Art Directing SFU Surge Events
As the director of design for SFU Surge I was responsible for leading a team of 4 other designers. Throughout the 2024 and 2025 year, Surge ran the pillar hackathon events StormHacks & JourneyHacks, as well as a new projects based inititative StormForge.
Role
Project Manager, Motion & UI Designer
Timeline
June 2024 Onwards
Software
After Effects, Figma, Illustrator
Team
Arriyan Ali, Yifei Wang, Natalie Kayda
StormForge
Evoking a Sense of Infinite Possibilities
About StormForge
At the forefront of the mind of any student in tech is the question: "how do I get an internship?" More often than not, the answer is build projects. StormForge is a unique student led program that places students in teams of programmers, project managers, and designers guiding them from ideation to creation.
Design Challenge
How might me create a visual identity for a projects based initiative that showcases a commitment towards fostering innovation and student success?
Focusing a Colour Palette
To seperate StormForge from other events being posted on the Surge timeline, I made sure to take the organization's palette and boost the vibrancy and dimension. The punchyness of the colours also helps to add a sense of awe and inspiration.
Focusing the Surge colour palette to a new StormForge identity
Establishing Typography
To create a feeling of engineering and putting pieces together to create a whole, the headings of StormForge are made up of a combination of intertwining two typefaces. By mixing PPMondwest into a base of Neue Haas Grotesk Display, it not only stands out but achieves my desired outcome.
Overview of the StormForge typography levels
Stormforge logomark incorporating the unique heading font
Bringing the Awe
When it came to making the program stand out, I needed to find a way to organically implement Surge's two otters, Stormy and Sparky, without leaning too cartoony. To do so I used a combination of gradient shapes and grain to use shape language as opposed to harsh lines.
Showcasing the progression of the unique illustration style for StormForge
Final Implementation
A collection of StormForge posts using the art direction
Outcome
Surge Animations
Creating Interest Through Movement
Announcing StormHacks & Celebrating Holidays
To announce that our biggest hackathon, StormHacks, was happening, I created a short animation. To also mark a couple of special occasions throughout the past fall semester, I produced two other animations
Reflection
What Did I Learn?
Music Builds Mood
When it came to finalizing the teaser video for StormHacks it was important to find the right music track. Some that I tried just didn't fit the vibe, and when I found a great one the whole video finally came together.
Finished Not Perfect
Since a lot of event details tend to be confirmed last minute, it was important for me to remain flexible and not get too caught up in little details. Knowing when something is ready to post is better than having a late graphic and no attendees at the events.