Translating a Shared Brand Across Teams, Platforms & Physical Outputs
Introducing Synthesis
A Portfolio Showcase & Celebration
Synthesis is the theme and brand for the Texas State Communication Design Spring 2026 Exit Review, a final showcase of graduating seniors’ portfolios.
Synthesis lives in two places, both as a physical exhibition event and a digital presence, our website and social media.
Synthesis is a celebration and a way for students to consistently present their work to peers, faculty, and industry.
Design by Brand Team
The Theme
Process Made Visible
The Synthesis tagline, Process Made Visible, focused on showing the work behind the final outcomes, from brainstorming and iteration to production and decision making.
We carried the Process Made Visible idea across all digital and physical touchpoints.
Motion graphic by Autum Potter
The Challenge
Ensuring a consistent brand expression across the digital and physical world
Synthesis required translating a single brand system across both digital and physical experiences while coordinating over 60 contributors on a tight timeline.
The challenge was maintaining consistency across social media, merchandise, and event materials while creating work that designers felt proud to be represented by.
My Contributions
Project Management, Systems, & Production
I coordinated across Brand, Production, and Social Media teams to maintain alignment in a 60+ person, student-led project.
I introduced systems for consistency, supported social media production through templating and planning, and contributed to physical production and documentation.
Organizing the Effort
The entire Synthesis team consisted of 65 designers across 7 teams. I specifically focused on coordinating with the Brand, Production and Social Media Teams.
Click here to see the rest of the teams involved.
Brand Team
Responsible for creation of brand guidelines (logo, color palette, typography)
Figma Evangalist
Standardizing with Templates
7 Templates Created
Used across 78 pages posted on social media
Structuring the Rollout
Creating a Posting Roadmap
36 Posts Defined, Mapped, & Scheduled
Guided social media posting over the course of 28 days
Project Management
Maintaining Awareness
Making Real Things
Production & Documentation
As part of the Production team, I printed buttons and screenprinted totebags.
I also photographed all physical deliverables including posters, keychains, buttons, and tote bags to showcase how the Synthesis branding expressed itself in the physical world.
Building a Social Presence & Archive
The ComDes Exit Review Instagram acts as both a promotional tool and a living archive of Exit Review.
Our goal was to build momentum leading up to the event while documenting the work and process behind it.
To see the full credits for the Social Media Team click here
A Comprehensive Grid
Our Instagram rollout consisted of 36 posts scheduled over 28 days.
This created a steady rhythm of content that balanced promotion, storytelling, and documentation.
Click here to see the official Synthesis Instagram!
Instagram Post Strategy
3 Main Posts
Our Instagram grid was built around three core post types:
Designer Spotlights
Highlighting individual student work and giving each designer a dedicated moment of visibility.
'Made Visible' Posts
Extending the “Process Made Visible” theme by showcasing behind the scenes work.
Each post focused on a specific aspect such as teamwork, iteration, or production, supported by quotes and process imagery.
Group Project Showcases
Featuring collaborative projects across multiple students, responding directly to interest from the cohort in highlighting team-based work.
Motion Graphics Accounted for
All posts were designed to support motion graphics, allowing projects to feel more dynamic and closer to their intended form.
Motion assets were adapted for social media by Gabriel Irvine.
System Application
The Synthesis brand was also applied to LinkedIn to reach a professional audience.
Real World Production
Synthesis In the Wild
To translate the brand into a tangible experience, the Production team created a range of physical deliverables including posters, tote bags, buttons, keychains, and printed materials.
Click here to see the full list of credits for the Production Team.
Final Thoughts
Helping bring our Exit Review to life was one of the most rewarding projects I’ve worked on. Being part of something that represents such a meaningful transition for our graduating class made the work feel especially impactful!
It was exciting to see my work exist beyond mockups, both on social media and in the physical world. Seeing others interact with it made the project feel real in a way that typical design work often doesn’t.
Social Media Team
Responsible for planning and design across all Social Media presences
Emmaline Benson
Standardization, Templates & Copywriting
Jackson Pickett
Design & Copywriting
Gabriel Irvine
Design & Motion Graphics
Naia Kaparaju
Ideation
Angel Roman
Ideation
Social Media Team
Responsible for planning and design across all Social Media presences
Jackson Pickett
Trademark, Assets, Copywriting
Emmaline Benson
Standardization, Templates & Copywriting
Gabriel Irvine
Design & Motion Graphics
Naia Kaparaju
Ideation
Angel Roman
Ideation