Branding & Campaigns

Ramily: The Big CSU Summer Party, CSU Spur, Denver, Colorado

2024

Concept Pitch

“The evening was an exciting way to showcase CSU innovations and to celebrate with our Ram community. ”

— President Amy Parsons

Challenge

Develop a new signature alumni and donor event in Denver that brings CSU’s energy and innovation to life through a place-based experience. CSU needed a new signature alumni and donor event in Denver – one that could authentically represent the university's energy and innovation through place-based experience, while connecting meaningfully to the city's creative culture.

Role

Lead Designer, creative direction – concept through implementation.

Approach

Drove the full creative process from discovery to execution, starting with original research and stakeholder interviews to ground the concept in authentic institutional and community insights. Synthesized findings to develop a compelling event identity that bridged CSU's agricultural heritage and CSU Spur’s neighboring RiNo arts district and Globeville’s creative spirit.

Pitched the concept directly to President Parsons, presenting the name, wordmark, and full visual identity system, and making the case for a bold, place-based approach to alumni and donor engagement. Worked iteratively with the President’s office and our event team through multiple rounds of feedback, refining the visual strategy to align with institutional priorities while preserving creative integrity.

Designed and directed all environmental, print, and digital deliverables for the inaugural event at CSU Spur – translating the identity system into a cohesive visitor experience across every touchpoint.

Impact

The event was adopted as an annual university tradition. President Parsons lauded it as a model of engagement and storytelling in action – validating both the depth of the research-driven concept process and the strength of the environmental design execution. (This event was suspended in 2026 due to budget considerations.)

Ramily visual summary. (Photos courtesy of CSU Spur photography, CSU social media, video clips Wiz Kid at CSU Spur)

Ramily flutter flags.
Ramily invitation and insert.
Ramily window graphic.
Ramily deliverables included: invitation and insert, landing page, posters, flags, pole & drap background, environmental sign, social media posts.
Live graffiti artist Paul Lukes creating Ram-themed murals.
Ramily light pillars.
CAM the Ram with Spirit CAM at Ramily.
Orange Ramily shirts for activations.
Ramily on social.
Ramily 2025 selfie, continuing the tradition.
The Big Summer Party naming planning. My favorite was “Sneaka Peek,” with custom CSU kicks encouraged.

Giving Tuesday: Rams Against Hunger Campaign, Colorado State University Advancement

2023-2025

Concept deck

“The creative approach focusing on what is on someone’s plate outside of food and making it about capacity is thoughtful, respectful, and so relatable. Students identifying what is on their “plate” and the inclusion of donor motivations elevates this campaign.”

— 2025 CASE award judges

Challenge

Refresh CSU’s annual Giving Tuesday campaign for the Rams Against Hunger meal swipe program to strengthen emotional resonance and donor engagement – then, two years later, build on that foundation with a bolder creative concept to grow the campaign further while addressing food insecurity honestly, without relying on somber, traditional imagery.

Role

Lead graphic designer and art director. Collaborated with CSU photographer Joe Mendoza and videographer Marketa Jancar on production.

Approach

In 2023, used design thinking to uncover donor motivations and craft a visual story around “Surviving vs. Thriving,” art-directing photography and integrating CSU’s then-new “Find Your Energy” brand language across every touchpoint.

Building on that foundation, the 2025 campaign introduced “What’s On Your Plate” – reframing hunger as one more weight added to an already full plate of student life. Prototyped the concept using dishes and everyday items in-office, then directed a studio photoshoot with Joe Mendoza to capture plates filled with symbols of student stress: bills, textbooks, a wallet, exercise gear, a phone full of messages. Videographer Marketa Jancar extended the concept into promotional and donor thank-you videos. Adapted messaging in real time to address a government shutdown that paused SNAP benefits mid-campaign.

Impact

The 2023 campaign raised nearly $96,000 through 1,331 donors. The 2025 campaign raised $144,613 – 134% of goal– equivalent to 13,328 meal swipes, with 1,238 donors including 156 first-time CSU donors, a 13% increase in faculty/staff participation, and a 43% increase in parent giving year-over-year.

Both campaigns earned CASE Circle of Excellence Gold Awards – a rare back-to-back win that established the creative strategy as a model for future CSU campaigns. Judges praised the 2025 concept for tackling a difficult subject with thoughtfulness: “The creative approach focusing on what is on someone’s plate outside of food and making it about capacity is thoughtful, respectful, and so relatable.”

Recognition

Gold Circle of Excellence Award – CASE, 2025, Fundraising (“What’s On Your Plate”)
Gold CASE District VI Award & Circle of Excellence Award – CASE, 2024, Fundraising (“Surviving vs. Thriving”)

2023 Giving Tuesday photoshoot in the dining hall.
2023 Giving Tuesday on RAMvision.
2023 Giving Tuesday newspaper rack.
2023 Giving Tuesday magazine ad.
2023 Giving Tuesday newspaper ad.

2025 Giving Tuesday on Facebook.
2025 Giving Tuesday poster.
2025 Giving Tuesday on RamVision.
2025 Giving Tuesday postcard.
2025 Giving Tuesday prototype.

Grads at a Glance, Poudre School District

2020 & 2022

Case Study

Challenge

Each spring, Poudre School District profiles graduating seniors across its nine high schools – students who made the ordinary extraordinary: those who overcame health challenges, difficult circumstances, or an uphill road to the stage. In 2020, graduation ceremonies were upended by COVID-19, and the team’s writer departed mid-project. In 2022, coming off two years of disrupted learning, the goal was to make the celebration feel genuinely joyful again – and to tell each student’s story through the voices of the people who cheered them along the way.

Role

Art direction, graphic design, and newsletter layout – with expanded scope each year. In 2020, I stepped in as writer and photographer for several profiles.

Approach

I led a cross-functional moodboard session to establish a shared creative direction, then developed a color and brand system flexible enough to incorporate the nine schools while holding together as a cohesive suite. Vibrant studio backgrounds, collage-style layering, and circular graphic elements gave the series a celebratory, ’90s-inflected energy. The collage approach also solved a structural challenge: integrating the many people in each student’s life – family, teachers, coaches – into something warm rather than cluttered. I co-built graphics with designer Brad Randall, who also developed the microsite, and I designed the PSD Now newsletter layout to ensure equitable coverage across all schools.

Impact

The PSD Now newsletter reached over 60,000 community members directly. Video profiles drew 300-1,000 views each across both years. Perhaps most satisfying: the videography team fully adopted the visual direction – animating the lower thirds, prototyping test shots, and adding their own surprise touches like confetti and balloons. A system that another team can run with and make their own is a system that works.

2022 Grads at a Glance on Facebook.
2022 Grads at a Glance Aden profile on the microsite, developed by Brad Randall.
Collage example of a student with all her supporters from school and home.
Narrowing down to three moodboards from our inspiration pieces.
Collaboration began with a shared inspiration Pintrest board.
2022 Grads at a Glance in PSD Now, the district’s monthly newsletter.
Rowan and Julia profile portraits.
Ryan and Alice profile portraits.
Video profile graphics.

150 Sesquicentennial Celebration Campaign, Colorado State University

2019 – 2020

Lore Quiz

Then & Now slider

Challenge

Colorado State University's 150th anniversary required unifying a decentralized campus community around a cohesive brand — across channels, colleges, and a full academic year — without a central system for distributing assets consistently.

Role

Lead art director, content creator and contributing environmental graphic designer. I worked with a large creative team of web, video, photography, project managers, and graphic designers.

Approach

Led concept direction of the CSU150 mark and drove campaign execution across every touchpoint. Wrote and edited content for the CSU Lore Quiz, art directed drone photography and designed the Then and Now historic photo slider. Designed environmental graphics that physically transformed campus and the Old Town area in the City of Fort Collins – light pole banners, a large-scale mark stenciled along Ram Walk, and statement banners on the administration building. To solve the asset distribution problem, spearheaded a password-protected WordPress site for campus communicators and led working sessions with design partners to ensure brand consistency university-wide.

Impact

Campaign exposure peaked at Homecoming and Commencement. Microsite visitors averaged 1:38 per session, well above CSU's news site benchmark. The asset site was called “innovative” by campus peers. The CSU150 website earned a Silver Pick from the Colorado PRSA in 2020, with judges citing the archival visuals, interactive quiz, and overall user experience.

150th banners for Old Town Fort Collins, I researched photos with Librarians and worked with our team interns on design.
CSU 150th landing page screenshot, developed by the web and video team. I provided the CSU Lore Quiz, Then & Now Slider, and historical asset research. The site is no longer live.
CSU Lore Quiz results, researched and written by me, illustrations by team designer Adam Mendez.
Ram Walk stenciling, as seen in the Around the Oval magazine spread.
CSU Lore Quiz posts.
150th Then & Now slider screenshot.
CSU150 Ram Walk.
CSU 150th sketch explorations, which was ultimately finalized by team designer Cameron Nelson.