CARLOS VELASCO
Unlock the Italian Runza November 2016
One could call the Italian Runza the Midwestern McRib, a novelty sandwhich from the Nebraska-based fast food chain that comes and goes with much cult-like fanfare. To relaunch this sandwhich after a period of almost ten years, we were tasked with generating buzz among a new generation that wasn’t familiar with the sandwhich, Milennials. Runza’s social media base was usually older, so for months we strategized a campaign that would be to “Unlock” the recipe to the mythical sandwhich alongside winning 5 years of free Runza. To do this we planted an enormous safe in the middle of a student union Runza location at the University of Nebraska, began a snapchat account that regularily posted content leading up to the launch and finally, made the launch a unique scavenger hunt where, every hour a new clue would drive contestants to find a Runza location and utilize a custom snapchat filter to unlock a code number. Players would have to rush back to the student union and enter the code on a safe, where afterwards, once awarded the grand prize, celebration ensued. I was able to be on the team as a strategist in developing the concept, later on becoming a key member of developing the Snapchat strategy and finally getting the opportunity to design collateral ranging from the massive safe to the custom snapchat filters, social media graphics and signage for the event.
Signage & Filters Participating restaurants were outfited with designated spots and signage where one could use the snapchat filter to unlock the secret codes that would lead to them unlocking the safe, and five years of free Runza.
Safe To create buzz for this launch, alongside promote the snapchat account, a large (10ft by 4ft) safethemed display was planted in the middle of a high-traffic Runza location.
Social Media Social Media posts played an important role in the campaign in both building hype, showcasing things like the winners, and most importantly, giving clues to participants where the clues would be. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat were consistently among the most popular methods of showcasing the campaign and connecting with fans.
Live Feed Using both Facebook Live, Snapchat and Instagram Stories, Runza was able to capture moments such as the winning contestant and celebration afterwards.
Participation Overall there was a large amount of participants, with many catching on to clues and even arriving to locations beforehand, ready to try out the snapcode. The photo shows a group of people who had arrived to the final location before the final clue had even appeared, many of them interviewed stated that they drove around Lincoln scouting potential locations for hours.
Frida Kahlo Museo Latino Illustration Fall 2016
For a class assignment we were challenged with how to best make a propoganda poster for a certain cause. I chose to look at my own cultural background and developed an arts advocacy poster for El Museo Latino, located in Omaha, Nebraska. The illustrative poster takes on the cultural image of the skull popularized by artists like Posada, juxtaposed with the iconography, clothing and cultural identity of Frida Kahlo. This poster was meant to psychologically connect with the key audience as a way of tying together the idea of the death of a culture. The image of death, alongside the image of Frida Kahlo is an important cultural fixation that is meant to stop the audience and allow them to consider how they can further support their own culture.
Prairie Pines Summer 2015
During the summer of 2015 I enrolled in an independent study studio course for graphic design that was centered around the theme of branding ‘Prairie Pines’ a property in the edge of Lincoln that serves as a research site for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In the class I produced a variety of material ranging from wooden signage, photography, and, a short film that used both animation, videography, motion graphics and kinetic typography to tell the history, mission, and future of Prairie Pines through the words of Prairie Pines founder, Walter Bagley.
Prairie Pines Fashion Photography Photography by Carlos Velasco. Models: Dorsey Kauffman & Halle Bowman, Masks by Aaron Sutherlen
Prairie Pines Mobile Application Concept Screens of Prairie Pines Mobile Application, showing the use of different trails, navigation, and an icon system developed for the trails.
Signage System The signage system created for the Prairie Pines park is made of untreated wood that was laser-cut into a rounded corner rectangle with two variations, one with a hollow back and one with a moss back. The type and graphics were created with black vinyl on top of the wood.
Eyes Open Short Film Eyes Open was a short documentary about the life of Walt and the origin of Prairie Pines that was filmed and edited by me during the Prairie Pines project. The film utilizes a variety of motion graphics, a warm color grade throughout and playful use of visual with Walt’s narration. Watch the Film http://tinyurl.com/ne37z7y
The 58th Nebraska Shrine Bowl Spring 2016
The Nebraska Shrine Bowl is Jacht Ad Lab’s oldest client, and for the 58th year games, I was able to work as the designer in charge of creating and developing their new look. Previously the Nebraska Shrine Bowl had relied on a retro lookacross their media and had kept a relatively lower social media profile. This year, the main request was to take it in a new direction and modernize it. The inspiration for the look and feel of the new Shrine Bowl was the sleek and minimalist appearance of contemporary athletic graphic design. I wanted both the players involved to feel like they were professional football players and for the children going to the game to feel like they were a part of something incredible. The new direction utilizes HDR-esque photography, lower saturation, white space, creamy colors, light streaks, and a sense of infinite backlight. This campaign later went on to win a Bronze AIGA SHOW award and is currently in competition for PRSA Paper Anvil Awards and local Nebraska AAF awards.
The proposed ticket design features, for the first time in the Shrine Bowl, a two-sided approach with an illustration on one side and an elegantly typeset backside. The colorscheme is refined to the darker neutrals that are seen in the campaign with a special black on black for Club, red-grey for General Admission, and Cream for Student Tickets.
Social Media utilizes a consistent look and feel appropriate with the main direction. The strategy includes utilizing a variety of branded images, collaborating with videographers, photographers and other creatives to also create content that individually spotlights each student in a way that
feels professional and exciting. My work for the social media includes the initial set of player spotlights (before I handed that off to a photographer), graphics for an animated background created by a videographer, and important milestones like ticket sales.
ELEVATE Campaign December, 2015–March, 2016
I was approached to design a full campaign for the ‘Elevate’ Student Government Election party at UNL in 2015. This campaign included everything from social media, videos, print ads and more. The Elevate campaign was special because, with a record breaking 25% voter turnout and over 80% of the slate elected into a position, it represented one of the most ambitious and strategized campaigns to reach across the 25,000 students at UNL. The social media reach was also fantastic with 20,000 impressions in the first week alone. This campaign later went on to win the Bronze award in the Student AIGA SHOW competition.
Nº1 Creal Blue Dark Matte Serenity Blue
Nº2 Elevate Blue Serenity Blue
Nº3 Nasrati Rose Pastel Matte Rose
Nº4 Stetson Gold Warm Golden Yellow
One of the most prominent visual elements of the brand was the consistent use of gradient infused waveforms and the elevate upwards mark throughout. This border design was inspired by the idea of diversity and inclusiveness. One of the key platforms of Elevate was including student voices of all backgrounds and perspectives. Because each line, each color, and each shape variance could represent this concept, it was placed around the central Elevate mark.
Selection of Profile Pictures
Selection of Printed Materials Utilizing Mobile App ‘Snapchat’ with customized filters that were purchased for strategic locations and days allowed the reach of the campaign to go beyond print material that is too-often discarded.
To launch the campaign, it was important to consider both the real world and the world of web from start to finish. Before launching the campaign, I shot and edited a short video of the executive candidates officially announcing their candidacy. This video launched alongside an official website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and an extensive first-day campaign event in strategic locations throughout City and East Campus. The video reached large organic growth, and alongside an established list of key platforms and topics, helped to create a comprehensive, ready from day one strategy.
Nebraska Innovation Campus Sustainability Collateral Summer, 2015
Internal Green Guide A publication was designed for Innovation campus as part of a sustainability efforts to be an internal guide to sustainability for NIC employees. Set in a simple two column layout (1/3 of the page devoted to a side bar) with typography set in the ‘Neutra’ typeface that is core to NIC brand standards. The publication was designed to be a clean, emphasizing the photography and statistics in aesthetically pleasing manners. Sections are introduced with a large image taking
up the width of the page, a header is over-layed on- top of the image for section heads. Copy inside of the publication is typeset in the NIC gray color with small pops of color throughout the flat graphics that correspond to NIC colors for specific topics such as waste or energy.
Aluminum Signage : A core goal of NIC is to reduce landfill waste and to promote recycling and composting. With Epoch Labs, we developed a system of three aluminum signs to be placed around NIC using easily recognizable graphic images, clear typography and recognizable color schemes that would also encourage the use of composting and recycling.
Window Signage : NIC uses extremely sustainable practices and materials and part of the collaborative effort included highlighting these facts in a series of window signs. These signs are duo-toned and each highlight individual parts of buildings such as LEED certification or the use of Alternative Energy.
Post & Nickel 2016
For a branding course I decided to take on a local struggling high-end fashion store, The Post and Nickel, and envision not only ways to sustain it and improve it, but to redefine their brand, their potential and their appeal on a national level. Utilizing in-person interviews, online-surveys, a focus group, Nielsen research, CubeYou analytics and interviews with the store itself, I developed a concept to take the store into a direction based on the “Everyday Occasion�. The Everyday Occasion was a philosophy that everyday and every moment can be a special occasion and that, there are perfect looks to be had for the Everyday Occasion. The entire brand, from logo and copy and patterns, to advertising, architecture, website and more would be redefined to become a place where you could get timeless and well-crafted clothing, personalized service and a staff that will know you, and most importantly, a place where you could return time and time again to find the perfect piece. In-depth research led to special insights on how the voice should be crafted, what snacks and drinks to offer customers and how to best keep the brand sustained across multiple generations without sacrificing appeal and quality.
Brand Identity The brand identity was updated to reflect a more sophisticated yet understated look and feel complete with a new brand pattern that could be applied on elements ranging from packaging to web to architecture. In a later brand standards guide, the elements were expanded to include three distinct logo variations.
Website The website concept for Post and Nickel combined a unique retail experience where one could shop by looks, an editorial section dedicated to staff-written stories of the ideal ways Post and Nickel clothing could fit certain occasions. Campaigns like a hypothesized “#Style2go campaign also had dedicated microsites to showcase the various aspects of the campaign such as social interaction, campaign video and more.
Packaging Inspired by the lovely tradition of Japanese packing, luxury material and creating a special feeling at every touch point. Packaging concepts for the brand featured traditional boxes and bags with small touches such as a sealing sticker, envelope with receipt, sales associate card, booklet on the brand, and invitation to return. All merchandise also featured a black on black with spot gloss card with a joint “Ampersand� decorative card. Every single purchase had to feel special, well considered, and incredibly luxurious, whether it was a pair of Happy Socks or a Hugo Boss suit.
Visual Merchandising A unique challenge for Post & Nickel was the uninspiring window signage and visual merchandising that relied on clutter and a mismatch of signs. To alleviate this, the concept of a lifestyle brand was explored through conceptual window displays. The window display concept features a stark white organization of objects cluttered to create a cozy setting. The back shelf allows the viewer to see a metal cut of the brand pattern and pops of color naturally come from the fashion pieces themselves. Advertising Using the concept of different looks for the Everyday Occasion a series of brand ads based on “Looks” was devised. Each look conveyed a desirable lifestyle and was targeted towards different generations, keeping in line with the idea that the brand was relevant across multiple points in a person’s life.
Architectural Additions Activating the natural architecture of the building from the exterior in order to convey the look and feel of the new brand was accomplished through the concept of wrapping the building in the brand pattern. In an ideal flagship, a metal cutout of the brand pattern would play alongside glass and create a modern and elegant facade that would invite customers inside. During the initial development, I consulted with an architect and interior designer to look at ways to best redevelop the interior of the space. Selections of dark wood, stained marble, rich velvet furniture and fresh flowers was chosen to create the feeling of entering an elegant home. Concepts were not taken to further renderings of completed concept store.