Duke University’s Department of Gender, Sexuality, & Feminist Studies hosts its Annual Queer Theory Lecture in Honor of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick featuring leading scholar in queer theory. This series is held in honor of Sedgwick’s legacy as one of queer theories’ most insightful scholars whose call for reparative work and reading practices grounded in affect and performance transformed the field’s understandings of intimacy, identity, and politics.

Problem: Create a branding identity and set of deliverables for the Annual Queer Theory Lecture that promote the series to people within and outside Duke’s community, encouraging them to attend this substantial discussion on important topics in queer studies and academia.

Solution: After researching Sedgwick’s background and discovering how most of her groundbreaking work was done in the 80s and 90s, I designed a set of 3 posters (1 main poster and 2 posters on specific lectures), static and motion social media assets, and a Zoom background banner that embody queer theory’s emphasis of fluidity, subversion, and intersectionality. I took inspiration from queer zines and materials published in the 80s and 90s, taking visual cues of composition, color choice, shapes, and DIY aesthetic of late 20th century queer art.