Role: Branding and Advertising Consultant for California Institute of the Arts Extended Studies.
I continue to lead the admissions campaigns from concept to application for CalArts Extended Studies.
"Working with Stephanie Chan to promote Extended Studies at CalArts has been a real pleasure and I couldn't be happier with the results. Steph has taken great care to fully understand the culture of our Institute and to pinpoint what's special about each of our programs. We've been working with her for a few years, and with each campaign we end up with a fresh and exciting new look that is in keeping with our global reputation for being creative innovators. In addition to doing stunning and effective design and marketing work, Steph has a great talent for tapping into the knowledge and creativity of our team. She values and respects our opinions and makes it easy for us to do our part in identifying the essence of the campaign. On a practical project management level, Steph is thorough and prompt with her communications and always makes it clear what our action items are so we can stay on track. She's a phenomenal talent and a delight to work with."
-Hilary Darling,
Director of Summer Institute & Office of Extended Studies Project Manager
Goal: Brand and market summer programming to speak to the unusual nature of the courses and their specific audience.
After working closely with the Extended Studies team for years on refining their summer program branding and implementing effective data analysis processes, there was a wealth of insights to leverage for the 2021 summer session. Starting with provocative words derived from their internal brainstorm session, a strong messaging system was built to flex across different advertising channels. Evoking the censorship style of progressive and subversive readings, the design system pairs the striking treatment of text with joyful colorful and abstract sprinkles.
Backed by a thoughtful digital media plan designed to reach a highly specific audience, the campaign launched in video and static forms across select mediums. The big push for awareness ran in places that were deemed most appropriate based on research, including a Slate compatible email campaign and targeted social media ads.
By elevating the digital presence of the summer programming, students felt reassured in the type of experience they would be receiving amidst many other unknowns the pandemic has dealt to us. The Extended Studies at CalArts remains a force among the highly competitive arena of higher education as the pandemic wears on, and numbers are pointing towards a successful pre-pandemic era yield.
Visit extendedstudies.calarts.edu