Adobe Illustrator, 2025 — Case Study
postcard 1
postcard 2
email advertisement
back of postcard 1
back of postcard 2
instagram slide
instagram slide
San Francisco Heritage's Splendid Survivors Gala celebrates later modernist architecture at SF's Embarcadero area, where buildings and designs such as the Hyatt Regency reside. I helped develop a "brand identity" for this gala to help keep promotional materials consistent and within the modernist theme. Below is a behind the scenes look:
Inspired by midcentury design, I researched appropriate color palettes, shapes, forms, and fonts. From sketches of random forms, I was able to take different elements and combine them into fun "logo forms" that would serve as the main mark or symbol of the gala event. After some discussion with my advisors, I realized that the midcentury aesthetic was a little off in terms of the timeline. The gala celebrates late modernist architecture (1970s) rather than mid-century design (1950s – 1960s). But out of all the designs, the first design with the icons stood out the most and from there, I was able to pivot.
This design consists of abstract shapes that symbolize different parts of the Embarcadero. The triangle symbolizes the shape of the Hyatt Regency, the green trapezoid is the Villancourt Fountain, and the arch is the Golden Gate Bridge (or it could be read as the old Embarcadero Highway) under the moon; the sparkle ornaments are reminiscent of modernist aesthetics.
I had thought of using SF Heritage's main typography to integrate its brand more. However, I also proposed using Avant Garde Gothic which is a font found in many 1970s designs such as the Avant Garde magazine, Adidas, and Macy's. SF Heritage's brand shines through the colors chosen — Heritage Red is found in the arch shape while Heritage Plum is the color of the typograhpy.