Launch Pad
Johnson & Wales University Launch Pad
2024
The Launch Pad is Johnson & Wales University's entrepreneurship center, helping students develop and launch their business ideas. Ahead of their Fall 2024 opening, they commissioned a brochure to introduce the center and communicate their three-stage program — Explorer, Experimenter, and Venturer — in a tone that felt inviting and playful.
Role
Layout Designer, Illustrator
Tools
Adobe Indesign, Adobe Illustrator
Deliverables
Brochure, illustrations
Challenge
The brochure needed to do a lot at once: introduce a brand new center, explain a three-stage program, and actually get students to stop and read it. The risk was producing something that felt too text-heavy or corporate — the opposite of the approachable, energetic identity the Launch Pad needed to establish from day one.
Development
To avoid a word-heavy layout, I introduced an astronaut mascot to guide readers through the three stages — keeping the tone fun while giving the information a visual anchor. The space theme tied directly into the "Launch Pad" brand personality, making it feel intentional rather than decorative. I pushed the concept further by shaping the front panel as a spaceship with a die-cut window revealing the mascot — turning a standard brochure into something tactile and interactive.
The Work
The finished brochure carried the space theme consistently across all panels, balancing illustration, layout, and copy into a cohesive branded piece. The die-cut detail gave it a physical quality that made it stand out from typical promotional materials.
The Result
The designs were adopted by the Launch Pad for both social media promotion and in-person events, helping connect hundreds of students to the center's resources. It was a strong exercise in translating an existing brand identity into a layout that was functional, engaging, and true to the program's spirit.
