Urban Movement

Context

Urban Movement is a non-audition dance club at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. However, the club used to be called "Hip Hop Choreo Club", until it came under fire over social media for not properly "representing Hip Hop culture" and not responding "timely" to support the Black Student Union in Cal Poly's 2018 blackface incident. The name "Urban Movement" was created by the club's president as a better representation of the dance club as a part of urban dance culture, not hip-hop culture. As the creative director, I was tasked with Hip Hop Choreo Club's refresh and rebrand into its new identity.

Objectives

1. To rebrand Urban Movement as a club that represents urban dance culture as opposed to hip-hop culture
2. To give Urban Movement an identity of all-inclusivity, community, growth, and passion for dance
3. To develop consistent branding across all social media platforms
4. Through clean and thought-out design techniques, present Urban Movement as Cal Poly's premier non-competitive dance community

Customer Research

We kicked off the branding by "mystery polling" students on various topics in regards to the club, without telling them what we would be using the responses for. This was an open poll to both club participants and non-members alike.

Below are select questions and respective answers from the poll:

The dancers that make up the club come from all different backgrounds, with different interests, favorites, and important memories from being a member. However, they unite over some other questions...

The dance club members shared a common interpretation of the club: its unity, its community, its non-competitive nature, and its members' passions for dance. After all, the club brought together students of such different backgrounds and interests. With this information in mind, we proceeded to iterate sketches for how the logo and branding would pan out.

Design: LOGO

Keeping in mind what we had learned from the customer research segment, we began sketching and brainstorming possible iterations and sketches.

For the next step, we proceeded to vectorize a select few that were voted on by our director board.

The following is the final iteration that we decided upon using. The branching roads curving towards the center represents the different backgrounds and paths of members prior to joining the club. The radial symmetry and the solid black/white coloring reflects the unity, community, and inclusivity of the club, bringing together the paths spiraling around. And of course, the letters "U" and "M" are merged together into a ligature symbol, representing the words "Urban Movement".

Social media design

Here are select Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat social media posts following the consistent branding guideline.

Apparel design

Here are select apparel pieces developed over the years.

Dance showcase "Illuminate"

In addition to the normal schedule of practices and performances, Urban Movement decided to unite the entire the Cal Poly dance community through a winter dance showcase called "Illuminate". We wanted to bring the plethora of talent among the student body into the spotlight, ranging from Chinese Student Association's Lion Dance Team to the Cal Poly Ballroom Team. I designed new branding peripherals to give Illuminate a unique voice slightly removed from Urban Movement.

Urban Movement in the wild

"Urban Movement" has now become a household name among the Cal Poly community, and you can catch glimpses of the logo across stickers, banners, and merchandise. However, one of the most recognizable outcomes of the rebrand was the handsign; a unique pose which resembles the logo and a member's proud dedication to dance.

What's next for Urban Movement?

I served as Urban Movement's Creative Director for two years, and in that time, turned its branding into a passion project of mine full of learning and experimentation. However, there are many merchandise drafts, social media campaigns, branding guidelines, and other ideas that I was never able to convert to reality. What I wasn't able to do with Urban Movement has formed the groundwork for many design ideas I've had over the years, and I strive constantly improve myself as a designer, looking back at this project as a benchmark for my progress.

While I may not design for Urban Movement anymore, it's exciting to see the club constantly evolve. In fact, they went through another rebrand, and now call themselves United in Movement. Read more about it here, and check them out on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube!

• More work by me