htm.elle Branding and Visual Identity
Creative direction, branding, illustration • March—July 2019
htm.elle is a nonprofit focused on getting more young women of color into STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math). I worked closely with the founder to provide everything she needed to get the brand established, from the visual identity to swag items and social media graphics.
A series of infographics for htm.elle, a program that helps more young women of color get into STEM and launch products. Communicating the extent of the gender/ethic crisis in STEM is imperative for htm.elle’s mission, so for much of that communication I relied on the use of data and statistics. Infographics pictured are used in social media, company documents, the website, or other digital communication assets.
Brand and Visual Identity
Starting with the basics, I created the essentials for a visual identity. My goal was to provide enough basic details in order to evolve and grow the brand over time.
Because of the nature of the organization, we knew we would want to eventually populate the website with tons of photography and imagery of the classes, students, and activities. But for the time being, at the start of the brand, we needed some visuals to use as placeholders. I crafted some illustrations to use for the website as well as in other initial marketing assets, like flyers and brochures.
I also created a few other graphics that were more informational, with the purposes of explaining the curriculum and program schedule. As a nod to the technological component of the program, I designed these to look like little user interfaces. So cute!
Website Illustrations
Curriculum 1.0
Curriculum 2.0
Swag Items
When it was time for the program’s classes to start, I created a sticker sheet as a small swag item to get the first students excited about the program - and to give them something to rep htm.elle outside outside of classes.
The stickers feature a variety of phrases intended to reinforce positive habits and mindsets. This is a personal passion of mine, so I wanted to incorporate that into the final design.
Social Media Graphics
To get the social media channels going, I created a variety of graphics for the first few weeks of the program. I wanted to create specific campaigns to tuck each graphic under, to keep things a bit more orderly and allow me to build out each of those campaigns. Some of these campaigns include:
A weekly recap series about what the students learned each week within the program
Infographics about the lack of women in STEAM and lack of diversity
Team features of the folks behind htm.elle
A series of student testimonials about the program
With this approach, I was able to keep the social media content interesting and dynamic, with something different each day.
Testimonials
“It would be an understatement to say that Nicole’s designs and creative visual direction were game-changing for us— honestly, her work visually made htm.elle come to life and allowed it to stand on it’s own.”
“Not only has her creative direction been notable, but her work as a designer is also unparalleled; she is professional, developed, and immensely inventive.”
Nicole Garcia was one of the most formative tenets during my company’s conception. What started as a coffee shop conversation between two friends has since evolved into the incredible branding and visualization of my nonprofit organization.
It would be an understatement to say that Nicole’s designs and creative visual direction were game-changing for us— honestly, her work visually made htm.elle come to life and allowed it to stand on it’s own.
Some reasons why I would work with Nicole again:
One, Nicole is an absolute pleasure to collaborate with. Her friendly demeanor, go-getter attitude, impeccable work ethic, ability to process and execute tasks under a quick turn-around, and invaluable expertise as a thought partner are just a few of the qualities that make Nicole a strong team player.
Two, Nicole’s design work is one of the highest calibers that I’ve seen from designers. She is able to take a simple task and spin it into the most vibrant, unique, and compelling designs whether they be logo designs, flyers, or social media content. She takes it to the next level every single time. Her design aesthetic and attention to detail are what makes her work stand out amongst others. True story, but almost every meeting I have had regarding htm.elle, each individual has highly complimented the design work and I always have to redirect the credit to Nicole every single time!
My time with working with Nicole is unparalleled and if the opportunity arises, I would work with her again in a heartbeat. Highly recommend that you reach out and collaborate with such a wonderful and creative designer.
Marielle Ednalino, CEO & Founder of htm.elle
Nicole is a natural-born leader and creative. In the time I worked under Nicole as a Creative Assistant, she was consistently facilitating a positive work culture that encouraged questions, collaboration, and growth. I feel that knowing Nicole within this position has improved my work ethic and capacity to create
Not only has her creative direction been notable, but her work as a designer is also unparalleled; she is professional, developed, and immensely inventive. Nicole developed and solidified a strong brand identity for htm.elle that provides us a distinct online presence which has become essential to htm.elle as an entity altogether.
Caylin Yorba-Ruiz, Creative Assistant at htm.elle