Project Introduction
This is it — the big one.
Every brand needs stationery. Whether it’s a five-star hotel or a mail-order llama rental service, there’s something powerful about a logo that shows up everywhere. That’s where you come in.
This extra credit challenge is to create a full, branded stationery set for a completely made-up business. You’ll be designing a logo, business card, letterhead, envelope, and one bonus piece that fits your fictional company’s vibe. That “extra” item could be a tote bag, sticker sheet, parking pass, menu, flight ticket — you name it. The weirder and more specific the company, the better the designs tend to be.
This is a chance to flex your Illustrator and layout muscles, build out your brand identity skills, and show that you understand what consistency and good design really look like across formats.
Creative & Technical Focus
This project puts your branding skills to the test. Not only will you need to make everything look visually connected, but you’ll also need to think like a real creative team: What fonts define your brand? What tone does the color palette give off? How much spacing is too much (or too little)? Every piece should feel like it belongs together — no matter the medium. This is Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop working as a team.
Bonus upon Bonus: This is a portfolio goldmine if you take the time to mock up the items well. Stationery collections look slick on resumes and client sites alike. This is where you stop doing practice work and start building a project you’d actually want to print, post, or show off to a potential client.
Project Requirements
You must submit a stationery set for a fictional brand that includes:
- Logo Design (created in Illustrator)
- Letterhead (standard 8.5×11 layout)
- Business Card (front and back, 3.5×2″)
- Envelope (use a #10 standard or get weird with it)
- One bonus item that fits the brand (e.g., postcard, receipt, tag, loyalty card, menu, etc.)
All items must:
- Use consistent branding (colors, fonts, logo placement, etc.)
- Be neatly laid out with attention to spacing, margins, and alignment
- Be shown as print-ready PDFs or as mockups (mockups strongly encouraged for presentation)
- Be posted to your WordPress portfolio with a clear title, image previews, and a short write-up about the fictional brand (What do they do? Who are they for?)
Project Grading Rubric
Here is how your project will be graded.
| Criteria | Description | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Concept & Creativity | The company idea is imaginative, funny, clever, or compelling | +5% |
| Visual Consistency | Design is cohesive across all items (colors, type, layout) | +5% |
| Visual Integration | All pieces are properly sized, formatted, and cleanly designed | +5% |
| Portfolio Presentation | Uploaded to WordPress with mockups or previews and project summary | +5% |
| Extra Element | Bonus item adds value and fits brand identity well | +5% |
| Total (possible) | 25% Extra Credit |
OCP & Standard Alignments
04.01 – Demonstrate knowledge of presentation production issues (digital, print, and interactive formats). This project requires students to design across multiple print formats with proper sizing, alignment, margins, and hierarchy — all essential for real-world presentation and brand communication.
05.01 – Demonstrate proficiency in advanced design. Students must apply advanced design principles such as contrast, spacing, visual balance, repetition, and font hierarchy across multiple related pieces to create a unified brand identity.
05.04 – Demonstrate proficiency in using fonts for advanced design. Each stationery item must use a consistent, professional typographic system. Font choices, pairings, and sizing are essential to maintain brand tone and clarity.
05.05 – Demonstrate proficiency in using illustration software. The logo and vector-based components must be designed using Illustrator, with clean paths, scalable formats, and consideration for multi-format application.
05.09 – Demonstrate knowledge of design layout software. Layout work (letterhead, envelope, business card) must be done in InDesign, showcasing skill in templates, grids, and file prep for print and mockup.
08.01 – Create and publish a digital portfolio to showcase design and multimedia work. The final stationery collection is published to each student’s WordPress site, embedded with write-ups and images suitable for professional portfolio use.
Digital Media & Multimedia Design 