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GVSU Branding Sprint – Lecture & Workshop
Article
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GVSU Branding Sprint – Lecture & Workshop
I was invited to lead a lecture and workshop for the Department of Visual and Media Arts at Grand Valley State University, hosted by Lindsey Peterson, Vinicius Lima, and Shalom Yabilsu. The session engaged approximately 30 students, including a mix of graphic design juniors and seniors, along with an additional class of non–graphic design majors. It was structured as a combined lecture and hands-on sprint, designed to bridge professional practice with academic learning. The intention was to offer a transparent view into real-world branding processes, followed by immediate application through a focused identity workshop.
The first section briefly introduced my background, creative path, and professional experience, highlighting the multi- disciplinary nature of branding and the importance of clarity, collaboration, and strategic thinking. I also shared key perspectives on how design evolves from understanding problems rather than jumping directly to visual solutions, emphasizing that strong outcomes begin with asking the right questions. This portion set the context for how professional designers balance research, strategy, and execution in practice.
Coldbreak Case Study
The second section provided a behind-the-scenes look at the Coldbreak branding process, walking students through a structured, three-phase approach: discovery and research, strategy and identity development, and production and rollout. I outlined how stakeholder alignment, competitive analysis, brand positioning, and visual identity systems come together to form a cohesive brand. This deep dive demonstrated how strategic foundations—such as purpose, vision, values, audience, and messaging—inform visual decisions and ensure consistency across applications.
Brand Sprint Workshop
The final section transitioned into a live Brand Identity Workshop Sprint. I created a fictitious brand name and creative brief to guide students through the logo development process. Working in pairs, students reviewed
the brief for “Drift Co.,” a freshwater outdoor lifestyle brand, and moved quickly through a condensed strategy and concepting exercise. They established guiding brand words, explored tagline directions, gathered visual inspiration, and developed initial logo concepts within a limited timeframe. The sprint concluded with students reviewing and judging their peers’ progressed logo work, followed by the awarding of first, second, and third place mini trophies to the pairs that received the most votes.
I designed this workshop to prioritize critical and conceptual thinking alongside iterative development rather than premature refinement, reinforcing systems thinking, collaboration, and design under real-world constraints.
Overall, the session combined lecture, process transparency, and hands-on practice to give students a practical understanding of how branding moves from strategy to execution. The collaborative environment, engagement from faculty, and thoughtful participation from students created a productive learning experience focused on both professional insight and applied design thinking.
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Grand Valley State University
Department of Visual and Media Arts -
+ Branding Lecture
+ Brand Sprint Workshop -
Photography by Lindsey Peterson and Vinicius Lima.
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