Color & Quirk
2025 - EXHIBITION
TOOLS STACK
Illustrator, Photoshop,
InDesign, After Effects
Figma
CONTRIBUTORS
Marianna Cruz
Cindy Wu
SKILLS
Brand Identity, Advertising,
Print Design, Digital Design
ROLE
Lead Designer/Project Manager
TIMELINE
3 Months
WORKFLOW
Artist Research
Palette System
Identity Lockup
OVERVIEW
Brief: develop a bold, visually dynamic logotype for the Color & Quirk exhibition at the Kellogg Gallery. It needed to capture the creativity and individuality of ten artists from across the country, and work across print and digital promotion.
The identity had to feel lively without competing with the work on the walls.
PROBLEM
Color without chaos
The show was built around color and individuality, but the identity still had to hold together as one exhibition brand. Too literal and it fights the art. Too abstract and it loses the point of the show.
INSIGHTS
Each artist already brings a strong visual voice, the brand should frame, not overwrite.
A shared palette system can unify ten practices without flattening them.
Primitive shapes keep the lockup flexible across posters, web, and gallery graphics.
SOLUTION
Artist-led palettes
Thumbnail explorations started with simple primitive shapes and a minimalist structure so color could take center stage. After researching each artist, I built a 10-color palette system drawn from their signature work, individuality inside one exhibition frame. A bold lockup stays dynamic in motion and print while leaving room for the art to stay loud, and applications can swap color emphasis by artist or moment without breaking the exhibition brand.
REFLECTION
Let the work stay loud
Color acts as a primary interaction layer, guiding attention, setting tone, and shaping perception. When the work is already loud, the identity doesn’t need to shout. It needs a container that lets the color land.
