PREFACE
Pioneering
In 2009, I was hired as the first and only Graphic Designer for the University of North Florida's Enrollment Services to help establish the first Admissions marketing sector, elevating UNFʼs collegiate presence nationally. I developed a youthful sub-brand to attract traditional students, our target audience, and meet the university's initiatives.
Lessons learned in branding
Looking back, there are certainly things I'd do differently now. I was a fresh grad when I was first hired at UNF with no real world experience building brand systems.
What I discovered through exploration, and years spent with other brands after UNF, is that strict, detailed consistency, audience relevance, and broad applicability are essential for strong systems.
My photography
The majority of the photography you see here was shot by me. I proposed being the resident photographer to help the department save thousands for their budget and to obtain exact imagery needed to realize our visions.
INTERACTIVES
We had to rely heavily on print, as it was important for our Recruiters to connect with high schoolers in person. I could think of no better way to connect with young people than to photograph real students and the beautiful campus, create genuine content about life at UNF, and present it in an irresistibly page-turning format.
Countdown to College poster brochure
Direct mail posters
GET IN. GET NOTICED.
UNF used to be perceived as a non-traditional school catering mostly to seasoned adults and having an almost corporate-like feel with its image. So, our first initiative was to obtain as much updated photography as possible, create a collegiate vibe, and show the world what it's really like.
The "Get In. Get Noticed." tagline was inspired by UNF's reputation — not too small and not too large. This is a fairly unique position, as many of its competitors were either too small to provide that coveted college experience, or too massive for students to build meaningful relationships with professors and plug in easily to the community.
CAMPUS EXPERIENCE DAY
This may be one of my least visually consistent campaigns, but what it lacked in consistency it more than made up for in conversion. We were able to garner more reservations than we had print materials to pass out at the event. I'll take that as a success!
The campaign consisted of mailing out a fancy invitation, info flyer, the Refer-a-Friend incentive pamphlet, and tickets to the event.
Upon arrival, guests would receive a fun, interactive little passport detailing all the main steps one should take to get into UNF.
OZZIE ILLUSTRATIONS
Ozzie Osprey is one of the funniest, most hardworking mascots — students and staff alike just love him. For event materials that involved Ozzie, I decided to create an illustrated character to further evolve the university's image, and deepen the mascot's ties to the UNF community.
