USC Physical Biology
CLIENT
USC Physical Biology is an interdisciplinary program bridging the studies of physics and biology together.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Our team strengthened USC Physical Biology’s brand identity by creating a general logo and three merchandise designs that could be used to represent the science program.
DELIVERABLES
One logo design, three merchandise designs
TIMELINE February 2024 - April 2024
TOOLS Figma, Notion, Procreate
ROLE Designer
SKILLS Logo designing, Merchandise
design, Typography
TEAM Riya Shenoy (Team Lead), Kaitlin
Chow, Aaron Woo, Daniel Wang,
Sarah Wu
USC Physical Biology, a program encompassing the studies of physics and biology, struggled to set themselves apart from similar programs at USC such as Qbio and Physics. They requested we help strengthen their brand identity— a program that encapsulates the physics of living systems— by creating a general logo and three merchandise designs that could be worn by USC students and faculty.
The Problem
Ideation
Our client did not have clear inspirations or opinions regarding the logo and merchandise designs. They were content with any designs that fit the criteria of setting them apart from Qbio and having merchandise students and faculty would want to wear.
We curated a moodboard that consisted of possible ideas for logo and merch designs. Moving forward, we discussed more specific ideas that would give us a better sense of direction for the project.
Research
To better understand and empathize with the target audience, we conducted interviews with internal stakeholders which entailed multiple check-ins with the supervising faculty of the program.
Here are some of the questions we asked them:
1
Is there a specific vision you have to properly represent the program?
2
What issues does USC Physical Biology face when presenting themselves?
3
How do we ensure the sweater designs can be worn by both groups of people?
User Persona
From our client check-ins, we created a user persona to make understand our targeted audience on a deeper level in order to create a design that is practical, yet desirable
“I really enjoy the program I am in, but I wish there was merchandise I can wear!”
Alyssa Chan
Identity
Age: 27
Location: Los Angeles, California
Profession: 2nd year graduate student at USC, currently enrolled in the Physical Biology PhD program
Needs
Wants to be able to proudly represent her program with fashionable sweater designs she can wear, setting herself apart from other similar programs
Iterations
Our process of designing a general logo and three sweater designs.
Lo-Fi Designs
Our low fidelity drafts focused on rapid sketching logo and merch ideas in order to grasp a direction for the project. Possible color palettes and fonts were chosen in this stage as well. Since we had complete creative freedom, we wanted to emphasize on designing for practicality while having a unique brand image.
We were also mindful of our client check-ins as we gauged what specific ideas stood out in order to differentiate USC Physical Biology from its competitors.
Mid-Fi Designs
After checking in with our client to discuss the low fidelity designs, we began to move forward using their feedback.
We had somewhat a clearer direction in terms of the color scheme and created some mid-fidelity logo designs and sweater designs. Our team wanted to create merchandise that had a casual, almost streetwear feel, to make students more inclined to proudly represent their program.
One challenge we faced was the large amount of creative freedom our team had since our client had liked several of the ideas we presented. It was up to our team to narrow down the ideas further.
Hi-Fi Designs
Our high fidelity designs above encapsulate USC Physical Biology as the bridge of physics and biology by creating a distinct logo (including the typography and colors) and providing both professional and casual sweater designs for faculty and students to wear.
