student tech services
promoting tech for the students, by the students
Duration
2+ years, April 2018 - May 2020
Manager
Cristobal Olivares
Methods
Brand Identity, Graphic/ Visual Design
Campaign/ Event Planning,
Merch Design, Marketing and Strategy
Overview
I worked with the Marketing & Outreach Team as the Visual Communications Designer
for UC Berkeley Student Technology Services.
At Student Technology Services, I worked on:
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Rebranded STS and devised a new style guide
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Designed web-page, social-media, and prints to promote university-wide
tech support for 41,000+ students -
Conducted 6+ online and in person marketing campaigns to increase online visibility
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Illustrated and distributed Cal Academic Calendars to over 1,000+ students
What is student tech services?
Student Technology Services ensures students have reliable network access and knowledgeable, friendly, and responsive technical support throughout all residential locations and on campus. We also work to inform the Berkeley community about the importance of keeping their personal data and devices secure. Our primary goal is to support students to fully utilize network resources for their academic and personal needs.
Project 1
How do we design for meaningful engagements driven by educational purposes?
How do we create a cohesive and approachable voice?
First and foremost, our team recognized the importance of having a brand identity that is consistent throughout all the STS marketing materials.
To help train the communication muscle at STS, I created a brand identity guideline that informs the visual system of the organization.
How can we increase our helpdesk presence?
We are faced with the challenge of informing the students about our Helpdesk Services offered on campus. A series of environmental graphics/ digital signages/ social media posts were created to help brand the physical spaces where student tech consultants are stationed. Our goals is to spark awareness, curiosity, and ultimately conversations between our students and consultants!
The Faces of STS campaign specifically featured student employees' unique stories about what serving the Cal community means to them. I led a creative-photoshoot session with 70+ current student employees and had them pose with tech equipment-related to their roles – e.g a keyboard, lightbulb, telephone, printer, and more.
The goal of the series is not only to boost internal workers' morale and foster a greater sense of community among co-workers but also to introduce the diverse stories/ backgrounds of the STS cohort to students at Cal.
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As such, I intended to alter the common narratives of gender and power by deliberately placing a female Muslim student in the position of "handing down knowledge and resources". Similarly, I showcased students from different ethnicity, gender, religion, and sexual orientations through distinctive skin colors and unique clothing. Ultimately, the graphics celebrate a theme of collaboration and support within the Berkeley campus that takes place in every shape and form.
Project 2
How can we design an inclusive recruitment process?
The marketing team is committed to building relationships with students of all backgrounds to learn how to best serve them through in-person events, needs assessments, and social media. During the recruitment cycle, the team organized the "Faces of STS" campaign to promote employment opportunities on campus. The campaign targeted social media, student organizations on campus, and underserved student community/ resource centers.
Project 3
How do we create an educational calendar that informs students of tech resources + services supported by STS?
In summer 2019, we collaborated with Adobe to design the 2019-20 UC Berkeley Academic Calendar. The printed calendars reached 10,000+ incoming grad and undergrads in dorms, offices, and student fairs, and are also available in e-copy. As a team, we wanted to reimagine a calendar that would not only help promote STS's services but also educate students on where to access tech resources + opportunities.
I designed the layout and illustrated all the monthly calendar visuals that aim to showcase the broad range of student demographics at Cal. The graphic style is whimsical and playful, which intends to capture students' attention so they would engage with the content in the calendar. As such, the calendar has served as a "calling card" at student outreach events throughout the year and embodied the Berkeley Operating Principles of “We include and excel, together” and “We imagine and innovate”.
How do we promote diversity in a campus-wide distributed academic calendar?
While I was working on developing the illustration style for the calendar, one of the guiding principles was ‘inclusiveness'. Therefore, I paid careful attention to how minor details such as character positioning and color choices can paint a bigger picture and message.
I first drew people without filling in any color in the skin or left them as outlines, and had limited the drawings to a male and female character. However, I was later given the feedback that drawing people that resembled no one, was no talk of diversity. This prompted me to be more intentional and to acknowledge that drawing perfectly curved outlines and filling in appealing textures everywhere but the skin and calling it a day wasn’t enough.
Meet the Outreach & Engagement Team!
Our team is responsible for promoting services provided by STS and engaging with students to identify and to promote tech resources on campus that support and enhance the student experience.
We are committed to serving the UC Berkeley student body and ensuring that all students are granted access to inclusive technological services!