Montag School’s branding fuses corporate trust with creative appeal, using Google Slides assets to reach diverse audiences.

Creating a brand identity for an educational institution like Montag School requires balancing the rigorous standards of corporate audiences with the appeal needed to engage a younger, learning-focused crowd. In this project by Monga Design, Montag School’s visual branding comes to life with a thoughtful, dual-purpose approach that reaches across the boundaries of institutional professionalism and educational creativity.

Montag School’s goal was to represent itself as a trustworthy, contemporary leader in personalized education. This meant moving away from conventional, corporate-heavy design toward a more flexible and approachable brand image. The resulting visual identity integrates both institutional authority and a fresh, dynamic appeal, capturing the trustworthiness expected in corporate circles while aligning with the openness and innovation desired in education.

One of the project’s standout qualities is its focus on balance. By addressing both institutional credibility and the youthful appeal needed for online and in-person classes, the branding reinforces Montag’s positioning as a leader in educational innovation. The design combines strong visual cues—such as clean lines and modern typography—with a vibrant color palette, adding depth to both the brand’s academic and professional facets.

Leveraging Google Slides for Visual Consistency

An innovative aspect of this project is the use of Google Slides as a foundational tool for asset creation. This choice reflects an understanding of Montag’s operational needs and the educational landscape’s demands for accessibility and efficiency. By designing custom graphics within Google Slides, Monga Design created a versatile, cost-effective solution for maintaining consistent visuals across various educational materials. Google Slides not only provides easy customization but also aligns with the widespread use of this tool in both corporate and learning environments, allowing Montag to produce branded materials in-house without requiring extensive software training.

Montag School’s branding thoughtfully considers its diverse target audiences. For in-company courses and corporate conventions, the brand maintains a polished, professional tone, ensuring credibility and trust in a business context. Simultaneously, for students attending online and in-person classes, the brand incorporates a more engaging, youthful look. The graphics, colors, and animations appeal to students by creating an approachable and modern learning environment.

Monga Design introduced animations for key assets to add a layer of interactivity to Montag’s branding. These animations, crafted by Clint Studio, enhance the brand’s visual appeal while ensuring they resonate with both young learners and seasoned professionals. This visual dynamism strengthens the brand’s reach by making it adaptable to the changing demands of the educational landscape.

The design team approached this branding project with a detailed, collaborative process. Their “Visual Thermometer” meeting—a strategy to explore visual possibilities rather than set rigid creative guidelines—proved essential for crafting a design that was both client-centered and creative. By aligning client preferences with design expertise, they established a visual identity that resonates on multiple levels, providing a cohesive experience for all audiences.

Montag School’s branding successfully bridges the gap between education and business, providing a clear, attractive, and credible visual identity that aligns with the brand’s values. By balancing a contemporary, accessible aesthetic with the professionalism expected in corporate circles, Montag School positions itself as a modern leader in education, with a visual identity that can grow with its expanding audience.

For more on this project, you can view the video case here.

Branding and visual identity artifacts

Credits

• Visual identity: Monga Design → Mateus Yuzo and Michel Refatti
• Motion: Clint Studio → Gustavo Brazzalle, Lucas José Galego e Luciano Burger

Discover how TRÜF’s “Weird Fishes” splash screen for Adobe Illustrator 2025 celebrates creativity with vibrant, minimalist illustration.

The Adobe Illustrator 2025 splash screen opens with a statement: creativity meets minimalism. Designed by TRÜF Studio, the “Weird Fishes” artwork that greets users embodies Adobe’s tools while making an instant visual impact. This splash screen not only excites users about the app but also showcases Illustrator’s dynamic possibilities, creating a memorable start to the creative process. Here’s a look at the creative vision, tools, and collaboration behind this unique splash screen update.

“Weird Fishes”: A Showcase of Creative Tools

TRÜF’s “Weird Fishes” centers on playfully stylized fish, created using Adobe Illustrator’s updated typography and 3D tools, which highlight the 2025 release’s expanded capabilities. This splash screen is a celebration of how Illustrator can bring out unique textures, gradients, and typographic designs, making it feel like a blend of traditional and digital artistry. The design follows Adam G’s distinctive style—minimal yet quirky, with each element purposefully crafted to show off Adobe’s creative potential.

The splash screen, as Adobe intended, isn’t just a loading screen. It’s a reminder of what Illustrator users can “Dream Up.” As Alex Fernald and Gleren Meneghin, Adobe’s staff designers, emphasized, the splash screens are not only entry points into the app but connections to Adobe’s creative community. They bring in commissioned art, linking Illustrator users to other creators while inviting exploration of the software’s capabilities.

Balancing Art and Function in the Design

This splash screen’s journey began the old-fashioned way—on paper. This initial sketching phase gave TRÜF the freedom to experiment with the composition, exploring the balance of shapes and lines. Once refined, the concept moved into Illustrator, where TRÜF fully explored the software’s features to enhance the digital version. In a brief, 90-second process video, TRÜF showcased their workflow from sketch to the finished splash screen, a rare peek into how minimalist, impactful design comes together.

A User-Centric Approach to Illustration

Adobe’s splash screens, including “Weird Fishes,” are a result of ongoing feedback from users. Through surveys sent to product teams, Adobe designers Alex and Gleren learned the nuances that users valued in the loading screen—like minimal launch delays and artist recognition. This feedback shaped the design, ensuring the new splash screens would spotlight the artist while maintaining the program’s efficiency.

To make the splash screen visually immersive, Adobe made adjustments based on past feedback. The artwork was enlarged, and the artist’s name appears in a larger, bold typeface, creating a clearer hierarchy that celebrates both the art and artist. As the Adobe Spectrum design system evolved, so did the splash screens, aligning with modern standards while preserving Adobe’s commitment to showcasing diverse creative voices.

Reflecting Adobe’s Evolution with Modern Minimalism

Historically, Illustrator splash screens have evolved alongside the Adobe brand. From early versions in the 1980s, featuring iconic art references, to today’s community-focused pieces, these screens highlight a shift from static visuals to dynamic creative introductions. Adobe’s recent redesign, led by Fernald and Meneghin, reimagined this format to center both the artist and the Adobe brand, using clean type and colors while expanding the visual space for the artwork. This shift reaffirms Adobe’s mission to foster connections within its creative ecosystem.

The splash screens across Adobe products are meant to offer a consistent brand experience, but each one also tells a unique story, showcasing the latest in illustration and design through collaboration with Studio team artists. Adobe’s team expanded the artwork’s size, adjusting its specs back to 2019 dimensions to create a more immersive user experience. The Adobe wordmark in red stands beside the product name in black, emphasizing the connection between Adobe and its creative community.

The Legacy and Future of Adobe Splash Screens

“What’s next?” is a question Adobe’s designers are always answering. With the 2025 Illustrator splash screen’s debut at Adobe MAX 2024, Adobe introduced the latest evolution in Creative Cloud. These splash screens remain essential touchpoints, showcasing new work, enhancing user experience, and connecting each user to Adobe’s creative network.

TRÜF’s “Weird Fishes” invites Illustrator users to think beyond the ordinary. It’s a nod to the creative possibilities the software enables, a tribute to digital and analog techniques, and a reminder that every creative journey begins with opening Adobe Illustrator.

This splash screen illustration is a subtle invitation for creatives to make the most of Illustrator’s tools and capabilities, setting the stage for inspired design from the moment they open the app.

Illustration artifacts

Pillow manufactured by Adobe. Photo courtesy of Adobe

Learn how BUCK redefined branding and visual identity for GitHub Universe ’24 with monumental design inspired by code.

The annual GitHub Universe event is a celebration of innovation, bringing together some of the brightest minds in software development. This year, GitHub partnered with BUCK, a renowned global creative company, to reimagine the event’s visual identity. Inspired by the theme “The World’s Fair of Software,” BUCK transformed GitHub Universe ’24 into a visually immersive experience that blended the past and future of software culture. Here’s a look at how this collaboration pushed the boundaries of branding and visual identity.

The Creative Vision: Merging Tradition and Progress

GitHub Universe ‘24 marked a milestone as the event’s tenth edition. This special occasion called for a branding overhaul that both paid homage to GitHub’s legacy and celebrated the event’s ongoing evolution. BUCK’s approach was rooted in capturing the spirit of World’s Fairs, where innovation and collaboration take center stage. Ward Graumans, BUCK’s Creative Director, emphasized their intent: “We aimed to create a look that celebrates this milestone while pushing the brand forward.”

The visual system developed by BUCK didn’t just rehash previous designs. Instead, it evolved into a toolkit that incorporated new elements while staying true to GitHub’s core identity. Central to the branding were what BUCK called “Monuments of Progress.” These unique structures were a reinterpretation of their prior 2D shape library, elevated to represent key GitHub values. Each monument carried icons, mascots, and insider references from the developer community, merging playful aesthetics with thoughtful design.

Key Elements of the Visual Identity

BUCK crafted a comprehensive design system that tied together various aspects of GitHub’s event branding. The system integrated fresh color palettes, new typography, and updated logos, all influenced by the visual language of coding. The Monuments of Progress became the standout feature, serving both as iconic standalone pieces and as the basis for hero visuals. This creative concept was not just about aesthetics; it reinforced the event’s narrative, with each visual element acting as a beacon of innovation.

Beyond static design, BUCK brought these monuments to life through animations and dynamic visuals. They created a suite of digital assets, from social media content to an introductory film that illuminated the event stages. This multimedia approach ensured that GitHub Universe ’24 had a cohesive yet lively visual identity, both online and in person.

Collaboration and Execution

The development of this branding system was a collaborative effort between BUCK, GitHub’s in-house design studio, event producers, and external partners. The process involved tight communication and shared creative insights. According to Adam Walden, VP of Brand and Corporate Marketing at GitHub, “BUCK continues to bring taste, craft, story, and incredible attention to detail to everything we do together.” This close-knit collaboration resulted in a unified event experience that resonated across different platforms.

The team at BUCK didn’t just stop at creating a one-off design for the event. Instead, they developed a branding system with longevity, allowing GitHub to use these assets beyond Universe ’24. This evergreen toolkit ensures a lasting impact on GitHub’s branding efforts, providing flexibility for future campaigns and event rollouts.

Impact and Legacy

GitHub Universe ’24’s branding is more than a visual facelift; it’s an invitation to engage and explore. By drawing from coding elements and honoring the developer community, BUCK and GitHub have created a design system that feels both cutting-edge and familiar. The Monuments of Progress symbolize GitHub’s role as a hub of innovation, while the refined color schemes and typography elevate the brand’s visual language.

This collaboration sets a new standard for event branding in the tech industry. BUCK’s creative solutions not only reflect GitHub’s ethos but also celebrate the people and projects that make the developer ecosystem thrive. It’s a testament to the power of thoughtful design and the impact of a strong, cohesive visual identity.

The reimagined visual identity for GitHub Universe ’24 exemplifies how branding can serve as a narrative tool. BUCK’s designs invite viewers to think of software development not just as code, but as a world full of creativity and progress. As GitHub continues to grow, this branding system will be a cornerstone of its visual storytelling, inspiring developers and designers alike.

GitHub Universe ’24, with its bold and vibrant identity, proves that a well-crafted brand can amplify the spirit of an event. BUCK’s collaboration with GitHub has set a high bar, showing how design, when rooted in community and culture, can make an event feel like a true celebration of innovation.

Branding and visual identity artifacts

About GitHub

GitHub is the most widely adopted Copilot-powered developer platform to build, scale, and deliver secure software. Over 100 million developers, including more than 90% of the Fortune 100 companies, use GitHub to collaborate and more than 77,000 organizations have adopted GitHub Copilot.

About BUCK

BUCK is a global creative company that combines design, technology, and storytelling to create compelling experiences for brands. Founded in 2004, BUCK has built a reputation for outstanding craftsmanship and innovation through collaboration with a wide range of clients across the cultural and technology spheres, including Nike, Apple, Netflix, IBM, Airbnb, and Google. Recognized as an industry leader, BUCK’s trophy case includes two Emmys, multiple gold Cannes Lions, Clios, pencils, cubes, and over 200 other awards from the most prestigious competitions in the world.

BUCK is in Residence, a collective of beautifully curated companies with the shared goal of empowering creative potential.

Explore how Graphic Hunters’ visual identity redefines sports branding through innovative design inspired by fashion and art.

Graphic Hunters, a Dutch studio dedicated to sports branding, isn’t playing by the typical design rulebook. Instead, their newly crafted visual identity steps outside the confines of traditional sports aesthetics, introducing elements drawn from fashion and high design. The result is a high-impact, versatile identity that positions Graphic Hunters as a creative club worth joining—whether as a client or a collaborator.

A New Playbook for Sports Branding

At the heart of Graphic Hunters’ approach is the idea that the sports industry deserves a more refined and exclusive visual experience. This belief is woven into every part of their branding, which Monga Design and Vogau led with a clear vision. The goal was to create a system that balances functionality with creative exploration, breaking conventions while still delivering practical, adaptable solutions for various applications.

This innovative take on visual identity isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a strategy aimed at redefining the brand’s place in the market. Graphic Hunters has always described itself as a team hungry for new challenges, and now, their brand identity reflects that spirit. The new look aims to make the studio stand out in the sports arena and beyond, appealing to clients and team members who value originality and impact.

Graphic Hunters’ identity combines familiar elements from the sports world—like motion and heat—with unexpected treatments. The design team drew inspiration from fashion and abstract art to create a visual language that transcends typical sports branding. This cross-pollination of ideas manifests in several core elements:

1. Typographic Experimentation: Instead of relying on traditional sports typefaces, the team played with a variety of fonts that feel bold and contemporary. Typography serves as both structure and disruption, bringing energy to each layout.

2. Photographic Treatments: The identity includes photographs that have been creatively manipulated, breaking up the grid and adding an element of surprise. This technique turns static images into dynamic design features, echoing the constant motion of sports.

3. Grid System and Stickers: To keep the brand’s applications cohesive yet flexible, a structured grid underpins the design. However, this is cleverly offset by playful elements like stickers and graphical interventions, which keep the brand feeling fresh and exciting.

One of the biggest challenges was making the visual system adaptable yet creatively open. Sports branding often leans into themes of power and motion, but Graphic Hunters wanted to do more. The result is a brand that’s equally at home on a team jersey or a digital campaign, seamlessly moving between refined, impactful moments and bold, playful expressions. This adaptability speaks to the studio’s ethos of being a “creative club,” where everyone is encouraged to push the boundaries.

Another essential aspect was research. The design team explored references beyond the sports realm, looking at high fashion and experimental graphic design. This broader inspiration palette allowed Graphic Hunters to create something genuinely unique for the industry. The identity’s experimental typography and abstract motifs capture the feeling of heat and energy—core elements of sports—while grounding them in a sophisticated design language.

Elevating Sports Design Beyond the Field

By combining these unexpected references with a strong foundation of sports elements, Graphic Hunters has crafted a visual identity that is both striking and functional. It stands as a testament to the idea that sports design can be more than bold fonts and action shots. It can be a narrative of innovation and exclusivity, appealing to an audience that appreciates both the adrenaline of sports and the sophistication of high design.

Graphic Hunters’ reimagined branding proves that sports-focused design can be just as experimental and refined as any high-fashion brand. It’s a visual identity that elevates the sports studio into a space where design meets performance, art meets action, and innovation becomes the new norm. As the brand continues to grow, this identity will serve as a powerful statement of their ambition: to bring high-impact, original design to the world of sports, one project at a time.

Branding and visual identity artifacts

Credits

• Authors: Monga Design, Vogau and Clint Studio
• Visual identity: Monga Design (Mateus Yuzo, Michel Refatti) and Vogau (Carlos Eduardo Marin, Gabriela Colebrusco Peres)
• Motion: Clint Studio (Bruno Vitalino, Danilo Coelho, Gustavo Brazzalle, Lucas José Galego, Luciano Burger

Discover Anthony Lam’s captivating illustration work for the HART Curatorship Incubation Programme 2024, blending art with purpose.

HART Collective Limited’s 2024 Curatorship Incubation Programme comes alive through a series of vibrant visuals and social media collaterals designed by Anthony Lam. This illustration project, aimed at amplifying the HART initiative’s reach, seamlessly combines creativity and purpose. Let’s dive into the thought process, design elements, and impact of these compelling illustrations.

Bringing Artful Storytelling to HART

The HART Curatorship Incubation Programme is more than just an event; it’s a platform that nurtures emerging curators and fosters artistic engagement in Hong Kong. For this initiative, HART Haus collaborated with Anthony Lam to create visuals that encapsulate the spirit of innovation and community central to the programme. With a focus on vibrant, eye-catching design, Lam’s illustrations breathe life into the promotional material, making the programme’s message resonate visually.

One of the striking features of this project is the careful choice of typography. The primary typeface used is Degular Display by James Edmondson from OH no Type Co. This choice lends a contemporary and approachable vibe to the design, complementing the modern and energetic illustrations. The type’s bold and clean lines create a sense of structure amidst the dynamic visuals.

Lam’s illustrations use a playful yet sophisticated color palette, striking a balance between the avant-garde and the accessible. The design approach draws heavily from art movements that emphasize form and rhythm, mirroring the essence of a programme that curates art as an experience. Each piece incorporates abstract shapes and flowing patterns that evoke a sense of motion, representing the evolving journey of curatorship and the fluid nature of artistic collaboration.

Illustration isn’t just about static visuals; it’s about telling a story that connects with an audience. For this project, Lam crafted designs meant to adapt seamlessly across multiple platforms, from print to digital media. The social media assets, in particular, utilize animations and interactive elements to capture the attention of a fast-scrolling audience. These designs ensure that the HART Curatorship Incubation Programme stands out in the crowded digital space.

The use of illustration as a core element of the visual identity allows for more flexibility and engagement. It provides a canvas where abstract concepts about art and curatorship can be expressed in a way that feels both authentic and exciting. Whether seen on a poster, a website, or a social post, each visual invites viewers to explore and learn more about the programme.

Illustration plays a crucial role in making art initiatives accessible to a broader audience. By employing a visually striking yet relatable design language, Anthony Lam’s work for HART bridges the gap between curators and the community. The visuals don’t just inform; they inspire curiosity and engagement, which is essential for an incubation programme that seeks to elevate emerging curators.

This collaboration also highlights the impact of thoughtful design in the arts sector. By leveraging illustration, HART Collective can convey complex ideas in a way that is immediately understandable and appealing. The choice of colors, the movement within the compositions, and the bold typography all work together to create a cohesive narrative that draws people in.

The HART Curatorship Incubation Programme’s visual identity showcases how illustration can elevate an arts initiative, making it more engaging and impactful. Anthony Lam’s designs prove that illustration, when done thoughtfully, can serve as a bridge between art and the public, turning viewers into participants and supporters.

This project is a reminder that effective visual identity goes beyond aesthetics; it tells a story that connects and captivates. As HART continues to grow its curatorship programme, the illustrations created for this year’s campaign will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression, drawing more people into the world of art and collaboration.

Graphic design and illustration artifacts

Credits

• Client: HART Haus, HART Collective Limited
• Typeface in use: Degular Display designed by James Edmondson. From OH no Type Co.
• Author: Anthony Lam