“MEXCLA” was a partner project for my Identity Systems (aka branding) studio in fall of 2019. The project required my partner and I to come up with a fake conference that we had to develop a concept and build out its brand identity. The project was extremely thorough, as we had to come up with an initial idea of what we wanted our conference to be about, understand our target demographic, and design our identity based on audience and appropriateness. Thus, MEXCLA was born. It is a (hypothetical) Tex-Mex food conference that emphasizes creativity and cultural fusion. It was designed to suit foodies, experimental chefs, and restauranteurs alike. Additionally, we decided to place our conference in Austin, Texas because of the abundance of Tex-Mex food and culture in Austin.
If you’d like to view the brand guidelines, which gives a thorough but quick overview of the project as a whole, click here. (Completely designed by me! One thing you should know, I LOVE brand guidelines. So satisfying.)
After much deliberation, we developed a logo. It is inspired by the handmade quality of a lot of Mexican design and craftsmanship. We wanted to use this custom typeface throughout the system to contrast with our sans serif typography that prevails through most text.
Additionally, we had to develop a trademark logo animation that embodied the personality of our brand. This taught me all about using Adobe After Effects, and added animation to my skill set. Since doing this quick animation, I now animate very regularly. View the animation below, and be sure to hear the audio.
Next, we had to create a color palette, art direction, and illustration style. Here are our four main illustrations that you’ll see throughout the project. We intentionally abstracted traditional Tex-Mex ingredients and colorized the illustrations to play off the vibrant energy of the conference.
We also developed a secondary style and color palette for photography.
Next, we had to develop merchandise for the event. The merchandise includes buttons, totes, a name badge, and shirts.
We also developed both environmental advertisements and other print assets, such as a program cover and poster.
Lastly, we developed a social media and web presence for the brand. Check out some of my mockups below!
And that’s MEXCLA! This project taught me a lot about teamwork, iteration, and compromise. It also taught me how to receive and give criticism, but also to hold my own as a designer and not let anyone (including my professors!) compromise my integrity as a designer. This class taught me that just because someone else dislikes your ideas, it's okay to stand by your work. I am proud of what my partner and I accomplished with this branding project, and I’m excited to have a portfolio piece that shows a different style of design than I traditionally choose to execute.