Design Consulting
Bridging the gap to improve experiences
While working on a consulting team, a local public school, Phelps ACE High School (PHS), enlisted us to improve both staff and student experiences. Administration requested help with the visual branding of the school, assistance with social media engagement, and ways to improve attendance at school events. As a result of our recommendations, the school saw a 16% increase in attendance at its most recent fundraising event.The problemPHS faced low community engagement and wasn’t sure why. Although the administration had improvement goals, they needed help identifying the causes of disconnection and finding meaningful ways to address them.The SolutionTo uncover the root of the disengagement, we identified gaps in communication and trust between students and staff, which helped shape actionable steps to strengthen community involvement. My approach focused on building upon the school’s existing strengths to create self-sustaining, lasting change.
DurationAug ’24 – Dec ’24
My Roles LEAD RESEARCHERUX DESIGNERVISUAL DESIGNER
Research
To get to know the school and its community better, I led the team in user research. We were able to:
🔎 Key findings
Frustrations
- Limited events for students to participate in
- Lack of social media posting
- Underwhelming fundraising events
- Limited financial resources, school-wide
- Lack of promotion for unique programs offered to students
Strengths
- Friendships and community connections were repeatedly highlighted
- Hands-on and interactive approaches during class are unique and engaging
- Small school size, allowing for personalized attention and strong connections
- High interest in school-wide, group activities
“We use the Instagram page on and off. We usually only post when it’s big events like spirit week.”
- Vice Principal, on their social media schedule
Our Recommendations
Brand & Social Media GuidesI found that brand elements weren’t consistent across all platforms. For example, the official school website uses the newest version of the logo, while the main Instagram page for the school uses an outdated one.
Faculty pointed out that members would work simultaneously on visual designs (e.g. posters to promote school events) and had multiple people assigned to creating posts on their social media platforms. I aimed to create a guide that acts as a reference point when creating any visual assets to have everyone on the same page.
The current logo on the school’s site (top), The outdated logo on the school’s Instagram (bottom).
Select pages from the brand guide style section
Staff shared uncertainty about what to post on social media, especially because there was no faculty member delegated to the task. On the other hand, students said they didn’t follow the school’s accounts due to a lack of engaging or useful content.
We proposed a weekly posting schedule to reduce the daily burden of content planning and ensure posts resonate with students. Social media templates and usage guidelines were also Included to help the social media manager create consistent and visually appealing posts.
“To be honest, I don’t follow the Instagram. If they posted about the students or events I would consider it, though.”
- Student, on their wishes for the school’s social media
Select pages from the brand guide template section