Project Description

Historically, American University has always used an outside design firm to create their enrollment materials and as an in-house designer I was sad to see them get all the fun projects. About 2 years ago we started an in-house rebranding effort that I was lucky enough to be a part of. This included print and digital advertising and the renovation of American University’s new student welcome center. After the success of the initial launch, I was given the task of producing the enrollment materials to reflect the new brand. With an in-house photographer (and sometimes a digital camera), I set out to create a set of pieces that would make students want to come to American University. I particularly wanted to give a sense of DC that reached beyond the Washington Monument and Capital Hill. We used primarily American University students as models. I had a crash course in art direction and photo styling. We saved enrollment tons of money and my job got about 200% more fun.

The “headless” cropping allowed the prospective students to imagine themselves here, to imagine a variety of different futures for themselves. It’s kind of the opposite of the over-used student profile concept.