Since 1967, the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) has existed to illuminate the United States’ role in the world—past, present, and future—through rigorous, accessible scholarship. They bring together a global community of more than 1,500 students, academics, and policymakers who investigate the diplomatic, military, economic, and cultural forces that shape international relations.
I was approached by their Deputy Director, Kaete O'Connell, Ph.D to re-examine the way the annual program was designed for their 2025 conference. After discussing the brands touch points and lack of overall cohesion, SHAFR leadership agreed to a complete brand refresh and the process began with a simple brief.
SHAFR BRAND IDENTITY REFRESH
The original SHAFR wordmark was stretched and used a fairly unedited version of Helvetica Condensed. I created a more balanced, versatile and own-able logo & wordmark which prioritizes legibility while keeping the original legacy of the logo intact.
The below slides are excerpts from the R1 presentation.
The SHAFR Medallion logo animations were created as a way for the brand to have more interesting assets in digital contexts, for presentations, intermissions at conferences, and on their website. The movement of history is ever forward, so I made sure to make the SHAFR Wordmark rotate clockwise.
2025 SHAFR BRAND GUIDELINES
2025 SHAFR ANNUAL PROGRAM