DESIGN

Here for the Common Good Since 1983

The Institute for Social Concerns creates a campaign for each academic year with a unique tagline and graphic treatment. In 2023, I developed the tagline "Here for the Common Good." 

I started looking at design ideas and thought a retro look would be fun, both because it's a popular kind of t-shirt design, but also as a nod to the history of the Institute, founded in 1983.

I found a striped circle design that was often used with destinations ("California") or experiences like skiing or the beach, and destinations and experiences are certainly a hallmark of the institute. This then ties into the ideas of presence, accompaniment, solidarity, and community. Which got me "here." 

"Here for the common good" can refer to both the wearer and the institute overall. Here conveys presence, as well as the colloquial expression of being "here for" something i.e., supporting it or working towards it. The colloquial expression and the laid-back retro vibe makes "the common good" more light hearted and approachable. "Since 1983" supports the retro feel and reinforces the history.

Annual report

This booklet highlights the major projects of the Institute (then Center) for Social Concerns, employs a retro design aesthetic as a nod to the center's 40th anniversary, and aims to be vibrant and fun rather than a typical exhaustive (and exhausting) annual report.

T-shirt

Looking at the image symbolically, the circle is incomplete, and "common good" is what completes the circle. That's what the institute is working towards. The missing piece.

Poster

Sticker