Heather Anderson

Nature Express is a program offering free rides for groups to the Forest Preserves special events and nature experiences.

We worked with Eye-to-Eye Flashcards to choose a name, pilot a test deck and design the final tool and packaging. 

EYE TO EYE Flashcards is both a learning tool and a means of public engagement that seeks to level the field of discourse and invite everyone to the conversations that matter most in our society. One side of the card is a complex philosophical theory. The other side of the card is a laymen’s interpretation of the concept. 

After being tested by a focus group, the cards and box were altered to better suite the user. Now the cards are being put to use in university classrooms, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

The Eye to Eye Flashcards deck was developed by Noel Jones. Photographs are by Meka Hemmons

As the Forest Preserves works try to share their sustainably practices to the outside, they must try to follow the same suggestions internally.

We needed to convey not only how much energy we waste in the office using our space heaters each winter, but, also, what are a few key ways to reduce our use of energy. Because this was to be included in an email and as a printed piece by the time clocks, I felt it was important to illustrate the messages.

When I started at the Preserves the branding guide needed to be worked out. We had many, many colors in use that didn’t relate to our brand or our brand colors. After analyzing what had been done in years past I was able to put together our brand colors and the secondary colors. All secondary colors relate to the five different zones and may be used at 20%, with the primary greens always making up 80% of the page. I have included the layout for Poplar Creek map. Other maps follow this layout.

Working with billboards, digital and printed ads, we produced a campaign reminding Cook County residents that this is their Forest Preserves.

One of the first major changes I made for the Forest Preserves was a re-design of their quarterly brochure. In the past the piece was a listing of events, but after taking a closer look we could turn the brochure into a useful guide to the five zones of the preserves. This included reorganizing it’s structure so it is divided by zones throughout. It also required picking through the typography, creating a guide to type and creating a contemporary sophisticated hierarchy. Editorial illustrations and photography have been used to draw the audience to the material.

Some of the new and improved features include:
Zone Map at the front of the guide
Description of the new interactive trail maps
Seasonal Listings with the activities denoted by zone-color and a symbol for those who are color blind
Two short articles
Camping section
Organized event listings for each nature centers and zone

Kelsey’s middle name is Orion, and because of that she named her dreamy vegan ice cream Belt Ice Cream. For her pop out I created labels for three unique flavors.

We used a targeted digital campaign to reach outdoor enthusiasts. Specifically we targeted adults residing in zip codes associated with areas of focus in our larger master plan. Those who opened the emails were then retargeted with Ad Messenger taking them to a specific urls. Overall we had a 7% click rate. Interestingly, our volunteer campaign did the best out of the other activities we promoted (paddling, biking, climbing and camping).

I took a Make Art That Sells course to focus on my illustration work. Making a journal one of the assignments. Luckily, I had just returned from Mexico and used the trip as my inspiration.

Worked with Shapack Partners (Chicago developers and owners of the Soho House) to create an illustrated map of the Fulton Market District. Shapack Partners was great enough to let me add my experience and commentary to to the piece. 

After my mom retired my dad and her started getting bee’s from the almond orchards in California. We tease her that the bee’s go to her to retire. The most fragrant trees are the basswood. There is a field of clover, native plant gardens, an a vegetable garden to feed on.

University of Illinois Chicago
Annual Theatre Campaign
Creative/Design: Heather K. Anderson
Target Markets: Students, staff, and the community surrounding the UIC Campus

Goal: Create a sophisticated, unique, and bold campaign, unifying UIC's 2014–15 season pieces.

Process:
As a group we discussed how the protagonist in each script seemed trapped by their fate, economic status, family, or place in society. I read the scripts, and I presented concepts for the season direction. We chose a concept where the protagonist in each play is pushed against a pane of glass as they are trapped by invisible walls, or societal standards.

Pieces included brochures, posters, lobby posters 27x49, and postcards for the season campaigns, plus web images.

Productions: The Piano Lesson, Ivanov, Misalliance, and a Matter of Life and Death
Photography: Dave Rentauskas

I fell in love with all the stories, plays and actors every season I was at Lookingglass. And then I'd fall in love all over again the following year. We used the idea of zero gravity to show the tension between the characters this season. The theme was Unchartered, unexpected, unpredictable. First I brainstormed all kinds of things that could be uncharted, unexpected, and unpredictable. Eventually we landed on zero gravity. To see more about the making of for the In the Garden image during the 2013–14 Season, click here.

Productions: 
The Little Prince
Target Market: Families and Adults
Amelia/The Little Prince heads into the stars, while the Aviator (adult little prince is stuck in the desert).

In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story
Target Market: Families, Adults, 58+, Darwin Supporters, people of faith (Darwin's wife Emma was deeply religious)  Darwin is grounded, while Emma is pulled away. The piano was played everyday in their home. It's as if Darwin’s study exploded—but it’s pretty. 
 

The North China Lover
Target Market: Adults, People who were young during WWII

This play examined the extraordinarily strong young girl, who chose to get involved with a much older lover, in order to help provide for her impoverished family in Indo-China shortly after WWII. 

Below is the season brochure.

This series of posters we created for the Spring 2016 for the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

This was a David Schwimmer production with a large cast set in the belly of Chicago. For each production we created type treatment for the title of the pay. Some theatres always rely on a standard brand typeface, but Lookingglass saw it as an opportunity to create more of an advertisement specific to each show. For Big Lake I used a pink neon typeface.

For almost 10 years the League of Women Designers used a “non-brand” for social media, web and print materials. Recently I was lucky enough to work on their new branding! We started with a survey of the members to ensure the name was still the right fit. We also wanted to understand how the views had transformed over the years. Now LWD, located in Portland, Chicago and New York continues to grow. Kari Merkle first started the group in Portland almost 10 years ago. Thanks to LWD Members Sharon Burdett, Carly Cannell and Emily Steen who worked on this hot color palette!