Every year Portland State Campus Rec hosts an event dedicated to incoming students of the college. The courts are full of fun activities, a photo booth, free food, and tons of information from all the different Rec Clubs and student coordinators. It's a great time to learn what the Rec Center is all about. Each year the branding changes, and I was asked to design a brand and shirt design for this event.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d09c6678ad4a15ece48ab14b479788e0/e1981c37-dbd6-436a-af5a-5b638d3cab71_rw_1920.png?h=bfe9a4123d6b466e4219d9d43c83e6e1)
FUN & ACTIVE
I wanted to create a design that evoked the feelings of our urban forest we call Portland, but also promote an active visual feeling. With this in mind I wanted to include forest color tones, but use the red accent to promote being active. I digitally wrote out the mark and created a painted texture for the background to make the mark pop.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d09c6678ad4a15ece48ab14b479788e0/71318adf-7e92-409e-91b0-2ef0f6e99365_rw_1200.png?h=b85c3732ca588a5405f8262081b02ddd)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d09c6678ad4a15ece48ab14b479788e0/9de15011-f9dd-4795-97a6-4e84dfb58ca0_rw_1200.png?h=3895f2f3b65f52864b0f26c422ecd642)
EARLY CONCEPTS
This version was created at first to make the emphasis less on the event name, and to create a design that could be used throughout the year. We went with "Night at the Rec" instead due to different requirements from other departments.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d09c6678ad4a15ece48ab14b479788e0/cfbaddba-bcb8-4b2a-a779-ca191e04998f_rw_1200.png?h=afc2e43a30c7dce65e182325c467e006)
SKETCH
Lots of visual research was done on athletic wear and university branded apparel. I wanted to bring the idea of big bold letterforms but make it more playful by creating these by hand.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/d09c6678ad4a15ece48ab14b479788e0/59add259-d39c-4df9-b937-4be6c4ca6e2a_rw_3840.jpg?h=8a5d7a71d6ce4c3c96a7426a204239bf)
Photobooth shot of staff member in shirt
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Event photo from Night at the Rec