Olin College of Engineering
REINVENTING ACADEMIC BRANDING
A visual brand based on exuberance, engagement, and experimentation for a college with ambitions to make the world a better place through the power of human-centered engineering.
ROLE
Designer and/or creative director; Sametz Blackstone Associates
SCOPE
Strategy // Branding // Print // Environmental // Web // Photography
Recruitment
The current viewbook—a set of four pamphlets—challenges prospective students with a series of compelling, experience-defining claims.
Each booklet proves its claim through a combination of student and faculty testimonies, qualitative outcomes data, course profiles, and compelling photographic evidence. Together, Olin’s value relative to peer institutions is clearly staked out and proven in a bold and recognizable visual voice.
The classic 6x9 format is economical without feeling precious. Creating four small pamphlets rather than one larger book encourages browsing and makes for a set of four clear theses and conclusions.
The Olin website: built to tell a unique story.
Site content is organized around the central themes that define Olin's mission and personality. Developed using a continuously fluid grid, the site takes full advantage all viewports—tiny to tremendous.
An ever-expanding portfolio of Olin student personalities serves as a travel piece.
I serve as photographer as well as designer for this series.
An easily extensible story-telling web site compliments the viewbook and travel cards.
The Olin visual brand is bold and colorful. It’s also layered, nuanced, and intricate, providing multiple levels of visual interest.
Mirroring the requirements of an Olin education—to think big while minding the details and understanding context—design motifs in Olin communications grow from intricate interconnected details to loud-and-proud typography and saturated full-bleed imagery.
Events including a Women’s Open House support Olin’s commitment to maintaining a gender-balanced student body.
Alumni and development Communications
The 2019 annual report gathers stories and statistics from across the Olin community that prove impact, instill pride, and demonstrate the need for continued philanthropic support.
Regularly published portfolios of Olin alums working across industries and the nation prove the validity of the Olin model to donors, employers and peer institutions, as well as to prospective students and their parents.
Annual fund support; Olin’s giving day.
Irreverent giving day communications featuring well-known faculty and staff speak directly to Olin’s young and highly engaged alumni base.
In addition to doing portraiture work for the travel pieces and alumni portfolios, I regularly shoot classroom and event photography at Olin.
Two series of light pole banners
Special projects and ephemera
Evolving a brand over time: a collection of design objects.
It’s not possible to fully capture more than seven years of visual brand evolution in a concise case study. Here: snapshots of a few additional past and current projects.
An extensive brand guidelines document explores both the whys and hows of the inherently experimental and flexible Olin visual system.
case studies
Contact
Related content
Indexes of photography, teaching, and personal collections will return at some point in the future.
All material © Alexander S. Budnitz and/or the orgianzations listed
