Reasons to be Thankful
With 2021 coming to a close, we have much to be thankful for.
Our studio has been fortunate to stay busy during the pandemic with some exciting print and digital projects. Highlights include new identities for Harvard Business School and General Catalyst, publications for Ginkgo Bioworks and The Groton School, as well as assorted print and web projects for Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Also, our design director, Katherine Hughes was featured on the Design Museum’s podcast, Design is Everywhere, to discuss how graphic design is approached when designing for the arts.
Our heartfelt appreciation to all our clients, colleagues, and supporters that make our work so rewarding.
Grow by Ginkgo Bioworks
Working closely with Ginkgo Bioworks art director, Grace Chuang, Stoltze Design updated the overall design and typography of the publication and created the layouts that featured a diverse roster of talented artists including: Lauren Davis, Surasti Puri, Harriet Lee-Merrion, Amber Vittoria, Israel G. Vargas, Liana Finck, Whooli Chen, and Ally Schmaling. The publication has received numerous honors including the Communication Arts Annual Design Awards (one of only six editorial publications included) and the Graphis Design Annual. It was also nominated for best overall issue by the Society of Publication Designers.
MIT Facts
Produced by MIT Reference Publications, MIT Facts provides an overview of the breadth of the Institute’s academics, activities, and culture. Our redesigned website features clean typography, vibrant colors, and hand-drawn icons by our own Kyle Nelson. Since prospective undergraduate and graduate students are some of Facts’ most frequent visitors, the home page features not just a tool to allow people to quickly display only the facts relevant to them, but also a “surprise me” button that loads little-known, light-hearted facts about MIT.
MIT EECS
Stoltze Design Group was selected to completely reimagine and redesign the EECS identity and website to better position the department as a forward-looking and collaborative environment “where the future is invented.” Our first challenge was to create an identity to represent not only Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, but also a third area of research, Artificial Intelligence + Decision-making. The new website was significantly reorganized to improve findability, and its UX overhauled to shift from a news-centric approach to one that met the core needs of EECS’ current and prospective students, as well as its faculty and staff.
Groton School
Stoltze Design Group was engaged to redesign their admissions suite with a fresh and adventurous approach. Instead of producing copious amounts of written information to absorb, we set out to tell Groton’s story primarily through the use of Tom Kates’ stunning photography set to a fluid and dynamic layout and typography. The visuals were punctuated with concise and compelling content written by the Thurston-Lightys. The approach enabled student stories and insights to become the real star of these publications.
Mass Audubon
Mass Audubon protects more than 40,000 acres of land throughout Massachusetts, saving birds and other wildlife, and making nature accessible to all. This past spring Stoltze Design partnered with Libretto to create a beautiful publication entitled “Go Wild” to introduce their Action Agenda, promoting profound engagement between people and wildlife. Both audacious and timely, it reflects the gravity of the challenges confronting the environment and society.
The wonderful icons are the work of Mass Audubon’s designer Kristin Foresto.
