In the summer of 2018, the Bates Career Development Center merged with the existing Purposeful Work programs to create the Bates Center for Purposeful Work. We help students “align who they are with what they do" and connect the dots between their interests, values, and strengths. The foundation of our work is developmental, pragmatic, and philosophical–we meet students where they are (at a phase of both deep and broad exploration of the early twenties) to give them skills (the opportunities to do different types of work and beta test professional experiences) and then reflect deeply on what, why, and how to create meaningful work and live a meaningful life.
The Purposeful Work brand book was developed by Anchour and given to me, the in-house designer, to create assets in various forms to create a physical presence and brand awareness of Purposeful Work on the Bates College campus.
Creating a Physical Presence – I designed large signage to publicize our locations and draw a connection between them. These included two 30x60 inch banners for our main buildings as well as a portable tablecloth for our secondary locations where our student fellows offered drop-in services of resume and cover letter review.
Print – I worked closely with the PW Director and staff team to create a cohesive suite of print materials to help multiple audiences – students, staff, faculty, alumni, prospective students and parents – understand the philosophy and utility of our programs.
Foam-board poster for first-year students to see staff faces and emphasize phone, zoom, and distanced in-person availability.
Re-designed Purposeful Work Unplugged with a new logo, custom graphic, and signature layout to fit within the PW brand.
Double-sided mint sheets for the Assistant Director of Internships to advertise our internship funding process.
Digital Marketing – I supervised three Digital Marketing Interns. Together, we launched the Purposeful Work Instagram, amassing over 1,000 followers in less than two years (about 60% of the student body). Though I lead my interns in art direction and content creation, I also give them significant amounts of autonomy to ideate and execute on their own.
Mug designed with inspiration from Anchour's brand book, which we made into a successful giveaway campaign on Instagram to boost student engagement (photo by Sarah du Pont).
Custom PW lanyards worn by alumni at Spotlight on Environmental Careers (photo by Bates Communications Office).
I created a new logo and corresponding illustrations for our annual How to Adult program: a series of workshops designed to teach students skills for life after college.
In 2021, we partnered with onomy for workshops including How to Invest, Personal Finance and Budgeting, and Credit Cards & Debt.
One component of my role was to create presentation decks. I worked closely with our team to create beautiful, on-brand templates that could be used across a range of presentation types as well as custom infographics for specific uses. I myself presented to President Clayton Spencer on the efficacy of Purposeful Work's digital communications to students during the pandemic. See a chunk of the presentation linked here.
Our Spotlight series highlighted alumni in specific industries and organizations. They allow students to make genuine connections with these alumni and develop an understanding of how to effectively utilize their Bates education in the world of work.
This graphic appeared in emails and on social media to advertise Spotlight on Careers in Social Justice with four alumni in the field.
Instagram story graphics to help students understand how to apply for funding for an un-paid or low-paying internship.
Email Marketing – Email advertisement became even more critical during 2020 when students were sent home due to the pandemic and regular student-staff interactions became less frequent.
We included the Class of 2020 in more opportunities as they didn't get to finish out their semester on-campus with our in-person support.
We also featured students from the Class of 2020 that had success through this platform to encourage current seniors (Class of 2021) that SLAC is a legitimate method to land a job.
photos by Becca Haydu