The 175th Anniversary
Bridging Legacy and Brand Modernization
Leading the 175th Anniversary creative was about more than a milestone; it was about honoring the history of an institution while giving it the modern visual tools it needed to grow.
Goal: To execute a year-long, multi-channel campaign celebrating a legacy milestone while modernizing the brand for a diverse, future-facing audience.
Role
Creative Lead
Scope
1 Building Dedication
1 Public Facing State of the University
7 Regional Alumni Receptions
6 States
Creative Team
Designer
Social Media Specialist
Photographer
Videographer
Key Partners
University President
Conferences
Advancement Operations
Facilities
Results
Fiscal Year 2025 completed with $16.4 million in total gifts
500+ Alumni Engaged
A unified 175-year legacy with a modern identity.
The Challenge
Pacific University was at a pivotal moment, navigating significant institutional change while approaching a major 175th-anniversary milestone. Rather than treating the anniversary as a standalone celebration, the goal was to use the moment to unify the campus community and signal the university’s future direction. I developed a creative strategy that balanced 175 years of legacy with our evolving enrollment marketing identity, resulting in a cohesive, modern, and public-facing campaign.
I led the creative strategy and execution in partnership with Advancement leadership and cross-functional campus teams.
Leadership Strategy
Cross-Functional Brand Stewardship
I served as the primary creative lead, collaborating closely with University Advancement and partnering with Facilities, Conferences and Events, and Alumni Engagement to align visual systems and messaging across departments. This coordination ensured a unified brand experience across all anniversary initiatives.
Creative Direction & Quality Assurance
I established the visual tone for the anniversary and provided consistent quality assurance across all assets. This oversight ensured that work ranging from large-scale environmental signage to social media content met institutional standards for brand integrity, accessibility and executional excellence.
Inclusive Storytelling & Accessibility
Accessibility and inclusive representation were embedded throughout the campaign. I prioritized high-contrast color palettes and directed imagery to reflect the diversity of the current student body, ensuring that anniversary storytelling was both authentic and accessible across audiences.
Execution
This event marked the public launch of the 175th-anniversary identity through a permanent, highly visible campus installation. As creative lead, I directed the visual system and coordinated production across signage, print and digital to ensure consistency at both the building and event level
Environmental Signage and Installation
I led the creative direction and coordinated production for permanent building signage and large-scale banners, working closely with Facilities and external vendors to introduce the 175th-anniversary identity in a lasting, campus-facing way.
Event Experience and Collateral
I oversaw the design and production of event materials that extended the anniversary visual system into the ceremony itself, aligning environmental graphics, print collateral and program design into a cohesive guest experience.
Process and Amplification
We documented the installation process and repurposed it as vertical video to extend a one-day milestone into ongoing storytelling. This approach allowed us to connect a physical campus moment to broader digital engagement across the anniversary year.
This event was a public-facing moment to reflect on institutional progress while reinforcing the forward-looking tone of the 175th anniversary. I led the creative direction across environmental design, event collateral and video, ensuring a cohesive experience for both in-person attendees and broader audiences.
Event Experience and Brand Touchpoints
I directed the visual environment for the event, including branded signage and guest-facing materials designed to reinforce the anniversary identity. A custom soccer-style scarf was developed as a giveaway, creating a tangible, wearable expression of the brand that resonated strongly with attendees and extended visibility beyond the event itself.
Program Documentation and Institutional Record
The full program was captured in a long-form video to serve as a permanent institutional record and share the event with audiences unable to attend in person. This asset supported transparency, accessibility and long-term reference.
Event Promotion and Follow-Up Engagement
We developed a mix of pre-event promotional content and post-event follow-up assets to support attendance and extend the impact of the State of the University across social platforms. Formats included vertical video and carousel posts, allowing us to tailor messaging and timing while reinforcing the anniversary narrative before and after the event.
These events extended the 175th-anniversary campaign beyond campus, requiring a flexible creative approach that could scale across locations while maintaining a consistent brand presence. I led the creative strategy and provided adaptable assets to support execution across six states.
On-the-Ground Brand Execution
Because these receptions took place across multiple regions, we relied on adaptable signage and branded materials rather than full production crews. Even with informal photography, the anniversary identity remained visible and cohesive, reinforcing the campaign through consistent environmental cues and wearable brand elements.
Sustaining Momentum Across the Tour
As the anniversary tour progressed, we used social content to connect events across time and geography. This included repurposed leadership remarks, wayfinding graphics to preview upcoming stops and targeted promotion for the final Hawaiʻi reception, helping maintain visibility and engagement between in-person moments.
Impact
Building a Culture of Brand Ambassadors
One of the most meaningful outcomes of this campaign was the level of executive engagement it generated. As the strategy took hold, university leadership actively participated in content creation, including spontaneous, in-the-moment footage that was later developed into a vertical video for the final Hawaiʻi celebration. This demonstrated that the strategy was not only approved, but understood and embraced at the leadership level.
Organizational Reach
The campaign supported nine major events across six states, requiring consistent brand execution across varied venues and logistical conditions. Despite these variables, the 175th-anniversary identity remained cohesive and high-impact across every location.
Driving Engagement & Results
By delivering a consistent, modern brand experience across all touchpoints, the campaign helped engage more than 500 unique alumni and supported a fundraising effort that generated $16.4 million in total gifts during fiscal year 2025.
The Blueprint for Future Events
Beyond the anniversary itself, this project established production workflows and creative templates that have since been adopted as the standard approach for all major university events, creating a scalable framework for future initiatives.