School Project
Piece by Piece: Brand Identity for CMU Design's First-Year Showcase 2024
Role
Role
Role
Brand Design
Brand Design
Brand Design
Timeline
Timeline
Timeline
Sprin 2025
Sprin 2025
Sprin 2025
Tools
Tools
Tools
Figma
Team
Team
Team
Bill Guo, Emma Gelman, Ashley Chung, Beverly Zheng, June Yang
Context
For Carnegie Mellon University’s annual Freshman Showcase—one of the most celebrated design events on campus, drawing an audience of over 300 people—I led the branding committee in creating a cohesive visual identity for the event. We named the showcase Piece by Piece to reflect both the collective nature of student work and the process of building a design education step by step. Drawing inspiration from the cube, an iconic form in our design classrooms and a shared reference point among students, we developed a brand system that felt both personal to our cohort and memorable to the larger CMU community. The brand was applied consistently across tabling materials, social media campaigns, event signage, and other touchpoints, ensuring a unified and engaging experience for attendees. The result was a visual system that both showcased our work and celebrated the collaborative spirit of our freshman year.
School Project
Piece by Piece: Brand Identity for CMU Design's First-Year Showcase 2024
Context
For Carnegie Mellon University’s annual Freshman Showcase—one of the most celebrated design events on campus, drawing an audience of over 300 people—I led the branding committee in creating a cohesive visual identity for the event. We named the showcase Piece by Piece to reflect both the collective nature of student work and the process of building a design education step by step. Drawing inspiration from the cube, an iconic form in our design classrooms and a shared reference point among students, we developed a brand system that felt both personal to our cohort and memorable to the larger CMU community. The brand was applied consistently across tabling materials, social media campaigns, event signage, and other touchpoints, ensuring a unified and engaging experience for attendees. The result was a visual system that both showcased our work and celebrated the collaborative spirit of our freshman year.
Role
Brand Design
Timeline
Spring 2025
Tools
Figma
Team
Bill Guo, Emma Gelman, Ashley Chung, Beverly Zheng, June Yang
Final Reflection
In the end, leading the branding team for Piece by Piece was one of the most meaningful experiences of my freshman year. What made the project special was not only the chance to create a visual identity for one of CMU’s most beloved showcases, but also the process of weaving together so many different voices and ideas into a unified whole. I’m proud that the final brand reflected the diversity of our cohort while still feeling cohesive and strong. Incorporating everyone’s perspectives taught me the value of collaboration, compromise, and trust in a creative process. At the same time, stepping into a leadership role for the first time pushed me to grow—balancing direction with openness, and vision with adaptability. Seeing the brand come to life across the event, from posters and social media to the physical showcase itself, was incredibly rewarding. More than anything, this experience showed me how design can bring people together, and it left me excited to keep exploring how branding can amplify voices and create shared meaning.
In the end, leading the branding team for Piece by Piece was one of the most meaningful experiences of my freshman year. What made the project special was not only the chance to create a visual identity for one of CMU’s most beloved showcases, but also the process of weaving together so many different voices and ideas into a unified whole. I’m proud that the final brand reflected the diversity of our cohort while still feeling cohesive and strong. Incorporating everyone’s perspectives taught me the value of collaboration, compromise, and trust in a creative process. At the same time, stepping into a leadership role for the first time pushed me to grow—balancing direction with openness, and vision with adaptability. Seeing the brand come to life across the event, from posters and social media to the physical showcase itself, was incredibly rewarding. More than anything, this experience showed me how design can bring people together, and it left me excited to keep exploring how branding can amplify voices and create shared meaning.
In the end, leading the branding team for Piece by Piece was one of the most meaningful experiences of my freshman year. What made the project special was not only the chance to create a visual identity for one of CMU’s most beloved showcases, but also the process of weaving together so many different voices and ideas into a unified whole. I’m proud that the final brand reflected the diversity of our cohort while still feeling cohesive and strong. Incorporating everyone’s perspectives taught me the value of collaboration, compromise, and trust in a creative process. At the same time, stepping into a leadership role for the first time pushed me to grow—balancing direction with openness, and vision with adaptability. Seeing the brand come to life across the event, from posters and social media to the physical showcase itself, was incredibly rewarding. More than anything, this experience showed me how design can bring people together, and it left me excited to keep exploring how branding can amplify voices and create shared meaning.
In the end, leading the branding team for Piece by Piece was one of the most meaningful experiences of my freshman year. What made the project special was not only the chance to create a visual identity for one of CMU’s most beloved showcases, but also the process of weaving together so many different voices and ideas into a unified whole. I’m proud that the final brand reflected the diversity of our cohort while still feeling cohesive and strong. Incorporating everyone’s perspectives taught me the value of collaboration, compromise, and trust in a creative process. At the same time, stepping into a leadership role for the first time pushed me to grow—balancing direction with openness, and vision with adaptability. Seeing the brand come to life across the event, from posters and social media to the physical showcase itself, was incredibly rewarding. More than anything, this experience showed me how design can bring people together, and it left me excited to keep exploring how branding can amplify voices and create shared meaning.
