University of Reading 2025 Punct Degree Show

This was a group real job that required me and four others to design and build the 2025 University of Reading Degree Show. A degree show is the end of year showcase for final year students to be able to display their work to potential employers and the general public, so making sure the look and feel of the show matched the quality of work on display was vital. The brand identity was centred around punctuation and punk to create the brand name ‘pucnt’. This idea started off very cliched by using paper rips and halftone effects. This visual style developed by using letters and punctation scanned in from letterpress prints which is design that uses processes that the Reading Typography Department are known for. This also gave us the texture that punk design is famous for including. The colour pallet is something that also developed throughout the project, turning from a hot pink, that felt basic and obvious, to a bright yellow as our primary colour. This would also be paired with a strong black and a bold red that would be used as our action colour. This all together with the type created a unique design that could still be instantly recognisable as punk design.

Deliverables

Invitation

This was a large project with multiple deliverables that needed to all be completed to a very strict deadline so that the degree show didn't look rushed and everyone who could come was invited. Once we had found our identity, our next job was to hand out physical invitations to over 1000 people. This meant coming up with a unique design for the invitation and then working as a group to fill and stamp each envelope. We chose a black envelope to not only be in keeping with our colour palette but also so that the invitation has a presence and can stand out nicely against the card.

Entrance panel

This deliverable would prove the most taxing as it meant working at a huge size. This meant that our punctuation scans had to be of an extremely high quality while not losing any of the texture. This came out very well and was said to be a great opening sight to the degree show. We also took advantage of the windows as using as much of the physical space was very important to keep the visitors immersed in the experience.

Stamp panel

We knew we wanted to have an interactive element in our show so that the visitors can make their own mark. This idea developed throughout the design process, changing from just having a pun for which people could write a little message to designing and ordering ten different stamps that all use the brands punctuation we had previously used. This was then coupled with pens and two different colours of ink, black and red, so that visitors could have a fun and experiment with multiple ways of making their mark. This was for a lot of people we spoke to their favourite element of the show. The images bellow show the beginning and end of the stamp panel for the first day of opening.

Instagram & Website

Check out the degree show's Instagram and website we designed for the show that showcases a selection of work from each student. They also follows the design principles used across the rest of the branding.

@punctdegreeshow

punct.design

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