For one of my first freelance layout projects, I was asked to make the Fall 2015 Recruitment pamphlet for UC Berkeley Panhellenic Council. They were fond of the previous year's pamphlet and were mainly looking to update the cover design and play around with type and color.
After speaking with their VP of Membership, and reviewing their branding guidelines, I started off with pale, muted colors. We agreed on exploring some floral and watercolor-inspired options.
Cover design first drafts.
A concern for PHC was that the floral might turn off a potential rushee who was concerned about the sorority community being too feminine for them. The VPM was fond of the message of "exploring Rush," which gave me an idea to create a set of covers in pastel colors that were less aggressively feminine inspired by the folds on maps.
Map inspired second-drafts
These drafts were not well received by the Panhellenic VPM, who was set on the watercolor idea. In retrospect, looking back at them, the alignment of the dots and dashes definitely could have been executed better, and the green and yellow diminished the visibility of the text.
The next set of covers was one of my first consolidated attempts at typography, which I approached with the principle of trying to create cohesive contrast.
Water color, type-based cover.
Here's the final pamphlet:
Looking back at my work a year later, I definitely have a greater appreciation of typography, and think that the use of too many different fonts in the cover created unnecessary complexity.
I would like to have redone the map on pg33 to better align with the flat style of the rest of the pamphlet, but was not able to due to time constraints. I would also have liked to exercise more creative freedom with the layout of the pamphlet content, which was not significantly different from from the previous year's.
Most importantly, this project was an important and grounding reminder of the importance of deadlines and commitment to the client. Due to my own poor planning and some secondary external circumstances, I was late in turning over drafts, and felt incredibly guilted for failing to be accountable to my client.
However, all in all, it was an incredibly rewarding project in layout and branding, and I am grateful to the Panhellenic Council for the opportunity and their understanding.
