After nearly seven decades in business, Harper Corporation General Contractors decided to undergo some construction of its own. The fourth-generation family-owned company had steadily grown from a small local construction company to one of the top construction firms in the Southeast. Faced with increasing competition and breaching new markets, the firm agreed to undergo a brand discovery process to ensure the face of the company aligned with its evolving operations and services.

Partnering with a branding consultant, I guided Harper’s leadership team through the rebranding process that resulted in a concise mission statement, vision and tagline, shortened company name and refined logo. This led to the production of an award-winning brand essence video that concisely tells the Harper story and acted as the bedrock for the rebranding journey. 

Elements included:

·     Brand Mantra Video

·     New Logo, Mission, Vision, Tagline and Branding Guidelines

·     Website

·     Stationary Package

·     Office Signage

·     Jobsite Signage and Equipment

·     Proposal and Presentation Templates

·     Harper Store offering branded apparel and promotional items

·     Revamped Social Media Sites

·     Press Release

·     E-blast

Following a rebrand, Harper was ready to debut their refined look and vision on their website. However, this called for a revamp of the current site in order to reflect the new logo, color palettes, messaging and be able to feature the new mantra video. Working with an outside agency, we mapped out a new site structure allowing users to navigate to desired information in one-click. Using mega menus and allowing multiple sorting options, we optimized the site experience. The new branding also warranted a new URL. Previously called Harper Corporation General Contractors at HarperCorp.com, it was important to move the new site to HarperGC.com to better align with the new logo that removed “Corporation” from the updated branding.

Elements included:

- Site Strategy and Site Map Meetings

- Content creation and writing for multiple sub pages

- Art direction of overall site

- Curating site assets and categorizing previous assets in the new structure

- Art direction of new Key Leadership photography

Harper General Contractors is a full-service general contracting and construction management firm headquartered in downtown Greenville, South Carolina. During 2015, Harper was recognized as one of South Carolina’s Top 25 Fastest Growing Companies, a rare feat for nearly 70-year old, family-owned firm.

The development of an in-house Building Information Modeling (BIM) team over the prior three years certainly aided in the company’s growth in the construction industry. As Harper’s Marketing and Creative Manager, I encouraged the leadership team to invest in the production of a video to best demonstrate Harper’s innovation. It was a highly collaborative effort between myself, our Virtual Building Director and our Director of Business Development. Choosing the best case studies to demonstrate the message and communicating the capabilities of BIM in a concise way, that even those with little construction experience could understand was a challenge. We took great care in crafting the message for each of our audiences to grasp. 

The goal was to produce a compact and transportable marketing tool to educate Harper’s clients, potential clients and partners on what exactly Building Information Modeling was, how it can benefit a project, their schedule and budget, and lastly how Harper specifically uses the tool in-house. At the time, BIM was a technology that many contractors touted they used, but was often reserved for multi-million dollar projects or outsourced to a contracted firm. Harper’s in-house virtual building capabilities allowed them to harness this tool in a scalable fashion. Smaller projects were able to benefit from BIM that often wouldn’t have that option. 

Involvement included:

·     Creative direction

·     Oversight of video production company

·     Storyboard and script collaboration

·     Arranging two project video shoots

·     Art directed BIM assets and created complementing graphics 

·     Provided direction to the animation team to correctly align the graphics with the storyline

·     Selected voiceover talent

As Harper’s Marketing and Creative Manager, I oversaw the Social Media Strategy, created and curated content, and executed several campaigns across multiple platforms.

Furman’s student government raised money and purchased their very own trolley! The new trolley would provide students rides to and from downtown Greenville, allow event attendees transportation across campus and even be an option for wedding parties to rent out. The only problem is that the trolley was red and lacked Furman spirit. I presented concepts to preserve the wood attributes and paint the red panels Furman purple and add custom vehicle wraps. Working with the facilities department, we arranged the trolley to be painted at one of the few shops in the Upstate that can accommodate such a large vehicle and then had cut vinyl graphics applied.

Each year Furman promotes their annual Homecoming Weekend for alumni to return to their alma mater and join current students as they relive their glory days on campus. It is one of the key fundraising events for Furman Development as they plan strategic reunion events for past alums. The marketing efforts included a Save the Date Post Card, Reunion Weekend Registration Mailer and a fresh website to house all of the important information.

Rather than sticking with the common theme of vibrant campus photos, I chose to evoke the timeless feel of a vintage travel poster. Just as the sites, smells and feels of an epic landmark can’t quite be captured in a photo, a vintage postcard or souvenir can flood your memory with how you felt at that point in time - from the clothes you were wearing, the smell of the air and the song on the radio. Choosing nostalgic fonts and posterized graphics of Furman landmarks, I hoped to remind alums of their own memories of life at Furman that live as a snapshot in time.

These initial designs spurred the production of poster prints, postcards, t-shirts and apparel and even vintage lunchboxes.

As the fall semester kicked off, our department gave perspective students and beyond an inside look at eight of our incoming freshmen. We often focus on what our seniors take away from their four years at Furman, but this time we shed light on what experiences (and possessions) this class of 2019 brought with them as they embark on this new stage in their lives. Rather than featuring their portraits, we found it interesting to portray each student through their most meaningful belongings. 

As part of the creative services team with Furman University's Marketing and Public Relations department, I designed a wide range of print materials to support different departments around campus and the university vision as a whole.

On April 1, 2016, Furman announced the opening of the Joe and Diana Hurley Finance and Business Analytics Lab. The news of reached supporters at NASDAQ and we were given the opportunity to feature the ribbon-cutting on their tower in Times Square. I art directed the photoshoot to include the 10 key donors in a very limited template and worked quickly to get the photo and layout to NASDAQ in a matter of minutes.

As part of Furman's Marketing and Public Relations Department's initiative to advance our reach to the community, I helped envision and create a fresh and distinctive site to share Furman's noteworthy news with alums, students, faculty and staff, media and our growing community of supporters. I worked closely with our Director of Communications, digital team and developer to organize content in a creative and effect way in keeping with Furman's brand.

McDowall Acres is a memorable mountain wedding and event venue in the North Georgia mountains. Through website design and everything from flyers to apparel, signage and styled photography, I helped to launch this family-owned working barn to a destination wedding venue which is now booked over 70% of the weekends in 2019.

In order to celebrate Furman's Heller Service Corps 50th anniversary, the Furman community vowed to contribute 50,000 acts of kindness during the month of October. I developed the campaign materials featuring five decades of Furman students committed to giving back to the Greenville community. Ranging from print ads, direct mail, an insert in The Greenville News, posters, and a web page to track hours of service, the campaign quickly gained traction and surpassed the goal.

As part of our campaign to embrace the 60-year old brand's authentic diner heritage, we were asked to redesign Denny's core menus to enhance customers' dining experience. We did so in a few different evolutions. The first combined slice of life diner photography with layered paper textures and handwritten notes to harken back to custom diner menus. The second focused on the fresh ingredients found at Denny's and overhead photography.

The Task:
Make Denny's kids menus engaging and fun for the whole table. 

The Approach:
We created the Denny's Explorers, a group of adventurous kids and their dog, Pancake, who imagined and explored a different expedition in each menu. Then, Denny's teamed up with National Geographic to create a series of kids menus that sparked kids interest in animals and their habitats, while engaging the whole table in games and activities. More recently, Denny's partnered with DreamWorks Animation to bring the spirit of its popular family favorites to America's Diner. 

Denny's Explorers Kids Menu Illustration by Jason Craft

In 2014, Denny's made its way to the Big Apple and opened its first store in Manhattan. We were tasked with providing directional signage to promote awareness, but rather than slapping a logo and some arrows on a few signs we saw an opportunity for a more creative approach. We paired iconic city landmarks with diner icons to let Manhattan natives and commuters know that America's diner had arrived in the city.

As winter was coming to a close, Greenville commuters passed this intriguing outdoor board of a simple snowball (formed from the rare Greenville snow) and wondered of its meaning. A week later, as the snow started to melt and the temps started to rise, the board revealed a baseball thawed out of the snow to tease the 2014 season opening for Greenville Drive baseball. 

The board was later featured on Communication Arts website.

The Greenville Drive values its loyal season ticket holders and they deserve a season ticket package that's as exciting as their love of the game. In order to tide them over until opening day, we sent these true fans the smells of Fluor Field to remind them of the experience that awaits. We included three candles – Fresh Cut Grass, Cotton Candy and Mitt Leather – evoking the scents and delights of a night at the ball field. Plus, we introduced the 2015 creative platform, Let Yourself Go, within the season ticket book using bright colors and playful hand-drawn type that complement the season's light-hearted theme. Fans were encouraged to give themselves permission for a night off and a night at the ballgame where anything goes. It's baseball. But it's also a little therapy.

2013 research found that most Greenville Drive fans attended games mostly to unwind and enjoy the experience. This spot supported the Drive's 2014 season campaign, "Let Yourself Go," by showing the fun moments that can happen when fans take a break and take themselves to a ballgame.

Following our 2014 theme of "Let Yourself Go," we created these print ads by sharing some unexpected moments Greenville Drive fans might experience during a liberating night at a ballgame. 

This was the first season the Greenville Drive used promoted Facebook posts. We created a series of posts throughout the season that kept with the brand's fun spirit and encouraged fans to attend upcoming games.

As the summer came to a close, so did the Greenville Drive's 2014 season. We created a series of outdoor boards that ran over several weeks thanking fans for their support of another great season.

Verizon was looking to tap into the wealth of motivational messaging being spread on Pinterest, specifically related to fitness. I created this design as part of their Empowerful Wallpapers collection that could be optimized for your phone.

L'eggs Social Content for Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest built off the strategy "Helping Women Support Women."

Everyone dreads getting more bills in the mail. We created this direct mail to promote Advance America's interactive microsite, YouMightBeSurprised.com, to educate consumers about financial tools and options available to them.

VAYA Pharma developed innovations for the clinical dietary management of ADHD, Early Memory Impairment and Hypertriglceridemia. We were asked to create a brand positioning, creative platform and concepts for their three products: Vayarin (for ADHD), Vayacog (for Early Memory Impairment) and Vayarol (for Hypertriglceridemia).

The task required that we inform consumers of the research in an engaging way they could understand, yet express to providers that this unique approach is clinically-proven. We arrived at the tagline, "It's a whole new script," which later morphed into "Flip the script" since we wanted to start a conversation between consumers and prescribers on how they currently manage these disorders and VAYA's unique approach to these conditions.

Since we were urging the audiences to ask themselves some hard questions, we explored printing on reflective substrates to simulate medicine cabinets. We created a mailer that flipped to reveal messaging to play off "flip the script" and explored intriguing banner adds which promoted that each product has virtually no side effects.

BI-LO supermarkets wanted to capitalize on its fresh offerings and looked to create a signature brand within each department. It stemmed from shopper's loyalty and trust they expressed when the store first introduced Walter's Produce. Walter was known by shoppers as the local farmer who made sure all of BI-LO's produce met the freshness standards expected by their customers, guaranteed. In order to capture the freshness of a roadside farm stand, we re-branded the produce department with wood graphics, colorful illustrations and hand-drawn chalk signs. The signature brands further extended to Lip Lickin' Fried Chicken, Sweet Dreams Cakes, Cookies and Ice Cream and Lakehouse Fresh Catfish. With each of these, we created a name, logo and unique look that spoke to each item's fresh quality with upbeat personality yet worked cohesively with the family of signature brands. 

While still studying Graphic Communications at Clemson University, I was selected with two other classmates by Fort Hill Press to design Clemson's first coffee table book published since 1989. I worked with the two partners at Fort Hill Press to compile over 400 historic and current photographs and countless stories into a 180-page book that details the university's unique history. Published in 2006, the book has sold over 8,000 copies.

While working at IMI, a national leader in sales and marketing for luxury real estate, I designed two of their custom publications, Resort Living and Ginn Living that gave readers a view inside some of the most distinctive residential and resort communities in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. I also designed creative platforms, direct mail, signage, invitations and e-blasts for clients within their Marketing Division, most specifically for Martis Camp in North Lake Tahoe.

In 2012, I began pursuing my interest in lifestyle photography and invitation design and started Lucy Zeiger Photography & Design. I enjoy interacting with a range of clients and capturing some of their most memorable moments, whether its through a custom design or through my lens. 

See more of my work at LZPhotoandDesign.com.