Northern Arizona University | Hispanic Serving Institution sub-brand

Purpose: Create a sub-brand that would connect with a wide Hispanic audience and represent's Northern Arizona University's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). NAU Marketing had worked with an outside agency on this originally, but neither our creative team or the client was happy with the creative concepts. The NAU design team took it back in-house and worked closely with the HSI group to listen to what was important and create a sub-brand that represented their mission, vision, and values. We worked within the existing NAU brand (colors, fonts, photos, etc.) to make sure it aligned and was clearly NAU.

Concept: This sub-brand theme celebrates Latinidad specific to the NAU community by featuring bright colors, flowers, vines, and a hummingbird (which symbolizes endurance and perseverance). The theme draws inspiration from organic shapes found in textile, pottery, and tile patterns from Spanish-speaking countries around the world. The vines represent connection, but a vine would not grow without roots, which is a nod to family, both born and chosen, that provide inspiration, strength, and support as we build community. The hummingbird pollinating the flowers strengthens the message of community, culture, and connection. Included in this submission is the sub-brand guidelines, a 30 second video for Hispanic Heritage Month, a small printed card with the group's mission, vision, and values, and a printed sticker of the main graphic.

Goal: It was a meaningful partnership that resulted in creative work the client is very happy with and is being integrated into materials for a variety of relevant audiences. HSI used it immediately during their "Encuentro" event in the spring of 2023 to introduce it to the campus community as a whole. This work was very rewarding and is important to ensure cultural representation in a thoughtful, purposeful way.