Graphic Design Work — Lauryn McCarter Lai

First sketches

Early sketches

Illustrator sketches

Color palette

Final logo

Non-wordmark logo option

Resumanity branding

I did the initial branding for Resumanity, a resume-writing company based in DC. Based on client ideas, I generated about a dozen Illustrator sketches; we winnowed the elements she liked from those until arriving at the wordmark version she finally approved. The final product is far from the initial sketches, but the process worked to get her what she liked! I also gave her a number of color palette options and font options, from which she selected the final elements of her branding.

JMU Football Yearbook

I created the 2017 Football Yearbook for James Madison University. The Yearbook is distributed to attendees at JMU football games and has a circulation close to 200,000, and a digital version is made available for download (see it here).
The Yearbook required a lot of problem-solving to fit within existing formats, but I also got some freedom to create a few layouts on my own. The Game Day spread was my favorite one to design.

NYCDA Course Catalogs

This was a massive undertaking. To maintain our license, NYCDA had to have up-to-date course catalogs that complied with state regulations. I spearheaded the project to overhaul the catalogs from their old, dry, and kluged design into something more readable, attractive, and easily maintained. I interviewed stakeholders, conceptualized the design, sourced all photography, and rebuilt them from the ground up.

A Show of Their Own

One of my best friends is a baseball reporter, so for her birthday one year, I made the branding for our long-joked-about imaginary baseball talk show. It features segments like "How many marshmallows can this player eat?" and "Ask a Dad." The Pizza Hut sponsorship is aspirational.

Digital Advertisements for NYCDA

At New York Code + Design Academy, I was in charge of creating digital advertisements, and often was tasked with the art direction as well. In consultation with our marketing manager and director of brand strategy, I created a number of campaigns for Google AdWords, Facebook, and Instagram. I would also source stock photography or manage actual photos of our students.