LCI 50^th anniversary campaign

Kent State Liquid Crystal Institute

Overview

Portfolio / LCI Anniversary

Comprehensive campaign designed to celebrate the institute’s history and translate its core science for a general audience. I established the campaign’s visual identity system, driven by a custom anniversary logo mark and a recurring liquid crystal pattern. The multi-platform system included a commemorative keepsake book, bookmark, event collateral, and a top-ranked animated explainer video with over 179,000 views.

The challenge: create a cohesive visual language across deliverables with varying audiences and messages, authoritative enough for a major milestone and accessible enough for a broad audience, while staying within brand guidelines.

Commemorative Keepsake book

Event collateral

Animated Explainer: What are liquid crystals?

Approach

I created a visual identity system built on flexible brand elements including the 50th-anniversary logo mark and a custom liquid crystal pattern, adapting them across diverse media outputs.

I brought the commemorative book to life through custom print production, with the anniversary mark in gold foil on a textured navy book cover and gold liquid crystal pattern on the corresponding bookmark.

I proposed the format and led all creative production for a character-driven explainer video. Inspired by TED-Ed models, I designed and animated all visual assets from scratch. The visual style brought personality and clarity to dense data, remaining approachable for the public and accurate for faculty approval.

Outcome

The visual identity successfully anchored the Liquid Crystal Institute’s 50th Anniversary milestone across physical and digital spaces.

The animated explainer has accumulated 179,000+ views and ranks #1 on YouTube for “liquid crystals.” More than a decade after its launch, the video continues to drive consistent traffic, proving that thoughtful design delivers long-term value.

LCI 50th anniversary campaign