Pursuing An Unparalleled Student Experience
Communication Manager, Creative + Operations
Leading creative systems that unify services, amplify student voice, and bring campus culture to life.
Unified Services
Student Voice
Campus Culture
Division of Student Life
Crafting the student experience
Overview
The University of Delaware Division of Student Life underwent significant growth and reorganization beginning in 2021—introducing new structures, services, and cross-division collaboration. My role was to help make that change feel clear, consistent, and human through design systems, messaging, and high-visibility creative assets that strengthened trust and recognition across campus.
Objective
Create cohesive, accessible communications that clearly express Student Life’s evolving mission, vision, values, services, and strategic priorities—while establishing a recognizable “Student Life” look and voice within the overarching University brand.
Challenge
Reorganization meant frequent change: new teams, new service pathways, shifting department structures, and updated priorities. With every transition, Student Life needed to communicate what was changing, why it mattered, and how students and staff could navigate it—without overwhelming audiences or losing continuity.
At the same time, the creative work had to stand out, feel student-centered, and remain aligned with established University brand standards.
Featured Work: Student Life Desktop Tool
(Mission / Vision / Values)
A staff-facing visual tool designed to unify the division around shared purpose—simple, consistent, and easy to reference in daily work and onboarding.
Impact: Reinforced alignment, boosted clarity during transition, and created a shared language across teams.
Wellbeing + Health Centers
Trabant University Center
Perkins Student Center
Role & Collaboration
Company: University of Delaware Division of Student Life
Type: Brand & communications system (ongoing)
Role: Communications Manager, Creative & Operations
Partners: Student Life Leadership, Office of Communications & Marketing, University Printing
Featured Work: General-Use Student Life Welcome Sign
For Events
A flexible, repeatable welcome sign system for Student Life events—built for quick deployment and consistent Student Life presence across varied spaces and audiences.
Impact: Strengthened visibility and cohesion across events without requiring a custom design each time.
Mock-up of general use Student Life Welcome Signage designed by Abby Phillips.
Focus of the future conference branding and tech sticker designed by Abby Phillips.
Student Life Annual Themed Conference Branding
A visual identity and event system for the division’s annual professional development conference.
2022–2023 Theme: Focus on the Future
Deliverables included event brand elements, signage, templates, and supporting communications assets.
Impact: Increased staff engagement and created a consistent “signature moment” for Student Life culture-building.
Project Summary
As Student Life evolved into a more centralized and collaborative communications model, our work focused on building confidence and clarity—internally for staff and externally for students. This project reflects an ongoing effort to unify a growing division through design systems, accessible messaging, and creative assets that make Student Life easier to understand, easier to navigate, and more exciting to experience.
Results (Quick Wins)
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Established consistent “Student Life” visual tone across Student Life initiatives
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Increased reuse through templates and modular signage systems
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Improved clarity during organizational transition through staff-facing tools
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Strengthened divisional cohesion across departments and event environments
What’s Next (Ongoing System)
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Expand Creative Hubs and reusable campaign kits
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Continue building the photo and multimedia library for faster content creation
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Scale training + template governance for departments and student teams