Graphic designer and photographer.
Currently: Texas McCombs School of Business.

Texas McCombs Business Outlook Series

For the Texas McCombs School of Business, I developed a flexible visual system for the Business Outlook Series — a multi-city event spanning Dallas and Houston — designed to scale across physical, digital, and social environments while maintaining clarity and consistency.

The system needed to function across more than a dozen touchpoints, adapt to city-specific themes, and establish a foundation that could evolve year-over-year rather than reset annually.

Role: Creative Direction, Visual System Design, Graphic Design

The Challenge + Strategic Pivot

The initial ask was to visually lean into each city’s theme — energy in Houston and real estate in Dallas. Early exploration revealed that a literal approach risked fragmenting the identity and limiting its longevity across platforms and future iterations.

After aligning with stakeholders, the direction shifted toward a more abstract, system-driven approach — one that could suggest each city’s character without locking the identity to narrow visual metaphors. This allowed the series to feel cohesive at a glance while still remaining adaptable at the city level.

System Logic

The identity was built around a modular shape system:

  • Circles representing energy and momentum (Houston)

  • Squares representing structure and development (Dallas)

  • Triangles acting as a shared, McCombs-aligned “glue” element across both

By adjusting the proportion and emphasis of these shapes, the system could subtly skew toward either city while remaining unmistakably part of the same event series. This approach balanced flexibility with brand consistency and reduced the need for bespoke assets across applications.

Motion Concepts

Motion was considered as a behavioral extension of the system rather than a stylistic layer.

Conceptually, motion draws from the commonality between molecules of energy and building blocks — elements converging, aligning, and resolving into structured compositions. Movement is purposeful and directional, reinforcing clarity rather than spectacle.

This approach allows motion to scale across environments — from social clips to internal presentations — while staying aligned with the identity’s core logic.

Real-World Applications

The system was applied across a wide range of materials, including:

  • Large-scale stage environments

  • Event signage and environmental graphics

  • Web and registration pages

  • Social media and digital promotion

  • Physical collateral such as badges and tote bags

Each application relied on the same underlying framework, enabling fast production without sacrificing cohesion.

City-Specific Adaptation

While the system remained consistent, city-specific materials adjusted shape balance to reflect local emphasis.

Houston materials leaned more heavily on circular forms to suggest energy and flow, while Dallas applications emphasized square geometry to reflect structure and development. These shifts were subtle but effective, allowing the identity to feel tailored without becoming fragmented.

Houston (Energy)

Dallas (Real Estate)

Longevity + What This Enables Next

While the event is upcoming and performance data is not yet available, internal feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. More importantly, the system establishes a foundation that can evolve over time — enabling future motion work, expanded city rollouts, and iterative refinements without re-inventing the identity each year.

This positions the Business Outlook Series as a scalable platform rather than a one-off campaign.