HackSC
Design leadership and brand identity for USC's hackathon club.
I joined HackSC in Fall 2021 and supported the club in various roles over the course of four years. Key contributions include cultivating brand identity for a different theme each year, as well as coordinating the design of our holistic hackathon platform, Hibiscus. Below are some highlights!
2024-2025
I contributed to the brand identity and design system development. My favorite addition was our new mascot, HackSC Guy :)
2023-2024
Hibiscus platform
In 2023, we made a significant push to develop HackSC’s own holistic platform for running a hackathon. There were four key user groups: hackers, organizers, judges, and sponsors. As the product team, we developed a brand guide, design system, and platform prototypes.
Our motivation behind this platform came from a common painpoint identified in previous years: organizers, sponsors, participants feel out of sync during hackathons because current event platforms separate management functions rather than centralizing them. Sentiments from user interviews confirmed this:
“Using a spreadsheet for the battlepass was the least efficient and most accident-prone method we could choose.” — HackSC engineering organizer
“Our multiple platforms had overlapping functions, so where you’d find each resource was ambiguous.” — Bitcamp engineering organizer
“We need an app, especially in a virtual or hybrid hackathon.” — HackSC 2022 participant
“Sponsor and judging information always gets lost in the Discord channels.” — HackSC logistics organizer
“The separation between expo site, platform, and mobile app definitely made for a confusing hacker experience.” — Bitcamp engineering organizer
We designed Hibiscus based on the needs of our four key user groups: hackers, organizers, judges, and sponsors. We scoped the following features for an integrated platform:
- For organizers: Event check-in and Hacker Manager
- For hackers: Battlepass points tracker, Events Calendar, and hacker profile
- For judges: Submission gallery and ranking interface
- For sponsors: Company profile and resume viewer
As part of an integrated platform, hacker profiles could stay in sync but provide tailored views based on the specific user.
Color and typography tokens.
Hibiscus illustrations.
Hibiscus Wrapped, our end-of-hackathon easter egg.
Svelte workshop
I shared my love for Svelte in a live session at HackSC 2023!
Workshop cover slide.
Live workshop!
2022-2023
I developed our brand identity and which manifested various artifacts, such as banners, signs, social media posts, our sponsorship packet, and more.
HackSC Sponsorship packet sample.