Penta Editorial — 2022
Penta is the world’s first comprehensive stakeholder solutions firm, producing a diverse portfolio of insights and analyses that make sense of the current events shaping public policy, economics, and more.
When Penta (formerly Hamilton Place Strategies) was preparing for its launch in 2022, the Design team was tasked with building a whole new brand for the company and accompanying promotional materials in a month. One of my roles was helping establish the identity of Penta Editorial and creating the artwork for the pieces released on launch day.
We rolled up our sleeves and got to work, starting with a moodboard to help define the art direction of Penta’s content hub. This gave way to our guiding principles, thoughtful and expressive. With a unifying brand color palette, we were able to employ a variety of styles (such as digital collages, hand-drawn illustrations, 3D modeling, and a hint of surrealism) that would keep the flow of insights feeling fresh with each release. We also developed a template system for ongoing releases (i.e. blog posts, podcast episodes, and social) to ensure that every insight piece was elevated with thoughtful design. All editorial artwork can be seen on Penta’s Insights page.
Art Direction: Joey Seales | Motion Design + 3D Modeling: Clark Tibbs
The process for a Penta Editorial piece: read article or report ➡️ concept sketches ➡️ design review ➡️ first drafts ➡️ design review ➡️ finalized design ➡️ final approval ➡️ post.
Left: illustration showing the gender pay gap and using a 3D seismograph to create the cross of the British pound symbol to show the shifts that were happening in the UK finance industry
Middle: illustration of multiple doors with people walking out for a piece about the Great Resignation
Right: illustration of a pixel grid breaking up a credit card for an article about the cybersecurity industry
One of the collaborations with our in-house motion designer/3D modeler extraordinaire!
Left: an illustrated chart that lined up with the colors of the flag for a piece about Ukraine
Middle: a digital collage of Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen on a piece of U.S. currency with a topographic background for an article about the Biden administration’s actions around the Green Climate Fund and other ESG initiatives
Right: a design where Twitter birds are flying out of the Capitol dome and overlaid with a myriad of text bubbles to show the kind of analysis that’s done for an ongoing series called Capitol Chatter
My favorite outtakes from various Penta Editorial articles.