SEO100 - CCS Student Exhibition 100th Anniversary Campaign

2025 marked the 100th anniversary of the College for Creative Studies (CCS) Student Exhibition Opening (SEO). The challenge was to design a comprehensive identity system that honored a century of creative excellence while maintaining the "brand essence" of a forward-thinking institution. We needed to increase awareness of the exhibition’s longevity, drive event attendance, and celebrate the diverse talent and innovation of CCS's art and design programs through a cohesive, multi-platform system. To bring the exhibition to life, we integrated assets into a multi-platform rollout that reached our audience wherever they were. The system scaled effortlessly from digital touch points, like invites, email signatures, social media, advertising and design elements that nodded to CCS's vintage logo, to printed invitations, signage, and campus way-finding. Even ancillary items like volunteer t-shirts, 360 photobooth stickers and props became opportunities to reinforce the exhibition’s dynamic spirit. To represent 100 years of movement, we utilized kinetic typography that "counts up" to the centennial exhibition. The kinetic typography served as a bridge between departments, symbolizing a dynamic future where design is never static. Next, we took the SEO100 brand to the streets of Detroit — literally. In a collaboration with Elephant & Co., we launched "Final Crit Lager," a specialty beer celebrating the exhibition, with proceeds supporting CCS scholarships. CCS also designed a custom tap handle to deepen the brand experience during an alumni "Tap Into Trivia" night. As alumni and the community gathered at Elephant & Co., we used this opportunity to show the "playful" side of our 100th-anniversary identity, proving that great design (and a great cause) can live anywhere, even on a beer can. We translated our custom typographic assets into an interactive GIF library for real-time engagement. By launching a custom suite of '#CCSSEO100' stickers on Instagram, we invited visitors to tag their content and become a part of the exhibition’s visual identity. These digital touch points unified the social conversation, turning every attendee into a brand ambassador.

From the original award submission.