Joseph Maruca

Hello! I'm a designer based out of New York with a focus on visual identity, design systems and brand storytelling with over 10 years experience. Working with some great studios and clients over the years, I've helped craft concepts and designs for a wide range of industries and causes with the help of many talented people around me. Currently taking on projects, collaborations and opportunities. Gimme a shout! josephmaruca@gmail.com

Experience

2018-Present Freelance Design & Design Direction

2013-2018 Prophet Senior Designer

2012-2013 aruliden Freelance Designer

2011-2012 Warehouse Agency Junior Designer

2011 Dress Code Design Intern

2010 Lifelong Friendship Society Design Intern

Collaboration

Hugo Collective, Prosek Partners, Grizzly, Red Antler, Hyperakt


Education

Pratt Institute 2011 BA Communication Design

Axio

Axio helps organizations understand their cyber risk, manage their risk effectively, and make sure they are equipped to financially recover. They deliver the industry’s only true cyber resilience optimization solution that looks at IT security and financial controls/insurance to create an integrated, holistic technology and financial risk solution that can evolve with each client as the risk landscape shifts.

We partnered with Axio to develop a brand that better reflects their business. Starting with a new visual system and fresh color palette, we created a suite of sales materials and updated their website. The line graphics in the visual system are reflective of the Axio Quadrants – a proprietary tool that plays a key role in Axio’s methodology - paired with an expanded headline font and crisp illustrations to create a bold, confident new look.

Cyber risk is fraught with unknowns. But Axio’s innovative approach arms companies with the insights and abilities to make informed decisions, minimize risk, and optimize investment.
Developed by Hugo Collective w/Christian Dierig & Donna Hadfield

Bowie in Film

Limited edition screen-printed poster for immersive film series looking at Bowie's career in film as part of 'Bowie Is' exhibiton at The Brooklyn Museum. Poster highlights David Bowies first starring film role in "The Man Who Fell to Earth" directed by Nicolas Roeg. Poster was created in collaboration with Little Cinema.

Concussion Awareness Now

A coalition of nearly 20 member organizations was founded to bring awareness to the seriousness of concussions. Spearheaded by the Brain Injury Association of America [BIAA] and Abbott, the coalitions’ goal is to educate as many people as possible about concussions and to offer resources to make informed decisions in case of a hit in the head or a simple slip or fall. We helped the coalition to create the brand from the ground up, creating the entire brand expression from brand strategy, brand purpose, naming, tone of voice, website, social strategy all the way to the launch campaign.
Developed by Hugo Collective w/Christian Dierig, Donna Hadfield, Baron Santiago & Paco Aguayo.
3D Animation by Nathan Love

Fifth Season

Tech startup RoBotany had secured $35 million in funding to build its first commercial-scale indoor vertical farm, and was eager to come out of stealth mode with a new, consumer-facing brand. Rebranding as Fifth Season, we partnered with the team to create a new look and feel that reflects their goal of reinventing the produce category, bringing consumers back to eating locally-grown fresh produce, through tech enabled vertical farming. Powered by a team of locals and autonomous robots, the first farm is located outside Pittsburgh, in a historically steel-focused town called Braddock. With an aggressive launch plan, we created the new logo, packaging, interim website, copywriting, building signage and promo materials. The brand officially launched to the public in Jan 2020, with products due to appear in stores next month.
Developed by Hugo Collective w/Christian Dierig & Donna Hadfield

Keurig

We set out to transform Keurig into a brewing system that could stand for much more than just coffee. Building off the characteristics of simplicity, consistency, convenience and personalization, we developed a positioning centered on how Keurig makes it easy to make the things that make your day. We crafted a new identity and system inspired by the ease of the push of a button and the choice of pods offered by the Keurig system.
Developed by Prophet w/Christian Dierig & Josh Levi

Museum für Gestaltung

During the summer of 2011, I was lucky enough to participate in the typography summer workshop at the Basel School of Design. This was a proposed poster for the 'Type in Motion Exhibition' at the Museum für Gestaltung.

MetLife

As MetLife underwent a period of economic and technological change, they sought to create a new identity that reflected forward-looking strategy. We developed the partnership “M” monogram to represent the meeting point of two things. The overlay in the "M" then developed into the filmstrip system that allowed for storytelling across all communications and business units.Following the visual identity rollout, the team was tasked to develop environmental branding throughout MetLife offices around the globe. Modern, Optimistic, Simple, and Tells a Story were the characteristics used in all the visuals to be considered on-brand. The wall coverings were grouped into four collections that work together to tell different aspects of the MetLife story: Core Brand, Heritage, Global Reach and Science of Understanding.
Developed by Prophet w/Craig Stout, Donna Hadfield & Marissa Molinaro

Studio VK

Studio VK is an architectural and interior design studio founded by Veronica Kan in 2016. The visual identity is simple and clear, giving primary focus to the typography that is built on symmetrical balance. A subtle tie-back to one of the basic rules of architecture.

Seeds of Peace

Established in 1993, non-profit organization Seeds of Peace inspires and cultivates new generations of leaders to come together and transform conflict. This happens each summer as hundreds of teenagers and educators engage with one another across lines of conflict. Transformation was an important characteristic behind the visual identity, allowing for various but consistent messaging across various types of materials.
Developed by Prophet w/Craig Stout, Donna Hadfield & Sarita Walsh

Vertice

The goal of Vertice was to create a brand that fits into a category of one, bringing together their signature, elevated hospitality experiences and world-class team. We wanted a look and feel that could embody various ventures and experiences from SingleThread Farms—a three Michelin star restaurant and boutique hotel in California—to Remsen, a luxury destination hotel in Brooklyn. The wordmark is constructed using a modern serif with sharp angles and cuts within the letterforms. The highlight of the logo is the monogram “V” that only uses one diagonal bar and one horizontal bar to create the “V” shape. A combination of dark and bright greens are used as accents throughout the system and are rooted in Vertice’s history of farming and commitment to unmatched expertise.

Wainwright Realty

Wainwright is a Detroit-based real estate brokerage focused on residential and commercial sales and leasing, bringing the highest level of service to all 143-square miles of the city as well as the entire state of Michigan. The identity revolves around a circular symbol crafted from bold lines to represent Wainwright’s commitment to help navigate the home-buying process. The symbol also suggests an abstract wagon wheel, which is inspired by the unique configuration of downtown Detroit. The simple color palette uses a dominate bright blue across the identity alongside black, white, and grey—making the visual identity hard to miss whether it’s a "For Sale" sign in the suburbs or on a tote bag downtown.

Wall/All

In 2015, I was asked to create a graphic illustration as part of a collection of artists for an event called Immigrant Neighbors. The postcards would be handed out to raise money to benefit the important work of the Legal Aid Society Immigration Law Unit. My message was a simple: Protest against the border wall proposed by the 45th President of the United States. After the event, hand screen-printed bags were produced and handed out to the public.

The Wharton Center

Proposed identity for The Wharton Center, Michigan State University’s performing arts center. The primary mark of the identity is inspired by the shape of the building, the audience gallery and a smile. All three aspects play a key role in the experience of seeing a performance at The Wharton Center. Building on this idea, the simple mark turned into dynamic patterns and graphics to emulate dance, theater, music, and all things performance.
Developed by Prophet w/Craig Stout

Logos and Marks