KANSAS CITY
ART INSTITUTE

ALUMNI COMMUNICATIONS & CAMPUS COLLATERAL

Role: Digital Design Director & Lead Designer
Organization: Kansas City Art Institute Alumni Relations Department
Team: Alumni Relations Department, Alumni Artists
Skills: Visual Identity, Print Design, Layout, Illustration
Tools: Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator

CHALLENGE

Kansas City Art Institute sought to refresh its alumni outreach materials to attract younger alumni to read the quarterly digital newsletter and participate in alumni events.

THE CHALLENGE INVOLVED:

• Developing a new visual identity for the KCAI Alumni Email Newsletter and its matching printed postcards.

• Designing promotional postcards that felt fresh and appealing to a younger audience while staying true to the existing brand identity.

• Creating various alumni gathering postcard invitations and additional campus collateral, including playful stickers for the Cafe Nerman coffee shop (aka The Nerm).

PROCESS

1. BRAND CONTEXT & CREATIVE APPROACH

• Worked within KCAI’s existing brand guidelines, which were built around a distinctive abstract shape—the negative space between the school’s main campus buildings.
• Leveraged the flexibility of the brandmark, cropping and rotating it to create infinite compositions, patterns, and image frames.
• Took a playful yet respectful approach to ensure the new visuals honored the institution’s established identity while feeling contemporary.
2. ALUMNI NEWSLETTER & POSTCARD SYSTEM

• Designed a cohesive visual identity for the Alumni Email Newsletter and matching printed postcards, ensuring both digital and print assets shared a unified look and feel.
• Incorporated bold, energetic layouts and typography to appeal to younger alumni and encourage engagement with school communications.
3. EVENT & CAMPUS COLLATERAL

• Designed numerous alumni gathering invitations, varying layouts to reflect each event’s tone while maintaining visual connection to the core alumni identity.
• Created illustrated sticker designs for The Nerm, adding a touch of personality and fun to a central campus gathering spot.

OUTCOME

Delivered a fresh, adaptable visual system for alumni communications that increased appeal to younger graduates while staying on-brand.

• Strengthened the visual link between KCAI’s digital and print outreach through a consistent identity across email newsletters and postcards.

• Produced engaging, personality-driven collateral that reinforced the school’s creative culture and community spirit.