In 2016, I began a project that evolved into a design system adopted not only by me but by the ASU brand as a whole.
That year, the ASU Library Communications Department was informed of the upcoming renovation of Hayden Library, scheduled to begin after its 50th anniversary. The renovation meant that several beloved architectural features might be altered or removed, including the stained-glass panels that lined the ground and first floors on the east-facing wall. These panels, interspersed with floor-to-ceiling windows, were a defining visual element of the library– one that students, alumni, and visitors cherished.
To celebrate these architectural details, I incorporated the stained-glass pattern into a coloring book that highlighted the library’s unique design elements.
When the renovations were completed in 2020, the original stained-glass pieces were repurposed in the library’s reading rooms, preserving their historical significance and connecting past and present students. As part of the library’s reopening celebrations– held primarily in these reading rooms– VIP guests received coasters featuring a refined iteration of the coloring book’s stained-glass design.
The pattern continued to be integrated into the library’s visual identity. Elements of the stained-glass design were deconstructed and incorporated into the library’s wayfinding signage. In 2021, the design was used again for the library’s official holiday card.
More recently, the stained-glass pattern, along with another design I originally created for the coloring book– based on Hayden Library’s facade– were formally adopted as part of ASU’s official brand patterns.
