Los Alamos ScienceFest
Science Communication · Civic Identity · Community Engagement · Public Event Design
Brief
Los Alamos ScienceFest is a high-visibility annual event that celebrates science, innovation, and culture in the birthplace of the atomic bomb. Organized by the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation and the Los Alamos MainStreet Program, the festival attracts a diverse audience: scientists, students, artists, tourists, and families. In 2023, the festival needed a complete brand overhaul—from visual identity to digital presence—to reflect a more contemporary, inclusive, and cross-disciplinary vision of science and innovation.
My Roles:
Lead Visual Designer, Brand Strategist, UX/UI Designer, Illustrator, Content Creator, Event Marketing Coordinator
Tools I Used:
Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Canva, WordPress, Squarespace, Meta Business Suite, Google Workspace, Adobe Acrobat, Instagram Reels Editor
Problem
The existing brand system for ScienceFest lacked visual cohesion, digital accessibility, and emotional resonance. The website was difficult to navigate, the visual identity was outdated, and promotional materials lacked consistency across print and digital platforms. Most importantly, the festival’s enormous potential as a civic platform for storytelling and community science was underleveraged. The challenge was to reimagine the brand as something both futuristic and rooted in place; balancing scientific integrity with family-friendly curiosity and academic credibility with small-town warmth.
Solution
I led the end-to-end rebranding of Los Alamos ScienceFest, beginning with the design of a new logo that merged the infrared spectrum with modular, contemporary semiotics, bridging the town’s nuclear past with its interdisciplinary present. I built and launched a fully redesigned website (losalamossciencefest.com) focused on clarity, responsiveness, and accessibility, using UX best practices to streamline event discovery and vendor sign-ups.
I created an entire suite of promotional materials: an event brochure designed from scratch; bookmarks distributed across local institutions; large-format banners; posters; flyers; stickers; and branded merchandise graphics. Each asset was developed within a visual system that remained flexible across print scales and digital uses while staying tightly brand-aligned.
Digitally, I extended the brand’s reach through Instagram Reels, interactive Facebook contests, and motion graphics campaigns to boost attendance. These efforts resulted in the festival’s most engaged year on social media to date, and contributed to a record-breaking 8,000+ attendees.
My Contribution
At ScienceFest, I worked at the nexus of design, community outreach, and systems thinking. My role wasn’t limited to aesthetic execution; it was about architecting a civic identity that could scale across media, mediums, and publics. I unified the visual language of a beloved local institution and restructured how people found, shared, and experienced science through design. From grid to giveaway, website to wristband, I helped reimagine what public-facing science could look and feel like in the 21st century.