Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce
Oct ‘18- Oct ‘19
Event Design, Illustrations
My internship at the Chattanooga Chamber was where I learned what it means to design for an institution, an organization with history, stakeholders, and a brand that has to work across a hundred different contexts. I designed programs, ads, magazine covers, event collateral, and internal tools while helping the Chamber maintain consistent brand guidelines across every touchpoint. Every project was a lesson in balancing creativity with constraints. Here's one that stuck with me.
Spirit of Innovation
The Goal:
Refresh the visual identity of the Spirit of Innovation Award, a 20-year-old event recognizing local businesses driving economic growth without losing the equity the event had built. The existing logo worked, but the design system around it felt dated.
The Decision:
I kept the logo (light bulb as the 'O' in Innovation) and built a bolder world around it. The old palette was soft pastels. I pushed into deeper blues and purples with strategic yellow accents, just enough contrast to create energy without overwhelming the palette. Then something unexpected happened in the layout process: the organic cloud shapes I was developing started to look like waves. Instead of fighting it, I leaned in; the dual reading of clouds and sea felt right for a concept about innovation taking you somewhere unexpected. I used that tension across the program design.
What Happened:
The refreshed identity gave a 20-year-old event something it didn't have before: a look with a point of view. The cloud-wave concept gave the program an internal visual logic that made the whole thing feel intentional, not just updated.
Trend Magazine Covers
I designed Trend magazine's monthly covers for one year starting in October 2018. If we didn't have any photos to use, I would create an illustration or vector image that matched the article.
