Selected Case Studies

CASE STUDY | Latimer.Ai + FutureSum.AI

Identity Systems, Narrative Positioning, and Digital Presence Across a Two-Entity AI Ecosystem

Brand identity for an AI company built to serve who mainstream models leave out — now funded, with its founder speaking on industry stages.
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  • FutureSum.AI is the umbrella company developing AI-powered APIs for diverse audiences — Latimer is its flagship platform, built to reduce bias by grounding intelligence in historical and cultural context.

    Mehary Studio translated Latimer.Ai 's technical complexity into a cohesive brand story — developing the narrative framework, foundational visual identity, and pitch decks that secured funding, drove press coverage, and positioned the platform for global speaking stages and institutional partnerships. FutureSum.AI launched with a fully realized digital presence, establishing the umbrella brand as a credible, compelling force in the AI equity space.

  • Latimer.AI was building something rare: an artificial intelligence platform designed to reduce bias by grounding intelligence in historical and cultural context. The technology was powerful and the mission was clear internally — but the public expression lacked the authority, coherence, and institutional legibility needed to build trust with HBCUs, global partners, and investors. The challenge was not capability. It was communication.

  • As Creative Director, Mehary Studio established the full narrative and positioning framework for Latimer — defining the language, structure, and storytelling system used across executive messaging, investor materials, public platforms, and partner communications. We translated the platform's cultural and technical depth into a cohesive brand identity capable of moving between academic, institutional, and investment contexts without losing its mission integrity.

  • Latimer achieved greater legibility and credibility across institutional and media audiences. Executive messaging gained the coherence needed to support strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and press. The company secured global speaking platforms and strengthened alignment with HBCUs — increasing visibility, trust, and funding interest.

CASE STUDY | 54Kibo

Creative Direction and Product Design for a Modern African Luxury Design House

Narrative and visual systems for a platform connecting luxury African and diaspora commerce. Designed the best selling Naka bead light collection, produced by artisans in South Africa. Led site design, newsletter design, and creative direction for 54kibo.
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  • 54kibo evolved from a curated marketplace into a recognizable design house — with a cohesive luxury language, an original product line rooted in African design, and visual systems that continue to anchor the brand today. Signature products designed during the engagement remain central to its commercial and cultural identity.

  • 54kibo was founded to reintroduce African design to the world as modern luxury. The founder had deep artisan relationships, a functioning e-commerce platform, and early traction — but no unifying creative direction to lift the brand beyond a marketplace model. The challenge was not product availability; it was luxury coherence: how to unify diverse artisans, materials, and geographies into one brand capable of commanding higher price points and lasting cultural relevance.

  • I joined initially to support catalogue design and quickly became a strategic creative partner to the founder — operating as a shadow co-founder and Creative Director. I defined in-house product design direction, refining artisan work into cohesive seasonal palettes and luxury standards, and designed original soft goods and lighting alongside global artisans. Alongside product, I established brand guidelines, editorial tone, and visual systems, and directed the website redesign, campaign concepts, and newsletter templates to support both storytelling and conversion — helping shape priorities and creative decisions under constrained resources.

  • The work shifted brand perception from marketplace to design house, enabling higher price points and stronger cultural positioning. It launched a new luxury product line rooted in African design ethos and refined craftsmanship, and gave the founder a clear creative foundation to lead sales and product development with confidence. The visual and strategic systems established during the engagement continue to support the brand's longevity even as resources fluctuate — and signature products designed in this period still anchor its visual and commercial identity.

CASE STUDY | CTRP Child Trauma Research Program at UCSF

Identity Design During Organizational Transition — Sensitivity, Narrative, and Resolution

CTRP received a complete visual identity system including logo suite, anniversary mark, and usage guidelines, resolving in three months what a year-long prior process had not. The new identity honored founding legacy while creating confident visual space for new leadership.

  • The Child Trauma Research Program at UCSF faced a layered identity moment: the program was approaching its 30th anniversary while simultaneously navigating a significant leadership transition — the departure of a founding figure who had become inseparable from the organization's identity. They had never had a formal logo, and an extended engagement with a previous designer had not produced a resolved identity. The stakes were high on every dimension — the subject matter required exceptional sensitivity, the client team was cautious and resistant, and the organization needed a visual identity that could honor legacy while signaling a new chapter without causing internal fracture.

  • Mehary Studio was brought in to resolve what had become a stalled and politically complex process. Rather than leading with visual concepts, we began with a narrative process — developing a clear emotional and strategic brief that gave the client team language for what they were feeling and what they needed the identity to do. The brief centered on three tensions: clinical authority and human warmth, continuity and forward momentum, legacy and liberation. That narrative foundation unlocked the creative process. We developed a complete visual identity system — logo, icon, color palette, typography, usage guidelines, and an anniversary mark — grounded in the emotional core: CTRP as the beating heart of the department, a 30-year heartbeat just getting started.

  • Within three months, Mehary Studio delivered a fully resolved identity system that a year-long prior process had not produced. The client team — which had been deeply resistant — reached alignment and approved the work. The identity balanced clinical credibility with warmth and accessibility, honoring the founding legacy while creating visual space for new leadership. The complete logo kit included multiple configurations for digital, print, signage, and institutional contexts, along with a comprehensive usage guide that gave the internal team clear, confident direction for applying the brand independently going forward.

CASE STUDY | Maryland Legal Aid

Visual Identity System and Brand Asset Buildout for a Major Legal Services Organization

Maryland Legal Aid received a fully resolved visual identity system — logo, color palette, typography, and a complete asset library — delivered on time under extraordinary pressure. The new identity gave a large, mission-driven team the tools to show up consistently and credibly across every format and platform.

  • Maryland Legal Aid serves communities across the state with free civil legal services — a large, complex organization with a wide and diverse constituency. Their visual identity had not kept pace with the scale and maturity of their work, and a full rebrand was needed that could feel professional and credible while remaining warm, accessible, and reflective of the communities they serve. The engagement was further complicated when the agency managing the project announced it was closing — compressing what remained of the timeline dramatically.

  • Mehary Studio led the visual identity redesign from the ground up — developing a new logo system and rolling it out across a comprehensive suite of brand assets for a large internal team. When the agency closure was announced mid-engagement, we moved immediately into accelerated delivery mode: with four days remaining, we templated the full suite of social media assets, presentation decks, and communication materials, ensuring the organization left with a complete, usable brand system despite the disruption.

  • Maryland Legal Aid received a fully resolved visual identity — logo, color system, typography, and a complete asset library — delivered on time under extraordinary pressure. The new identity balanced institutional credibility with accessibility, giving a large, mission-driven team the tools to show up consistently across every format and platform.

I design systems that stabilize people and organizations in times of rapid change.