Brand Design
Web Design
Marketing
Graphic Design
Creating a fresh, new and engaging branding for a 20-year-old hip hop dance company.
Role
Marketing & Design Director
Timeline
May 2022 - Current
Goals
Create a notable brand design and unique style to the team’s name
Have a stronger social media and on-campus presence
Fairly represent the dance talent and livelihood of team members
Increase traction to workshops, events, and auditions
About
Phunktions Dance Company first originated at the University of Maryland-College Park in 2003, as a co-ed, choreography organization that focuses on the appreciation of hip-hop culture. Since then, the team has grown to become well known and integrated amongst others throughout the DC-Maryland-Virginia area.
Like many organizations, the company took a hit in 2020, especially due to the in-person necessity of dancing in community. When I joined the team in 2021, there were less members, competitions were shut down, performances and workshops all done in masks.
01 Brand Design
Core Identity
In terms of brand design, there was not much of a precedent besides the logo. The logo was made long before I had joined the team, and at first I found it hard to work with, but then realized its complexities had strength. Being black-and-white, I was not restricted to any color scheme. It felt classic and almost old-school. So I used that as the seed for the entire brand and feel.
Putting a Face to the Name
Following the team’s Instagram for many years, I had always thought of Phunktions as a dance workshop host due to the lack of online content showcasing the team itself. Through a deep dive on the Internet, I found that there was a rich history of over ten years of performances and company classes from raw and brash hip-hop to fine artistic competition sets. This is a history that deserved to be honored. How can our team LOOK like a team? How do we take our stand as the “premier hip hop dance company” at UMD?
For the first time in years, we decided to have a formal photo and video shoot. This was held at the UMD football stadium- giving a sense of pride for our home university. With the football and bleachers backdrop, this led to a overall motif of high school nostalgia.
Continuing off of the highschool nostalgia, we used a yearbook look to introduce all the members of the full team- highlighting each person’s personality and individuality.
@phunktionsumd Instagram feed
What We Do Best: Weekly Company Classes
Our team is commonly known in the local dance community for our weekly free drop-in dance classes that have been running for over 5 years. Therefore, it is important that each workshop is properly marketed to the public.
YouTube
After years of not posting YouTube content, our marketing team brought back weekly company class video recordings, expanding our presence to the online dance community.
Company Class video reaching a record 50k+ views on YouTube
Bringing Back Team Merchandise
Since beginning this role, I have been the designer for company merchandise. These t-shirts were eventually given to team members, used for performances, and sold externally to fundraise for the organization.
03 Website
Introductory Website
The original website was made on weebly and in much need of an update- both in terms of visual appearance and information. Using the same baseline categories, I created a simple interactive and engaging landing page that attracts newcomers to get involved with the team.
Old website front page
New website front page
iPhone & Tablet Interactions
I made sure to maintain the visual precedents in our marketing such as our bold color scheme, phunky typography, and paper-scrapbook aesthetic while making it clear who we are- a fun and creative group of dancers.
[BONUS] Interactive Dance Foundations🕺
During my Interactive Design class, I used an opportunity to create a figma interactive website to expand upon a shared company interest in learning the background of hip-hop dance history and culture.
In this interactive, users can explore the different foundational styles of hip-hop and learn about it's history, core movements, and see popular examples!
04 Conclusion
Outcomes
Updated Instagram, Youtube, Discord, and Tiktok highlighting the strengths, talent, and community within the team.
Merchandise sold to 80+ people fundraising over $1.5k for the company.
Increased attendance at auditions and company classes.
Over 44k accounts reached through Instagram and 242% more engagement.
A combined total of over 10 thousand views on Youtube and Tiktok.
Final Thoughts
Dance is a medium that requires constant community engagement to flourish. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, which led to a decline in attendance and a temporary dip in the team's popularity, I recognized the emergence of a new generation eager to connect through dance. Embracing this enthusiasm, I directed my efforts towards leveraging the mass market appeal of dance. By placing trust in the collective excitement for dance, I was able to channel my creativity into producing vibrant and captivating content, ultimately drawing in individuals who shared a genuine interest in the art form.
Credits
Angelina Deleon, Co-Marketing Director, Videography & Copywriting
Juneus Magsakay, Photography & Videography
Ally Hartstein & Lia Milescu, Directors