Outstanding Alumni Organic Social Campaign
Pepperdine University
In the midst of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Pepperdine leaders wanted to honor fifty alumni working in the healthcare industry. Knowing the bulk of the work would be digitally distributed as millions of people were working remote, the campaign needed to be adaptable to work across multiple digital platforms. The design process included discovery and concept development, refinement, and execution. Design direction took about two weeks to develop, with the first phase of graphics for the campaign website and social announcements ready to rollout only one week after the direction was chosen. I created additional social posts as needed over another three week period.
Discovery and Concept Development
I met with the directors of communication and alumni engagement and worked collaboratively with a communications specialist to understand the desired tone for the campaign. I then developed and pitched three concepts to the directors based on different themes: Compassionate Care, Essential Worker, and Making Connections.
Compassionate Care | With organic movement and shapes capture the personal touch required for quality healthcare.
clean water • human connection • organic • airy • soothing • pensive
Essential Worker | A juxtaposition of warm and cools, geometry with organic strokes, this concept marries both sides of the healthcare industry which requires quick decisiveness and an ocean of compassion.
calm amid chaos • caution tape • risk-taking • life-saving
Making Connections | Much like a hospital or healthcare organization has many moving parts, the connecting dots and lines form systems of function, rhythm, and beauty.
friendly • clean • geometric • organized movement • crossing paths
Concept Refinement
Leaders enthusiastically chose the Making Connections theme, yet wanted to see a few alternative title options before moving forward.
Final design selected for the title lockup
Design Execution
The campaign was executed in phases: call for nominations, announcement of honorees, and then recognition in the Pepperdine Magazine.
With 50 alum being honored, the campaign needs included called for more than 75 individual motion graphics: 25 Instagram Story slides featuring two honorees each, 50 square post animations, email and website headers, and 3 different title graphics to serve as covers for phased announcements. Occasionally I needed to adapt designs or create new assets that would be sent out within the same day.
