Alumni Weekend went virtual due to the pandemic, and 2022 saw the return to on-campus celebrations. To mark the occasion, we developed a bold theme to make everyone feel welcome.
I worked with the content lead, marketing services, and our partners to develop our goals and scope, then led the creative team (graphic design, editorial, digital, operations) in ideating and presenting concepts for the event branding, spanning graphics, copy, digital, and social applications. I led the key art development, collaborating with editorial and digital, and art-directed the design team to execute the animations and all applications.
- Role: Creative director, designer
- Client: Drexel University Alumni Relations
- Employer: Drexel University Institutional Advancement
- Engagement: Concept ideation, event branding, key art; creative direction for email, social, web graphics, print collateral, event graphics, and swag
- Impact:
- Net promoter surveys were consistently positive; alumni, partners, and leadership were happy with the creative output
- By front-loading the creative process, our junior designer was able to execute most of the applications with minimal guidance and we opened resources for other creative needs
- Since we partnered with the event designer early, we were able to inject the brand into the events
Drexel Alumni <alumni@drexel.edu>
May 13, 2022, 10:00 AM
Alumni Weekend 2022
Friday, May 19 – Saturday, May 22
This is your friendly reminder to complete your Alumni Weekend registration! Alumni Weekend is just a few weeks away and some events – like Alumni Night at the Ballpark – are sold out!
Secure your spot at Alumni Weekend 2022 and complete your registration today! If you need assistance with anything, we’re happy to help. Email us at alumni@drexel.edu and someone will be in touch!
![Invitation postcards']](https://www.bernardo.onl/wp-content/uploads/aw22_postcards.jpg)
![Branded cup']](https://www.bernardo.onl/wp-content/uploads/aw22_cup.jpg)
Process
As always, the first step was meeting internally and with our partners, to determine our goals and objectives. Since we were working mostly remotely, I conducted a virtual brainstorming session
From the brainstorming session, we picked the top concepts we wanted to develop; we iterated over visuals, copy, and digital until we narrowed it down to two leading concepts.
The two concepts were developed and presented to our partners. Once we agreed on one concept, we continued developing it and implementing it across applications. Part of this process included exploring animations, working with our digital team to make sure we could maximize these animations, and collaborating with the event designer to find opportunities to brand the events.
The marketing lead developed a plan with specific deliverables and timelines. I was able to allocate a designer to be the go-to for all deliverables, and she was able to produce applications based on the established concept.
