InterTrend
Brand Building + Art Direction
A balanced fusion of proportion, typography, and visual tone.
Reimagining identity for a multicultural agency at the intersection of cultures, trends, and consumer connection. Intertrend needed a visual system that could express dimensional thinking — not just what the agency does, but how it operates across disciplines, perspectives, and markets.
(Who)
Intertrend is a Long Beach–based multicultural advertising agency specializing in Asian American market segments — Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Asian Indian audiences. In an industry where multicultural expertise often gets treated as a specialty service, Intertrend needed a brand identity that positioned them as strategic interpreters, not just translators. The agency's core strength — understanding the intersection of cultures, emerging trends, and brand-consumer interaction — wasn't reflected in their visual presence.
(What)
I designed Intertrend's complete brand identity system: a geometric isometric logo built on dimensional "i" and "t" letterforms, a primary color palette balancing bold energy (Intertrend Red) with strategic depth (Intertrend Blue), a typography system pairing Uni Neue (balanced curves, rounded terminals) with Museo Sans (legible, practical), and a comprehensive design framework spanning logo variations, graphic patterns, photography direction, and brand voice guidelines. The system was engineered for flexibility — full-color, single-color, black-and-white lockups — without sacrificing visual consistency.
(Why)
Multicultural agencies face a positioning problem: they're often seen as execution partners rather than strategic leads. Intertrend's identity needed to communicate intellectual rigor alongside cultural fluency — showing that understanding multiple perspectives isn't a niche skill, it's a strategic advantage. The brand had to work across contexts: pitching Fortune 500 clients, recruiting talent, and representing the agency's interdisciplinary approach to strategy, creative, and technology. Every design decision reinforced one idea: depth through dimensionality.
(How)
The logo's isometric construction creates visual depth from flat geometry — lowercase "i" and "t" forms stacked in three-dimensional space, symbolizing the layered, multifaceted nature of cross-cultural work. The four-color palette (red, yellow, maroon, blue) reflects diversity and energy without chaos, with specific ratios (35% red, 35% blue, 10% yellow, 10% maroon, 10% beige) governing color balance. Typography balances decorative impact (Uni Neue for headers, emphasizing the lowercase "i" and "t") with functional clarity (Museo Sans for body copy). The graphic system uses 30-degree angles, isometric grids, and dimensional shapes to maintain visual coherence across applications — from business cards to 40-page brand guidelines.
