Client
Penland School of Craft
Scope
Branding, wayfinding, catalogs, exhibition collateral, advertising
My role
Designer, art director, illustrator
Years
2012-2023
BRANDING
Penland School of Craft is one of the leading craft schools in the nation. For 11 years, I worked as their go-to design collaborator. In 2018, we set out to modernize the brand, which had been organically evolving since the school’s founding in 1929. I worked with their team to update the logotype, brand elements, and brand colors.
Iterations of one of the concepts developed during the branding process
People come to Penland to learn new skills and to shift their perspective. It’s a unique chance to experiment and play with materials. This experience of learning and approaching craft is often transformative for students and teachers alike. In this spirit, the Shift concept offers an unconventional typographic rendering that plays with structure, legibility, and movement within the grid. Each element can shift on the page and be used on its own or as a whole. This creates a feeling of experimentation, excitement, and play—not unlike taking a class at Penland.
Examples of final branded elements on a catalog cover and a t-shirt
SIGNAGE
In 2022, Penland’s 400-acre campus lacked a comprehensive wayfinding system. I toured the grounds with the Penland team to identify needs, which led to directional signage, identification banners for each building, and an informational self-guided tour sign on central campus. Wayfinding signage standards guided the choice of typeface and type scale. The result is Penland’s first wayfinding system and a campus that is far easier for newcomers to navigate.
Wayfinding signage system and example of building ID banner
EXHIBITION COLLATERAL
The Penland Gallery & Visitor Center presents contemporary craft and the history behind it. My work for it spans vinyl signage for curated exhibitions in both galleries, visitor center signage with a self-guided tour map, and exhibition folios, catalogs, postcards, and advertising.
Exhibition vinyl example and gallery rack card photography and design
Print design was the bulk of the projects I created with Penland. This included a large book project, 2 course catalogs a year, an annual auction catalog, gallery event postcards and folios, rack cards, and ads galore. The focus is always on showing the people, place, and work that make this school incredible.
Inspired art direction and book design + summer catalog design example