Featured Project
Redesigning the Prospective Student Experience
A service design project making the MassArt MDes program more visible, connected and navigable for prospective students.
Group project · Service Design · 2026
Service Design
Design Research
Storytelling
My focus — social media strategy & content system; alongside shared research and synthesis work.
01.
Overview
The MDes program asked our studio a real question: how might we design a welcoming, engaging entry experience that improves application rates, program profile and student experience? We mapped the applicant funnel — awareness, consideration, decision — and scoped our work to the consideration stage.
Client
MassArt MDes Design Innovation program
Team
7 MDes candidates
Timeline
[Spring semester 2026]
Deliverables
Research synthesis, brand storytelling system, community engagement plan, prospective student journey & service blueprint
02.
Discover — Listening to students and stakeholders
We interviewed and ran co-design activities with the people who know the program best — 14 students (alumni, admitted students who chose other programs, and current students) and 9 program stakeholders from faculty and admissions, alongside secondary research.
What we heard
“If your website can't speak to your program enough to convince me, then it reflects on the program's credibility.”
— accepted student
“When I think about MassArt or MDes people, it doesn't seem like folks are that communal or willing to help. There's no instant connection.”
— alumnus
“During the application process, it was hard to picture what my experience in the program would look like from semester to semester.”
— accepted student
What it told us
1.
Program visibility & awareness — The story online does not yet match the strength of the program.
2.
Community & industry engagement — Connection exists but is not felt from the outside.
3.
Unclear prospective student journey — Applicants cannot picture their two years.
03.
Define — Positioning and opportunities
Business schools teach strategy without design; art schools teach design without strategy. MDes exists to fill this gap — our task was to make that gap, and the program filling it, impossible to miss.
How might we
1.
HMW build a strong, distinct identity for the MDes program to increase its visibility and recognition?
2.
HMW bridge connections so students feel prepared to enter the industry after MDes?
3.
HMW create a strong connection with MDes for prospective students throughout the consideration process?
Design principles
Clarity & transparency / Human-centered & personal / Belonging, diversity & inclusion / Make the future tangible / Fun & excitement
04.
Develop — Three solution tracks
We translated the three opportunities into three connected tracks.
1.
The MDes Story
A clear positioning (60% design, 40% business), faculty spotlights, and a channel system where Instagram, newsletter, LinkedIn and email each speak to a different audience in a different tone, run on a year-long content calendar.
2.
Community Support & Engagement
Alumni woven back into the program year (Basecamp guest speakers, applicant Q&As, reverse critique days, Makers Day) and a larger MDes presence in the Boston design community (UXPA, Night Market, UX Fair, Service Jam).
3.
The Prospective Student Journey
An ideal 18-month journey for our archetype applicant "Maya" — from first awareness through Service Jam, open house, application, interview, acceptance and welcome — backed by a service blueprint that assigns every touchpoint an owner backstage.
05.
My part — The MDes content system
Within the storytelling track, I led the social media content system: four Instagram series with distinct visual identities — Studio Spotlight, Cross-registration Class Experience, Track of Thesis, and Cultural Community — plus guidelines for tone, frequency and platform fit, so the program can keep its story alive after our studio ends.
Track of Thesis
Cultural Community
Studio Spotlight
Cross-reg Class
regular posts
Track of Thesis
Cultural Community
Studio Spotlight
Cross-reg Class
regular posts
06.
Blueprint
We handed the program a set of concrete recommendations — from posting rhythm and branding consistency to curriculum infographics and alumni events — scoped honestly against what marketing alone can and cannot solve.
07.
Deliver — Advice and outcomes
We handed the program a set of concrete recommendations — from posting rhythm and branding consistency to curriculum infographics and alumni events — scoped honestly against what marketing alone can and cannot solve.
For prospective students
Learn what MDes is, who it's for, and whether they belong — before they apply.
For the program
Attract the right students by telling a clearer, more distinctive story about what MDes actually is.
08.
Reflection
Designing for a community you're part of is a different kind of challenge — you have insider knowledge, but you have to hold it lightly enough to hear what others actually experience. [1–2 sentences in your own voice — edit to match your real reflection.] What I'd push further: measuring which specific touchpoints actually move prospective students toward applying, so future iterations can be evidence-led rather than assumption-led.
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