Katie Kiesewetter

June 2021 - Ongoing Partnership

Graphic Design // Typography // Branding

I was approached in the summer of 2021 to redesign BlackStone’s brand assets including an updated typography palette and a more modern and user-friendly set of print goods: a main menu, bar book, and brunch menu.

In 2022 we expanded the the project to include private event, banquet, and catering collateral.

Check out BlackStone at @blackstoneic!

Logo design not by me.

June 2023 - Ongoing Partnership

Graphic Design // Typography // Branding

Facelift for Reds Alehouse’s menu set, including an updated color and typographic palette and a style that deviates from their original branding.

Photographs from @reds.alehouse Instagram.

April 2022 - Ongoing Partnership

Graphic Design // Typography // Branding

An “everything but the logo” identity project for Tribute Eatery & Bar. Their team tasked me with selecting a singular color palette, simple typography, and minimalist illustrations that reflected their growth into an energetic bar/restaurant with a sophisticated cocktail program.

I have since expanded these designs into menus for specials, social media templates, and web graphics.

Check out Tribute at @tributeirl!

Circle logo not by me. Photographs by Sam Hall.

November 2019, Iowa City

Graphic Design // Package Design // Branding // Typography

Hazel & Thyme offers handcrafted herbal wellness products; hosts monthly New Moon circles; and offers prenatal/postnatal classes and doula services.

I was approached to redesign some labels for Hazel & Thyme’s winter products and used their brand’s lunar/zodiac aesthetic to create a few simple illustrations that enhanced but didn’t overstep the simple, naturalistic vibes of their wildcrafted goods.

Learn more about this brand by visiting Hazel & Thyme’s Website.

Hazel & Thyme logo not by me.

March 2016, Iowa City

UX // Web Design // Interface // Graphics // Typesetting // Copywriting // Photography // Branding

Northside Bistro & Bar was an experimental, farm-to-table restaurant in Iowa City from 2015-2018. After receiving poor customer responses from their original website and menu, I was approached to refresh the brand and create pieces that could better promote the food, drinks, and service by designing a better user experience. I was also brought back to design a "rustic" menu for a scratch-themed New Year's prix fixe.

Unfortunately, Northside Bistro closed its doors in 2018, so the site is not live. However, you may test it here.

February 2018, Iowa City

Graphic Design // Publication Design // Copywriting // Copy Editing // Marketing // In-House Work

The Alumni Connection Newsletter is a special edition of the Honors at Iowa Newsletter made specifically for honors alumni aged fifty-five and up. This is the second issue I helped write, edit, and design as graphic designer and social media manager for the University of Iowa Honors Program.

The goal of the first Alumni Connection (sent out in the spring of 2017) was to solicit donations for the Honors Program from older members. Previously, a lot of our marketing and outreach materials were located online and in e-mail newsletters. We rarely heard back from the 55+ demographic, which is the largest of the UI Honors alumni groups. This was a rather unfortunate truth, because the largest gifts to many university programs come from donors of this age group.

Understanding that our online presence may not reach many of these members, my boss, the former Honors Communications Specialist, and I decided to go snail-mail and see what would happen. We altered our voice and style to befit an older audience, and I even used a larger type size than usual, mindful of the audience’s need for larger print.

The publication of our first issue was a great success. Because of our strategic communication skills, we were able to reach a higher gift amount than the program had ever seen. The second issue is now in circulation, and the program awaits this fiscal year’s donation numbers.

August 2018, Iowa City / Cedar Rapids

Graphic Design // Logo Design // Typography // Advertising

Identity project with a few advertising pieces for the MH Legacy property development group as well as MH Apartments.

Ongoing Campaign 2016-Present, Iowa City

Illustration // Vector Art // Graphic Design // Social Media

How do you encourage college students to read their e-mails? After having many students missing turn-in deadlines, forgetting to pick up their honor cords, or a myriad of other things that could be prevented if only they read their weekly e-mails, the Honors Outreach Team decided the University of Iowa Honors Program needed to be more fun and engaging.

Thus, the Honorable Messenger was branded and born.

The Honorable Messenger as a whole is an e-mail listserv sent to University of Iowa Honors students every week. Beforehand, it was a long list of events and deadlines without color or style. Now, it takes visual form with a hero image of an owl with horn-rimmed spectacles delivering mail and includes color-coordinated messages in a clean grid system.

The Honors Communications Specialist, the Outreach / Social Media Team, and I (both graphic designer and one of the social media managers at the time) came up with the owl after brainstorming through what seemed like a hundred ideas: an Iowa Hawkeye dressed up in more studious clothing (copyright issues), a student (how do you determine which sex/gender/color?), a personified book (boring…), etc.

The owl seemed like the best choice because it’s a symbol of wisdom. Plus, the University of Iowa’s mascot is a bird, so we were still able to align ourselves with the university in that way.

The primary version of the bird is the bespectacled brown owl. Secondaries are made for holidays, social media, special events, or promotional materials.