Development of Brand Identity for a Student Organization – GitCub

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Overview

Project Title:
Development of Brand Identity for a Student Organization – GitCub

Project Type:
Organization Project

Role:
Designer · Brand Strategist · Organization Secretary

Responsibilities:
Led the conceptualization, strategy development, visual identity creation, and implementation of the organization’s branding system in collaboration with organization officers and institutional stakeholders.

Tools Used:
Canva • Adobe Photoshop

The Problem

GitCub was a newly established student organization under the Institute of Computing and Digital Innovation (ICDI) of Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Dasmariñas. Founded during the institution’s pioneering years, the organization needed a complete visual identity from the ground up.

The challenge was not simply to create a logo, but to establish a cohesive and recognizable brand identity that could represent the organization’s mission, values, and culture across both digital and physical platforms.

At the time, the university itself was still undergoing rapid organizational and branding developments. Since the institution only started operating in 2021, several departments were continuously implementing adjustments, including changes to official branding guidelines and color systems. This created a moving target for the organization’s identity development.

The most significant challenge centered around the logo design process. Months after the establishment of the organization’s logo and branding materials — particularly after the identity direction had already been approved and implemented — the university revised its official institutional color palette to align with the City of Dasmariñas branding system. As a result, the organization’s logo color palette had to be revised to comply with the updated institutional branding requirements, including the redesign and adjustment of previously developed branding materials that already incorporated the original logo system. This required a strategic redesign that preserved the organization’s established identity while adapting to newly mandated institutional branding requirements.

The project therefore needed to solve several key problems:

Create a distinctive identity for a newly formed organization with no existing visual foundation
Balance professionalism with a student-centered and approachable image
Ensure adaptability across uniforms, merchandise, publications, and digital platforms
Differentiate the organization from visually similar campus organizations
Align with evolving university branding requirements without losing brand recognition
Build an identity that students would feel proud to wear and represent

The Analysis

Understanding the Organization

GitCub was founded on October 11, 2022, by pioneering students who wanted to create a collaborative academic community focused on mentorship, growth, and peer support within the field of computing and digital innovation.

The organization officially received institutional recognition on December 22, 2022.

At its core, GitCub aimed to foster:

Academic collaboration
Leadership development
Technical growth
Student mentorship
Community and belonging

During discussions with founding officers and members, I gathered recurring themes that later became the foundation of the organization’s visual identity strategy.

The recurring themes included:

Strength
Leadership
Confidence
Innovation
Unity

My objective was to translate these themes into an identity system that felt modern, memorable, and institutionally credible without appearing overly formal or intimidating to students.

Concept Exploration

Logo Shape Analysis – Why the Shield?

After analyzing existing student organization identities, I strategically selected the shield shape because it communicated:

Strength
Leadership
Protection of values
Honor
Identity
Authority
Distinction

Unlike circular logos that often blend into institutional environments, the shield structure created strong silhouette recognition even before typography or color were processed.

The shield became a symbolic statement:
GitCub would not simply imitate existing organizations — it would establish its own identity.

Symbol & Element Selection

The logo system featured:

A lion cub face
A shield base structure
Golden leaf framing
Modern “Debug” typography for GitCub name

Symbolic Meaning of the Elements

Element	Meaning
Lion Cub	Growth, curiosity, courage, emerging leadership
Shield	Protection, strength, honor, distinction
Golden Leaves	Achievement, growth, excellence
Modern Typography	Innovation, technology, contemporary identity

Why the Lion Cub?

One of the most important conceptual decisions I proposed during the project was the use of the lion cub as the organization’s central symbol.

The “cub” in GitCub evolved beyond a simple wordplay reference and became a symbolic representation of the organization’s identity, aspirations, and growth journey.

Symbolism of the Cub

I developed the lion cub concept to represent:

Emerging leadership
Potential and growth
Courage despite being young
Curiosity and learning
Future strength in development

This symbolism closely mirrored the reality of the organization itself. GitCub was founded by pioneering students within a newly established university. Much like a cub still growing into its strength, the organization represented students who were still developing their technical skills, identities, and leadership capabilities.

Rather than portraying dominance or authority through a fully mature lion, I intentionally chose the cub because it communicated something more relatable and authentic:
growth in progress.

This approach made the identity more approachable to students while still retaining symbolism associated with strength, bravery, confidence, and leadership.

The cub also aligned with the organization’s mentorship-driven culture. It symbolized students learning together, supporting one another, and gradually growing into future professionals and leaders in technology.

Color Palette Analysis

The initial color palette of the GitCub identity system was developed with blue as the primary color, supported by black and dark gray for the shield structure, gray tones for the organization name in a modern “Debug”-style typography, and orange-gold accents for the leaf elements.

The blue-based direction was chosen to communicate trust, loyalty, and reliability, while reinforcing a professional yet approachable identity. Combined with the shield and golden leaf elements, the overall system conveyed strength, prestige, and emerging leadership.

Following institutional review and updated university branding guidelines, the primary color was revised from blue to green to align with the official school color system. This adjustment shifted the identity focus toward growth, harmony, and development while maintaining the original visual structure.

The revised palette—green, black, gold, and gray—preserved the core symbolism of the design while ensuring compliance with institutional standards and maintaining brand consistency across all applications.

Uniform Design Analysis

During my observation of various student organizations within our university and other institutions, I noticed that most organizations commonly relied on traditional polo shirts as their primary uniform system. However, this approach often resulted in visual similarity across different organizations, limiting distinctiveness and identity expression.

To address this, I proposed a vest-based identity system inspired by Korean school uniform layering aesthetics and contemporary youth fashion culture, aiming to create stronger visual differentiation while maintaining a modern and student-centered appeal.

The Apparel Direction – Why the Vest?

Instead of following the conventional polo shirt format, I introduced a layered vest-based uniform direction.

The vest system achieved several strategic objectives:

Increased visual distinction
Greater styling flexibility
Stronger fashion relevance for students
Better alignment with youth culture
Stronger integration with the shield-based identity system

The layered structure also allowed members to wear the vest over existing school uniforms or casual clothing, making the apparel system both practical and expressive.

To reinforce brand recognition while maintaining institutional professionalism, I positioned the organization logo on the left chest area of the vest.

The Strategy

Rather than designing only a logo, my objective was to build a recognizable organizational identity that would help GitCub establish credibility, attract members, and create a strong sense of belonging during its formative years.

As a newly established student organization within a newly founded institution, GitCub required more than visual assets—it needed an identity that could communicate its purpose, differentiate it from other organizations, and remain adaptable as both the organization and the university evolved.

Defining the Brand Narrative

I developed a brand narrative centered on the idea of growth through collaboration.

GitCub was founded by pioneering students pursuing careers in computing and digital innovation. Much like a lion cub growing into its full potential, the organization represented students who were continuously developing their technical expertise, leadership capabilities, and professional identities.

This narrative positioned GitCub not simply as a student organization, but as a community where aspiring technology professionals could learn, collaborate, and grow together.

The concept became the foundation for both the visual identity and the organization’s culture.

Establishing Brand Positioning

I positioned GitCub as more than an academic organization.

The brand was designed to represent a community of future innovators, leaders, and problem-solvers united by a shared passion for technology, learning, and mentorship.

This positioning helped differentiate GitCub from traditional student organizations by emphasizing personal growth, leadership development, and peer support alongside academic engagement.

The goal was to create an identity that students would be proud to represent both inside and outside the classroom.

Creating a Distinctive Visual Presence

To avoid visual similarity with existing student organizations, I developed a branding system built around strong symbolic recognition.

The shield structure, lion cub symbol, and achievement-oriented visual elements were intentionally selected to communicate:

Leadership
Growth
Courage
Unity
Excellence

Together, these elements created a distinctive visual identity capable of standing out across campus events, recruitment activities, digital platforms, and organizational publications.

Rather than relying solely on institutional symbolism, the identity was designed to create an emotional connection between members and the organization.

Designing for Organizational Pride and Belonging

A key strategic objective was to strengthen member identification with the organization.

To achieve this, I extended the identity beyond the logo by creating a unified apparel system, merchandise applications, and digital assets that allowed members to visibly represent the organization.

The vest-based uniform direction was intentionally developed to create a stronger sense of distinction, modernity, and community ownership compared to conventional student organization uniforms.

By transforming the identity into something students could wear, display, and interact with, the brand became a tool for fostering belonging and organizational pride.

Building for Scalability and Institutional Alignment

Because both GitCub and the university were evolving simultaneously, the identity system needed to remain flexible enough to accommodate future institutional changes.

The branding framework was therefore designed to function consistently across:

Social media platforms
Organizational publications
Campus events
Recruitment campaigns
Official documents
Uniforms and merchandise
Motion graphics and video content

When institutional branding requirements were later revised, the identity system was strategically adapted to align with the university’s updated standards while preserving the visual recognition and symbolism that members had already embraced.

This ensured that the brand could evolve without losing the equity it had already built within the organization.

Creating a Sustainable Identity System

Beyond immediate implementation, the strategy focused on establishing a long-term identity framework capable of supporting GitCub’s future growth.

The logo architecture, apparel system, merchandise applications, and usage guidelines were developed to ensure consistency across future officers, members, events, and communication channels.

The result was not simply a logo redesign, but a scalable identity system that helped transform GitCub from a newly founded student organization into a recognizable and cohesive community within the university.

The Solution

Revision Process of the Logo Design

The development of the GitCub logo followed an iterative design process that involved initial concept creation, internal refinement, and multiple rounds of institutional evaluation. I developed the initial logo draft to establish the organization’s visual direction and later refined the design through discussions and feedback from the organization officers until it was internally approved. At this stage, the branding system aligned with the university’s original institutional identity standards and supported the organization’s accreditation process for formal recognition.

Logo Draft

Previous GitCub Logo

Final GitCub Logo

As part of a university-wide evaluation for recognized student organizations, I later resubmitted the logo for institutional review. During this period, the university updated its official branding guidelines and color standards aligned with the City of Dasmariñas branding system. In response, I revised the logo’s color palette while preserving the identity’s original symbolism, structure, and visual recognition. The revised logo was subsequently approved and adopted by the organization.

Final Deliverables

Merchandise Applications

Facebook Banner

Email Signature

Logo Animation for Media Publications

The Results

The GitCub branding system was officially adopted and implemented across the organization’s activities, publications, apparel, merchandise, recruitment campaigns, and event materials.

The identity became a recognizable visual presence within campus events and student activities.

By its second year of operation, GitCub experienced approximately 40% membership growth following the implementation of the organization’s branding and apparel system. The strengthened visual identity significantly enhanced the organization’s campus presence, with the vest-based apparel direction becoming one of GitCub’s most recognizable and distinctive assets during recruitment activities, public events, and institutional engagements.

Community Reception

Feedback from organization officers and members was overwhelmingly positive.

The organization particularly appreciated:

The uniqueness of the shield-based identity
The professionalism of the logo system
The modern and stylish uniform direction
The adaptability of the branding across multiple applications

Although the institutional revision request presented one of the project’s challenges, the redesign process ultimately strengthened the identity by improving institutional alignment while preserving the organization’s visual recognition.

Long-Term Impact

The branding system continues to function as a foundational identity for GitCub through:

Event participation
Merchandise production
Recruitment campaigns
Organizational publications
Campus representation

Additional implementations included:

Embroidered logo patches
Organization jackets
Engraved tumblers
Video publication assets

The project demonstrated how strategic branding can help a newly established student organization build credibility, unity, visibility, and recognition within a developing academic institution.

Designing the GitCub identity was more than creating visuals — it was about building a symbol for a pioneering student community during the formative years of both the organization and the university itself.

As both a founding officer and the lead designer behind the organization’s visual identity system, the project became an opportunity to shape not only how GitCub looked, but how it would be recognized and remembered within the university community.

The experience reinforced the importance of:

Research-driven identity decisions
Flexibility within institutional systems
Designing for long-term scalability
Creating emotional connection through symbolism
Strategic adaptability during revision processes

Most importantly, the project demonstrated that student organizations can develop identities that are both institutionally aligned and creatively distinctive.

GitCub’s branding evolved beyond a logo system — it became a representation of growth, ambition, collaboration, and the courage to build something new.

Apparel Design -Brand Identity -Brand Strategy -Graphic Design -Logo Design -Merchandise Design -Student Organization -Visual Identity