CHLOE M. COOKE


My creative practices are rooted in experimentation and play. I often create work that allows me to understand and discover more about the world through connections. The intersections between beauty and truth unravel before us as we move through life. These moments are often shaped by our entanglements—with ourselves, each other, our communities, and the land around us. The nonhuman experiences can show us the depths of humanity. When we document these quiet moments and intentionally weave discovery into our reality, we gain the ability to dream of new paths for ourselves and others.


Branding
  1. Synergy Lab
  2. The Local
  3. In Bloom
  4. 055
  5. Appalachia Technical School

Publications
  1. RISO Guidebook
  2. Cultivating Practices
  3. Endangered Appalachia
  4. Sonder

Printed Matter
  1. Aquatic Appalachia RISO Animations
  2. Collective Calendar
  3. Infinitely Queer
  4. Textures of Living: A Collective Process Book


  Contact

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Synergy Lab






Synergy Lab is a print lab located at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Primarily serving students, they are looking to encourage students to use Synergy as their main print lab for personal and school projects. Mason Mccaffety and I redesigned Synergy Labs brand keeping in mind pritning practies. Looking ahead, Synergy hopes that students at Appalachian State are keener to print at Synergy, and that the print lab is more accessible and approachable to the student body.









    While Synergy Lab acknowledges that we are moving into an era where much of art and design is digital, they believe that printed media is an essential component of the digital process.









   The new Synergy Lab color palette is designed to invoke familiar tones of CMYK, but with a digital twist of increased saturation and vibrancy. This combination of digital and print reinforces the core job of the print lab, and creates a relationship between digital and print media.




   The offered paper sizes are utilized as a core brand asset. When displaying student work and/or using flat rectangular shapes, they will always conform to one of these sizes.


Buisness Card for Print Technicians


Paper Menus of Synergy Labs Print Offerings







Social Media Posts
Stickers for Students

    Door Front Mockup












      The Local




       
      The Local is a Boone, NC favorite for both tourists and locals. Originally established as a casual gathering place for friends and family, the restaurant has since evolved into a more refined dining destination. To reflect this shift, the brand has been refreshed to better align with its elevated dining experience while still honoring its playful, community-driven roots.

      This rebrand introduces the Demon Dog of Valle Crucis as a new brand element, updates the color palette, and modernizes the logo. Together, these changes enhance the restaurant’s atmosphere and help showcase its diverse menu and welcoming spaces.





      I have many friends who work at The Local. While they all agree the restaurant is successful, many feel that the current brand feels disconnected and doesn’t consistently reflect everything the business has to offer its patrons. After talking to restraunt employees, I decided this brand must be revitalized by recapturing their care for thier communiy by highlighting the whimsical mountain charm and folklore of the land. This cultural uplift introduces local legends that spark curiosity among tourists while fostering a warm, cozey, familiar atmosphere for the locals who call Boone home.









      The Demon Dog of Valle Crucis is a local legend to that many folks in Boone, NC know of. As part of The Local’s rebrand, this mischievous yet charming creature will serve as a brand mascot, appearing throughout various brand assets. His lighthearted, yet mishcievious poses show that he is a jolly spirit that runs around the Local. Sometimes causing trouble but mostly giving everyone a laugh. By incorperating the Demon Dog to the brand, The Local will be embracing local culture while inviting tourist to leanr more about Appalachian Culture in an engaging nature.





      Appalachia Technical School





      Appalachia Technical School’s goal is to provide free education to those getting released from prison in Appalachia. The brand was developed to help Appalachian folk break the generational trauma that has existed for hundreds of years. This brand's voice was made to be professional and educational while appealing to folks getting out of prison. I want this brand to appeal to folks who may not have continued their education after K-12 classes. I created a logo and promotional material that uses traditional educational typefaces paired with colors and imagery that relate to the Appalachian region.



      In Bloom







          In Bloom was a branding project that created the identity of the Spring 2024 senior design show at Appalachian State University. We devised a design system that assigned each member of the show a flower that is significant to them. Together, the flowers came together to create a diverse bouquet. During this project, I helped the design team during reviews of the brand's development. After the brand's identity was developed I helped my team install the vinyl imagery and pamphlets throughout the gallery. 



      055





          This August, the city of Florence decided they wanted to expand their current cultural initiative Estate Fiorentina to include local food producers and artisans. Their festival invites tourists and Florentine citizens to come out and enjoy locally produced food and have a refreshing walk in Cascine Park at night during the hottest days of August.






       




      I named the event 055 because this is the area code for Florence, Italy. Numbers transcend most languages. This name and the logo was made to appeal to locals and tourists because of its easy recognizability. The color family and imagery was chosen to represent Italian culture. Most of the colors were colors I found repeating throughout Florence. The typeface was influenced by the letterpress because of Florence’s long history of the letterpress. The structures and iconography featured with the logo are pulled from the architecture that exists in Cascine Park.


      RISO Guidebook





      I created the RISO Guide Book because I want all folks to have accessible information that encourages them to find the moments of joy granted through analog printing practices.








      When I first started my Graphic Design program I noticed a gap of knowledge around the RISO. I felt intimidated by the machine and many of my classmates had never heard of it before. During my later years at Appalachian State University, I worked as a studio tech in the Graphic Design Department. I taught students about the machine and all its quirks because I saw many other students felt intimidated by the RISO like I had. . My goal was for students to feel confident in themselves to safely use all studio equipment.






      The Risograph was originally designed in the 1980s as a paper duplicator capable of producing large volumes at a fraction of the cost of traditional offset printing. It comes from a lineage of stencil duplicating but was developed to be more automated and efficient. The Risograph quickly gained popularity among schools, churches, small businesses, and community organizations that needed affordable, high-volume printing. 

      Because of the machines age, it cna be quite finicky. This guidebook holds all the information needed to begin student’s RISO printing journeys.


      Cultivating Practices





      I created this publication to study Bauhaus, Postmodern, and Speculative design principles. This publication helped me develop a personal relationship to graphic design history. When typesetting each section I researched many pioneers from each era. Their design theory paired with each essay featured throughout the book were considered when I developed each section’s design system. All the essays and talks featured throughout this book correlate with the style they are typeset in.




















      Endangered Appalachia 





      This experimental book form series encapsulates five different endangered Appalachian species. Each form explores how book forms can portray different storytelling methods while bringing awareness to endangered species in Appalachia. The book forms are based on the species' physical characteristics and how they interact with their ecosystems. All of the book forms are RISO printed and connected by a found poem about evolution and adaptation to changes in natural environments.


      Pygmy Salamander 
      Desmognathus wrighti



      Candy Darter
      Etheostoma osburni





      Rota's Feather Moss
      Brachythecium rotaeanum
      Collaboration with Annie Fairey.



      Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel
      Glaucomys sabrinus




        Virginia Big-Eared Bat
        Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus