Research and Discovery

When PHS reached out to my consulting team, they requested help with the visual branding of the school and assistance with social media engagement. I started researching the community through various methods.

Starting with understanding student perspectives, a QR code to a survey was posted in the halls. I also had the opportunity to run a focus group during a campus visit with semi-structured questions. From students, I found:

I conducted another similar focus group with faculty to get more information on the school and its history.

Recommendations

With a new understanding of the problems expressed, I worked closely with my consulting team to create recommendations in the areas the client requested.

Brand & Social Media Guides

I found that brand elements weren’t consistent across all platforms, and there didn’t exist a place for faculty to refer to. I aimed to create a guide that acts as a reference point for faculty when creating any visual assets to combat this.

The official school website uses the newest version of the logo while the main Instagram page for the school uses an outdated version. An inconsistent visual identity raises questions about the validity of different profiles and may lead to confusion if the page is currently active.

Weekly Calendar

Staff expressed that they were unsure of what to post on social media, while students expressed that they didn’t follow the school’s social media pages because of a lack of useful or interesting information. These pains could be combated by creating a weekly schedule that the social media manager can follow. This relieves them from thinking of new ideas daily and ensures that students will be interested in what’s being posted. Social media templates and instructions on how to use them are included in the brand guide to assist the social media manager in creating aesthetically pleasing posts.

“To be honest, I don’t even follow the Instagram. If they posted more about the students
or events I would consider it, though.”
-Student, on their wishes for the school’s social media

Reflection

It was an amazing experience to learn about the Phelps High School community and innovate solutions to issues they’ve struggled with for some time. I wanted to focus on using strengths that the school already had rather than trying to uproot the community and redesign everything. I felt this would make the community self-reliant, creating a long-lasting impact. Additionally, by finding solutions within an existing system, my research and design skills were reinforced. This experience taught me the value of working with available resources rather than always seeking entirely new ones. By leveraging what was already in place, I was able to create more practical, sustainable solutions that aligned with the community’s needs.