Between the Guidelines: RISD × Gretel

Welcome to the second edition of Between the Guidelines, where we look closer at projects made with Standards and talk to the designers behind the work.

Today we speak with Andrea Trabucco-Campos, Creative Director at NY-based Gretel, and the design lead on their recent rebrand of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

Watch our conversation below where we discuss what it was like to work on the project, share a behind-the-scenes look at the process, and discuss the future of guidelines.

Interview with Andrea Trabucco-Campos, Gretel

“We really could feel the weight of some of the illustrious alumni looking in on the project.”

Tackling a rebrand of this magnitude is a daunting task in any situation. But what if your client is one of the world’s most prestigious art and design schools, with a talented alumni spread across the world ready to judge your next move?

Facing such a challenging task, we spoke one-on-one with Andrea to hear about the project behind-the-scenes, gain insights to how the project progressed, got approved, and eventually went live as guidelines made with Standards.

“There’s a deep love for the institution, and one of the greatest things that we can do as designers is amplify others and make sure that our work is speaking truly to them…”

Partnering with London-based strategists OnRoad, Gretel approached the project with a heavy emphasis on involving the school’s community throughout the process—from students, to faculty, alumni, and the internal RISD team leading the project.

This included publishing the RISD Identity Framework detailing the process, research, approach, and updates for the project—all aimed at engaging the school community in the process and allowing their voices to be heard.

Gretel concluded the project by building the identity guidelines in Standards before transferring ownership of the project. The RISD team continue to maintain, update, and share the guidelines with the world as a publicly accessible website. This openness and willingness to share knowledge for others to learn fits neatly with both how this project was lead by Gretel, and RISD’s values as educators.

View guidelines ↗

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Thank you to Andrea for taking the time to speak with us, and to the Gretel and RISD teams for trusting your guidelines with Standards and helping improve our product.

Extras

RISD Identity Framework site by Gretel & OnRoad
Gretel’s RISD case study
Work by Andrea Trabucco-Campos
The Follow Up Podcast, Episode 059: RISD
Intro music by Fay