Designing for an entire room of the smartest people you know
Saint Louis University's Research institute was one of many departments within SLU that partnered with Paradigm. They quickly became one of our greatest clients—but it all started with the Research Institute, and the projects below. Working with each team of researchers became a novel learning experience that I cherished. I'm a naturally curious person so being able to satiate my curiosity while discussing and preparing for each design was incredibly satisfying.
The Research Institute website
The research institute and its branding was carefully molded to honor, yet reimagine the branding of Saint Louis University as a whole. Comparing it to the primary SLU website, the typography hierarchy has been swapped to have sophisticated headlines and more legible body copy, the color white has been replaced with their own 'Grand Blue' to give it a modern, dark-mode effect.
I also leaned on the University's incredible library of photography to make each page even more insightful to the important research and work they do every day.
I took special care to animate each hover and create delightful micro-interactions as you explore the site. The arrow of each button pans to the right and reappears on the left, and SLU's Fountain Blue appears and gently pushes text when hovering card-style links.
The mobile version of the site was focused on using space effectively. It mirrors the desktop site in most ways but allows lower-priority cards to be swiped from left to right to manage the scrollable height of each page.
Most of the pages below the home page in hierarchy feature an asymmetric design that works well to accentuate the left-aligned text, button icons and imagery. They also provide a sliver of background for the fixed, background photo to appear subtly through a gradient that ends just shy of opaque.
A logo to establish each segment of the Research Institute
Starting with the WATER Institute and their enthusiasm for a simple, yet perfectly effective logo that matched SLU's branding, different groups within the Research Institute began to line up one by one to receive their own internal branding.
Chosen logo designs
The following logos are currently in use by their corresponding research group. I'm thankful to Paradigm and each researcher that participated in discussions that led to these designs. I learned a lot from each group about what they passionately study, and I was able to scratch the surface in my own research to aid the logo design process.
Water Access, Technology, Environment and Resources Institute (WATER)
The WATER Institute focuses on addressing water-related social justice issues at home and around the world, protecting aquatic ecosystems, and improving infrastructure to secure water supplies and address key societal needs.
This logo is one of those marks that almost feel too simple to work, but the research team absolutely loved it. It's incredibly understandable and ties in perfectly with Saint Louis University's brand. Each logo I created for the Research Institute uses Brandon Grotesque to keep in line with SLU's brand guidelines, but this is the only logo that expanded directly on the structure of that typeface.
Center for Additive Manufacturing (CAM)
As a tech enthusiast, I thought I knew quite a lot about 3D printing before chatting with the CAM team. The Dunning-Kruger effect was clearly in play as I learned about printing techniques and possibilities that I had maybe heard of, but didn't understand until discussing it directly with them. They use their knowledge and access to technology to support research and promote interdisciplinary collaboration at SLU.
As an institute focused on 3D printing, they wanted to defy norms a bit with a logo that appeared three-dimensional. I took inspiration from the line-by-line, layer-by-layer printing process especially apparent in extrusion-style 3D printers. Later they requested a motion graphic for the logo and I came up with an animation that showed the base layer of the logo being printed before expanding to the final product. Animating a 2D logo that appears 3D created a unique challenge in not breaking the illusion and maintaining the gradient as the parts separate from each other.
Geospatial Institute (Geospatial@SLU)
The researchers at Geospatial@SLU are focused on understanding the impact that location has on human lives. They explore its impact on critical global issues such as food and water security, climate change, economic development and inequity, and public health.
This logo takes inspiration from the triangulation from satellites used for global positioning systems, and the angles shift to wrap around an implied globe shape as they reach the extremities of the mark. The logo also creates a unique 'gradient' using a solid color in each of the shapes rather than a gradual change.
Designs that didn't make the cut
Paradigm, like many agencies, had multiple designers on each logo project to make sure the client had a variety of options to choose from. The following logos weren't chosen by the client in the end, but each went through a rigorous process of design, internal approval, and brand approval by SLU Research Institute's Leadership.
Institute for Translational Neuroscience (ITN)
Scientists at the Institute for Translational Neuroscience are conducting research in order to create treatments for chronic pain, the slowing or preventing of dementia, neurological disorders, and other health issues to improve quality of life and reduce the burden of disease.
Many of the logos I created for this research institute were fairly literal and they were particularly interested in depictions of neurons. On the left, a soundwave subtly makes up the shape of a brain, creating a metaphor for the research this institute does speaking directly to the researchers. The hexagonal logo went on to be edited by my team before becoming the official logo of the group.
Center for Research on Global Catholicism (CRGC)
CRGC researches the history of Catholicism and how it expanded around the world and interacted with each culture it touched. They're most interested in the non-linear or surprising encounters foundational to the spread of Catholicism and aim to create a national hub for Global Catholicism in St. Louis.
Each of my logo designs were focused on Catholic imagery but I was particularly inspired by the architecture of Cathedrals built around the world and created several marks that took inspiration from rose windows and stained glass.
Institute for Drug and Biotherapeutic Innovation (IDBI)
IDBI collaborates with groups around the world to develop new medical therapies and address unmet medical needs. They often devote research to rare and neglected diseases, which disproportionately affect poor and underserved communities throughout the world.
In order to build on the most recognizable symbol for health and pharmaceuticals, I was partially focused on reimagining the medical cross in some of my logo explorations. Later I redirected my logos to incorporate a DNA helix in a unique way.
The People and Technology Horizon (PATH) group—designing a logo to be touched, rather than just seen
SLU's People and Technology Horizon (PATH) group's research focuses on the relationship between technology and people, especially communities that are often marginalized by the design of technologies. The PATH team reached out to Paradigm at a time when one of their primary focuses was how technology could impact and improve the lives of the deaf-blind community.
Considering that people with visual impairments were not only benefitting from this research, but also were integral parts of SLU PATH's team in some cases, I sought out to make a logo that could serve them as well.
As I explored different logo options, I imagined how each mark would feel. I intentionally designed pathways for a finger to follow in and around each mark. Designing with self-imposed limitations like this is a method I use to get a variety of new ideas, but this time those limitations could serve a greater purpose.
When we wrapped up internal decision-making and proceeded to show logos to the client, I followed up by surprising the PATH team with a 3D-printed tile for each of the logos that I had modeled and printed. Each tile had an embossed and debossed version of the logo, as well as braille marking the research group's name, and a letter assigned to each concept that matched the presentation. This way, they could not only deliberate amongst themselves, but also garner feedback from the visually-impaired community they were working so closely with.
Aiding the production of SLU Research Institute's annual Impact Reports
While I would never take away from the incredibly hard work by Katie Stegemoeller as the lead designer on each Impact Report, I did play a production role in the project. Each year, this book was a massive undertaking by Katie and Paradigm's writing team. I strived to make it as seamless as possible by creating an efficient InDesign file with page templates, grids, paragraph and character styles, and just about everything needed to build many of the spreads without skipping a beat.
On top of production work, I was also in a position to take on any overflow work when it was needed. I worked on a few dozen pages throughout the 2020–2022 editions of the report. On the 2022 edition, this included creating the half-tone, foil graphic for the cover design as well as creating several options for the opening letters from the president and director of the Research Institute.
