Hipstoric Homestead Self-Guided ARt Walk

Carnegie Mellon MA in Design | November-December 2024

Field Research

Graphic Design

Brand Design

Communication Design

Multi-Modal

OVERVIEW

For a Visual Communication Studio course, I worked with another student over five weeks to design branding, physical signage, and digital content for Hipstoric Homestead, an augmented reality (AR) “ARt walk” we envisioned for the borough of Homestead, PA.

In nearby Pittsburgh, several boroughs had successfully undergone economic revitalization efforts. We believed our solution would help local businesses and others in Homestead by reshaping public perceptions about the area, attracting new customers, and encouraging community engagement.

For Homestead to flourish, people needed to see it as a place rising to new heights, not declining from its steel-working glory days. To accomplish this, we designed a branded activity that ties Homestead’s regionally significant history to a vision of an exciting future full of creativity and technology.

MY ROLE

As someone with experience in graphic design for social media, I focused on branding and other graphic elements. I also applied my content design and UX/UI expertise to design the web page.

Furthermore, as a non-local to the Pittsburgh area, I led the way on conducting field research to better understand other boroughs. My work complemented my project partner’s, which focused on building the interactive map and AR prototype. Having lived in the area for a time, her local knowledge also helped us understand the history and present business activity in Homestead.

TEAM MEMBERS

Helene Federici

FEATURES

Brand
Trust is key when getting people to visit a new place, especially when areas with higher-than-average crime rates are nearby.

We crafted a brand identity for Hipstoric Homestead to create a sense of cohesion and reliability around the activity. This included a logotype as well as a palette, a typeface, and graphic elements that could be used to tie branded content together.

Map + AR Installations
We built an interactive map in Google My Maps, including custom icons and slideshows featuring local historical facts. In our vision, these are coupled with real-world AR installations spread throughout downtown Homestead. 3D neon frames (sourced from Neonplex) showcase AI-rendered videos of local historic figures discussing modern-day Homestead.

Social
People needed to find out about the ARt walk. Thus, we designed various social media graphics to generate engagement and find new potential users.

Web Design
Once interested, people needed a central source of legitimate information about Hipstoric Homestead. We designed a simple website to present all the information needed to participate.

QR Wayfinding
Once in Homestead, users needed to know how to navigate the ARt walk. We designed stickers and stencils that could display QR codes leading people to the interactive map and the AR installations.

DISCOVERING A HISTORIC BOROUGH LOOKING FOR GROWTH

RESEARCH

To gain an accurate understanding of Homestead’s history and present, we conducted both field and remote research. This included three visits to the borough itself to meet with local business and get a better sense for the walking experience, a vital element of the ARt walk. These visits particularly focused on the Bank on 8th, a hub for several local businesses.

To better understand successfully rejuvenated boroughs, we visited the boroughs of Lawrenceville and Southside. We noted that, like Homestead, these areas saw lots of vehicle traffic. However, they were also walkable, filled with plants, and featured various community-oriented creative works, from stickers on road signs to fully-fledged art shops.

Along with these motifs, we learned that the sidewalk was the physical environment that tied everything else together. The whole borough experience flowed through the walking experience, making it a prime opportunity for positive impact.

CRAFTING A UNIFIED & USEFUL VISUAL IDENTITY

BRAND DESIGN

Following the theme of connecting history to the future, we crafted a brand inspired by the historic Homestead Steel Works typeface but with a modern feel.

The logo went through several iterations. At first, we tried to design a treatment that communicated as much as possible about the ARt walk in one image. Thanks to advice from my professor, we abandoned this crowded approach in favor of a simpler logotype that could be applied in a broader range of situations.

We extracted some individual elements from Adobe Stock images and adapted them to our style using Adobe Illustrator. Other elements were made by more creative means, including by making our own “paint” splatters.

Everything tied to the brand was compiled in a brand book to facilitate implementation.

BRINGING 'HIP' AND 'HISTORIC' TOGETHER

BRAND-ENHANCING VISUAL ELEMENTS

We designed several deliverables to guide people to the ARt walk. These followed a flow from social media to a website, an interactive map, and finally to the physical location.

Each deliverable was infused with a set of illustrative elements intended to unite history and modernity through artistic expression.

REFLECTIONS

‍Story Comes First
Humans think in stories—about themselves, the world, and their place in it. Everything we did for this project tied back to the story we wanted to tell about Homestead: a place with a significant history and an exciting future. Each deliverable could have gone in different directions, but our story kept us grounded.

Client Relations
Reaching out to unfamiliar businesspeople is not my strong suit, but my project partner was excellent at it. Her ability to connect and network within the local community in Homestead proved invaluable throughout the project. Building that skillset, and collaborating with people who have it, is now a priority for me.