NCSU Research Symposium Cover

Created in spring 2025 for North Carolina State University’s 18th Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium

Prompt: The Abstract Book Cover Design (ABCD) competition allows graduate students to design the cover for the abstract book in a competition hosted by the Graduate Student Association. The design will grace the 8.5″ x 11″ abstract book cover of the 18th annual Graduate Student Research Symposium on April 2 at the McKimmon Center. Previous abstract books can be viewed here and images from Envisioning Research contest can be used in your design.

My Design: I was inspired by past years’ colorful, geometric designs, but put a more modern, scientific twist on it. Nature is typically thought of as organic, not geometric, but honeycombs, snowflakes, and the eyes of various insects are all very precise hexagonal shapes. Like geometry, like a honeycomb, the scientific method is structural, but within that structure researchers find creativity to solve complex, real problems. In other words: science is structural, but it can also be colorful and fun. I pulled colors from NCSU’s brand guide to ground the photos within the honeycomb, thus allowing them to stand out more.

Using NCSU’s brand guide for fonts and colors, I submitted two designs. The left design was selected as the cover, as seen in the bottom images.