Website + Identity System Refresh + Video
USC Brand and Identity
Art Direction and Motion Graphics: Kandace Selnick
Creative Direction: Jane Frey
Web Developer: Edward Sotelo and Product Strategy & Design team
Team: USC University Communications
USC’s Brand and Identity Guidelines were transformed from a traditional printed standards manual into a digital-first platform designed to modernize how the university community accesses and applies the brand. The project focused on creating a more cohesive, accessible, and scalable brand experience across digital touchpoints.
I led the art direction and helped evolve key components of the identity system while designing and launching a 27-page website with streamlined guidance, refined information architecture, and a flexible visual framework. I also created USC’s first animated identity style guide and collaborated on a feature video that brought the brand to life across campus environments and storytelling moments.
Additional work included expanding the logo library, standardizing asset systems, and developing scalable brand management practices to support USC’s broader digital-first strategy.
A dynamic animation was developed to showcase USC’s identity components in a contemporary and minimalist style.
Inspired by the original identity system (initially crafted by Saul Bass and later refreshed by Pentagram) a motion graphics video was created to showcase the USC Identity. The video opens with the Southern California sun rising over the Pacific Ocean waves, symbolizing both the region’s essence and USC’s strength and leadership as an academic institution.
Featured on unique pages across the site, the identity video offers a bold introduction to the university’s distinctive marks, including the seal, shield, monogram, and wordmark. It also highlights the institution's primary and academic logotypes.
Throughout the video, the brand’s color palette is authentically featured, seamlessly blending with the visual narrative. Additionally, the dynamic font system is presented with an engaging flash, emphasizing the vitality of typography within the overall identity.
