The Ann Arbor Michigan State Street District came to me to revamp the feel of their neighborhood organization. Situated around the corner from the University of Michigan campus, the State Street District has been around for 50+ years and is home of one of the most prestigious art festivals that welcomes 400,000 attendees to their neighborhood every year. This premier event is recognized nationally and was the center of their rebranding. They wanted to welcome in a younger crowd, while honoring the staple artists and attendees, through bright, yet classic design.

My creative direction was inspired by the Midwestern town’s architecture…literally. I utilized their iconic Michigan Theatre as the centerpiece of their rebrand by pulling the colors and textures from the building. By incorporating denim and concrete-like textures, I was able to capture the roots of the neighborhood. I then utilized the herringbone brickwork of the local walking paths around the Nickels Arcade building as a branded pattern. Working with a local photographer, I then made sure to incorporate images of their architecture, landmarks and hotspots into the marketing collateral, which was used for print marketing, editorial print and digital marketing.

Although the Ann Arbor Art Fair is the State Street District’s main event, they hold several additional art and music events throughout the year. Each event needed branding that was unique, yet coordinated with the overall brand of the District. This also included working with each committee to understand their goals, as well as sponsors and stakeholders.

This organization is incredibly involved in their community and needed their website to reflect updated responsive design that followed UX/UI methodology. Utilizing UX/UI and Information Architecture, the hoards of information was organized in a clear, easy to navigate website, in which custom maps and uploads were built for both attendees to easily search for the information they needed while visiting, or artists who were exhibiting.

Below you’ll see just a sampling of the projects we worked on.