LISA ORYE
Branding & Design
Listen.Amplify.Repeat.
Screening & Exhibition Event Identity
Wide Angle Youth Media — Baltimore, Maryland
Creative Direction · Design Research · Icon & Pattern Design · Print Design · Motion Graphics · Production Management · Mentorship · Naming · Editorial & Digital Design
Wide Angle Youth Media needed an identity for its annual donor event — a system that could carry the organization's mission into something donors, families, and community partners could see, hold, and feel part of. Getting there meant starting with the people the event was actually for, not a blank sketchbook.
Research First, Design Second
Focus groups and surveys with participants and stakeholders helped shape the event experience itself — what people needed to feel welcomed, informed, and invested in the night. But the creative direction came from a different process: writing exercises, ideation sessions, and a co-creation effort I led with a design apprentice I was mentoring. Together, we worked through concepts until a 90s-inspired direction emerged — an identity system carried through icon and pattern design, large-format posters, invitations, motion graphics, and interactive installations for the night-of presentation.
Keeping the Room Open
Throughout the project, I kept a team of young design apprentices in the room for every major decision — not just to observe, but to shape the event directly, contributing to social media posts, writing, photoshoots, naming, and branding. The research we did together turned out to be some of the most valuable input of the whole process..
Social media deliverables doubled as a teaching moment — I introduced the apprentice team to GIF-making, and together we pulled off a full photoshoot, custom GIFs, and copywriting.
Built to Be Read, Not Just Referenced
Of everything in the system, the program guide is where that direction went the deepest. Rather than the usual list of times and speakers, I broke from the traditional single-sheet schedule and built something closer to a magazine — a long-form piece designed to be read, not just referenced. Bold color-blocked pages, oversized pull quotes, "pop quiz" callouts, and playful iconography carried the 90s aesthetic through every spread.
Beyond the schedule and event map, I built out short editorial features: a behind-the-scenes design story written by a student design apprentice, a youth-voice op-ed on social media identity, a program pathway infographic mapping Wide Angle's full youth pipeline, client spotlights, board and parent testimonials, and a "choose your media-maker persona" interactive spread. Each piece gave readers a deeper, more textured understanding of the organization's impact — not just an itinerary for the night.
A Keepsake, Not a Handout
The program guide became a piece that felt less like an event program and more like a keepsake — something attendees would actually hold onto, read cover to cover, and pass along.
United by a Theme
The night itself brought together a wide mix of people under one roof — donors, board members, instructors, students, and families — each experiencing the event differently, but united by the same theme running through every touchpoint. Many guests arrived dressed in their own 90s-inspired attire, turning the identity system into something people didn't just observe but wore into the room. Guests moved between film screenings and student presentations, browsed interactive exhibits and youth project displays, played the 90s-themed games woven into the space, and stopped to read the program guide itself as a piece of the experience, not just a schedule to consult and set aside.
That range was the point. A donor deciding whether to give, a board member reflecting on impact, a younger sibling excited to see their family member's work on screen, an instructor watching a student's growth on display — each found their own way into the same 90s-inspired world.
Beyond the mentorship, I led creative direction of the full project from concept to in-hand delivery — preparing files for print vendors, coordinating production timelines, and keeping the work on schedulet. Together, research, design, and production turned mission and insight into a cohesive experience guests could see, hold, and be part of.
