develop a brand system that builds recognition and communicates an event’s purpose.
Translate research insights into design strategies that engage audiences.
Explore methods to create cohesive experiences across digital, print, and environmental touchpoints.
Apply brand design principles to promote participation, excitement, and continuity.
Requirements:
Design Thinking
Research a theme, organization, or community to identify event goals and audiences.
Define the event’s purpose, positioning, and message.
Develop a conceptual framework for the campaign experience and story.
Analyze audience motivations, desired interactions, and communication needs.
Establish tone, personality, and guiding principles for the event brand.
Define the event strategy and touchpoints that support the event lifecycle (pre-event promotion, on-site experience, post-event follow-up).
Design Doing
Create an event name and visual identity (logo, typography, color, and supporting elements).
Design campaign messaging (tagline, call-to-action, and key phrases).
Develop branded event materials (e.g. posters, invites, tickets, social media, digital banners, motion, signage or environmental graphics).
Final Outcome
Event definition and positioning.
Visual identity system for the event campaign.
Event lifecycle diagram showing how the event brand is introduced, experienced, and remembered.
Event applications (student-determined based on research and insights).
Present final outcomes with accompanying process documentation on FigJam.
Deliverables:
Sources files and/or .pdf documentation of project in full.
Specifics will be outlined in the Canvas submission entry.
Goals:
Gain experience in developing cohesive event branding systems.
Learn how to apply brand strategy to timed, experiential design contexts.
Strengthen skills in translating audience insights into engaging campaign identities.
Design adaptable, scalable systems that unify physical and digital event experiences.
Demonstrate the power of design to shape perception, participation, and memory.
