Crafting a Brand Identity for an Academic Author
Updated: Oct 25, 2024
October is Filipino American History Month in the U.S., and I'm excited to share the story behind a personal brand identity I developed for Dr. Amanda Solomon Amorao (she/her), an author and professor of Filipino American cultural studies at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
The Filipino American identity can be complex, given the pressure on immigrant communities to assimilate into U.S. society to the disconnection many feel from their ancestral roots.
Dr. Solomon Amorao is working to change this narrative. She addresses the lack of representation and the struggle many Filipino/a/x* Americans face in finding their place, both culturally and socially.
*Note on terminology: Throughout this case study, I use "Filipino" as a general term. However, when discussing her specific work and perspectives, I use "Filipino/a/x" to reflect her preferred inclusive language that acknowledges diverse gender identities within the Filipino community.
Meet Dr. ASA
Known as Dr. ASA by her undergraduate students, she’s an author, activist, professor, and director of UCSD's Dimensions of Culture program, and is dedicated to uplifting the Filipino community.
She challenges her students to think critically about society and make meaningful connections, pushing them to grow intellectually and personally.
Her approach inspires students to better themselves and their community while embracing their unique identity and rich history.
Her Challenge
Dr. ASA's schedule quickly filled after co-authoring Closer to Liberation: Pin[a/x]y Activism in Theory and Practice, an anthology on feminism and activism from the Filipina/x American experience. She had book tours and speaking engagements lined up at various conferences and venues.
Dr. ASA was also facilitating workshops and community events while lecturing to over 300 students each quarter.
She needed a website to promote her book sales, announce upcoming events, encourage more bookings for future speaking engagements and workshops, and showcase her public writing and accomplishments. However, between her professional commitments and caring for her two young children, she lacked the time to create one herself.
Dr. ASA reached out to me for help with her website. As I dug into her initial needs and goals, it became clear that having just a website in the current noisy media landscape wouldn't cut it. We needed something that would make her stand out and draw in new readers and event attendees.
What if we created a brand identity that truly captured Dr. ASA's essence and mission? Something that would meaningfully resonate with her audience and make a lasting impression. We needed to think beyond just a website and create a cohesive brand that would tell Dr. ASA's story across multiple touchpoints.
The Solution
A personal and meaningful brand designed for consistency across various mediums and touchpoints.
How We Did it
We began the process with brand strategy informed by research and exploration, followed by brand identity design, then finished off with design implementation.
Brand Strategy
Before jumping into the visual stuff, I had to explore Dr. ASA's mission and values. I needed to get to the core of what drives her work and passion - like peeling an onion.
The discoveries from this exploration would become the blueprint for everything else we'd create.
During a remote strategy session, we nailed down the core elements that would guide the design approach.
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Empower Filipinx/Filipinx American students with critical tools to analyze power and society through education, advocacy, and critical thinking.
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Compassion
Intellectual rigor
Transparency
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Empathetic
Encouraging
Radically hopeful
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The Mentor
The Activist
The Citizen
Our remote strategy session on Figjam where we explored her goals and defined her values and brand personality. Credit: Figjam community for the sprint board.
Research and Personas
Based on findings from a survey and an interview with individuals representing the target audience, I also created two personas to keep the design focused.
These personas helped us understand the hopes and challenges of Dr. ASA's audience, ensuring the design would resonate with them on a deeper level.
Annalyn
A 19-year-old undergrad who wants to support her community in a healthcare related field, but struggles with her Filipino American identity within the context of her educational institution.
Victoria
A 35-year-old Asian American Studies professor passionate about policy change and exposing injustices affecting the Filipino community, particularly migrant domestic workers.
Brand Identity
Next, we dove into the brand identity phase with the strategy as our guide. The visual direction we established was organic, clean, and vibrant. This stage involved research and cultural references from the past and present, and drawing connections with Dr. ASA’s work.
Typography
ALT Maria Clara: A Typographic Statement
Based on Maria Clara, a fictional character representing the “ideal” Filipina, Alli Cunanan (@gtfoalli) designed ALT Maria Clara to challenge traditional notions of Filipina identity. This concept aligns well with Dr. ASA's work on feminism and activism in the Filipina/x American experience.
Dr. ASA fell in love with the alternative styles for the 'A's, a prominent character in her name. These unique letterforms add a distinctive flair to her brand.
As a display font, it shines in titles, personal quotes set in large text, and presentation slides. It is visually striking and a powerful tool that helps convey Dr. ASA's message and values in an impactful way.
Initially, we only had one weight of ALT Maria Clara to work with. Although meant to be used for display type, I thought it would hold up as a header for sections on the website. However, the thin weight caused the headers to blend in with the background too much.
Just as I was considering switching to Hanken Grotesk for section headers, I discovered that ALT Maria Clara had expanded its font family with new weights available at ALT.TF type foundry.
This fortunate timing allowed me to keep the original design intent by simply using the new regular weight for H2s, maintaining the brand's unique typography.
Hanken Grotesk
Hanken Grotesk, created by the Philippine-based Hanken Design Co., is the go-to for functionality.
This clean and open geometric sans serif brings clarity to smaller headers and body copy. Its legibility shines across various applications, making it a versatile workhorse.
Amalfi Coast
Designed by Typeline Studio, Amalfi Coast adds a warm and personal touch.
We use it sparingly for short phrases, bringing a fresh and welcoming feel to key areas of the website.
Logo
For Dr. ASA's logo, I wanted to capture her essence as a writer while honoring her heritage. I incorporated a handwritten element for the S that doubles as crossbars for the stems of the ALT Maria Clara “A”s.
To ensure legibility at smaller sizes, I set her full name in the clean, geometric Hanken Grotesk. This combination creates a logo that's both personal and professional.
Colors
For the color palette, I drew inspiration from the Philippine flag, but with a twist.
Instead of replicating the bold primaries, I opted for more subtle versions of yellow, blue, and red. To balance these out, I threw in some neutral tones - a soft black and a creamy beige that reminds me of paper. The result is a color scheme that's both meaningful and easy on the eyes.
Graphics
Combining graphic elements in various ways creates visually interesting scenes. These elements can be used to highlight individuals with an activist vibe or to emphasize specific themes.
Let's dive into each element and explore how they contribute to Dr. ASA's brand identity.
The Foliage
I created digital tropical leaves to reflect the lush Philippine environment, and rendered them in the watercolor style to embody Dr. ASA's value of compassion.
The sampaguita, the national flower of the Philippines, adds a touch of cultural significance and personal connection.
The Sleeve (arch)
The arch in Dr. ASA's brand represents the butterfly sleeve of the Filipiniana dress (also known as the Maria Clara dress) - a symbol of empowerment in Filipino culture.
I drew inspiration from The Filipiniana Dress: The Rebirth of the Terno, a fascinating article by Vinta Gallery about the evolution of the modern day Filipiniana, and its connection to the controversial Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines.
Vinta's founder, Caroline Mangosing, calls for us to “take that dress back” from Imelda.
While I couldn't incorporate the entire dress into the brand, I took the sleeve.
The infamous Imelda Marcos dancing with former U.S. president, Lyndon B. Johnson.
The Sun
I incorporated a circular sun, inspired by the Philippine flag's sun symbol of unity and freedom, to honor Dr. ASA’s cultural roots and core principles.
Its simplified shape allows for flexible use across various design elements while being adaptable in different contexts.
Black and White Photos
We've embraced a black and white aesthetic for photos of people, drawing inspiration from activist posters. This not only adds a gritty, activist vibe but also brings cohesiveness to images from multiple events taken by people in varying lighting conditions.
There is an exception for product photos, like her book cover, which we keep in color to make them pop. This strategy ensures a consistent look across social media and digital assets while highlighting key elements of Dr. ASA's work.
Launch Plan
We implemented a countdown on Instagram leading up to the website launch on March 10, 2024.
As part of the launch strategy, I added a free downloadable introduction of Dr. ASA's book on the website, providing immediate value to visitors and encouraging engagement with her work.
To maximize the impact of Dr. ASA's post-launch speaking engagements, I provided QR codes linking to the free downloadable book introduction on her website. These QR codes were included in her presentation materials, making it easy for audience members to access the content directly from their devices during or after the events.
Results
The launch of the new website and brand identity showed some promising results.
Media Impact
The launch coincided with a mention in the San Diego Union-Tribune on launch day. This media coverage provided an immediate boost to Dr. ASA's visibility.
Through the website, Dr. ASA made a connection that led to a speaking opportunity on KPBS Midday Edition, a radio news talk show in San Diego.
Website and Social Media Activity
There were 43 active website users on launch day and a 23% growth in Instagram followers since March 2024.
Introduction Downloads
While initial engagement was modest, strategic elements like QR codes at speaking engagements and media coverage have contributed to steady growth in website visits and introduction downloads.
Book Sales
We saw a small bump in book sales after the website launch in March, going from 7 to 10 copies sold.
While not earth-shattering, it's still progress. We're keeping our fingers crossed for the third-quarter results, which should give us a clearer picture of book sales over time. I'll make sure to update these numbers as soon as we have them.
Despite a temporary lull in promotional activities due to personal commitments, Dr. ASA's website has shown potential as a networking and promotional tool. Even in its early stages, it has sparked several meaningful connections, demonstrating its potential for establishing new relationships and rekindling old ones.
These small wins show promising opportunities for future growth and engagement as Dr. ASA gears up for a fresh round of speaking engagements and promotional activities in the coming year.
Obstacles and Solutions
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While I managed to gather some insights from a small sample and made interesting discoveries, I couldn't get as much feedback on the brand identity from the target audience as I'd hoped.
Time constraints and unresponsive outreach led me to rely more on post-launch social media listening.
Despite these obstacles, I made the most of the available input on website usability and user experience. Some research is better than none.
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Despite being on opposite ends of California and juggling parental and work commitments, we overcame this with remote collaboration.
Notion became our virtual command center, housing feedback, recorded presentations, and design iterations on a shared dashboard. Zoom bridged the gap for face-to-face discussions.
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Having a professional photographer present at her events is not always feasible due to budget constraints or the spontaneous nature of some community engagements. We had professional headshots but many event photos were taken on smartphones. This mix reflected Dr. ASA's grassroots involvement but it was visually inconsistent.
Converting all photos to black and white not only unified the visual aesthetic but also brought a gritty, activist vibe that perfectly aligns with Dr. ASA's brand. This allowed us to showcase her community engagement authentically while maintaining a cohesive visual identity across multiple touchpoints.
She didn’t initially have her headshots at the beginning of her project, but the timing of her photo shoot aligned perfectly with our brand strategy phase. I provided Dr. ASA with a brief guide for her photographer, ensuring the headshots would complement her new brand identity. Shoutout to Graceful Ballon for capturing Dr. ASA's essence and elevating our visual assets with professional and stunning photos.
Reflections and Learnings
Our brand strategy sessions were the key to unlocking Dr. ASA's unique identity. By diving deep into her heritage and values, Dr. ASA and I created a brand that’s deeply meaningful. We wove together cultural elements, personal values, and professional expertise to craft an identity that truly resonates with her audience.
This project really drove home the power of authentic representation in design and the importance of thorough brand strategy work. It's a testament to how embracing cultural heritage can lead to a brand identity that's distinctive and impactful.
