This project was a key part of my summer 2020 internship with Zoo New England. Spanning Instagram, Facebook, and email, the campaign encouraged the Zoo's 48k+ followers to participate in the July Plastic Free EcoChallenge. The Zoo's team went on to save almost 4,000 pieces of plastic and placed 2nd overall out of 381 teams in the challenge.
Creative Exploration
I explored ways to integrate images in a visually interesting way, beginning with Freepik stock images and moving into hand-drawn line work. Using variations of Zoo New England's brand colors I aimed to create a set of templates that was recognizable under ZNE's brand as well as the Plastic Free July challenge with images that used similar geometric and typographic elements in varying layouts to remain dynamic over all 31 days. Three concepts were presented, ranging from geometric shapes and bold colors to simple line work and pastels.
Design Solutions
Each image needed to be recognizable under Zoo New England's brand while maintaining a clear continuity between each daily post that differentiates them from the rest of the brand's feed. This was achieved through careful use of brand colors, a small set of repeated graphical elements, and styles that could be iterated on across platforms and over time. Illustrations were added to staff and stock images, combining some of the photography and line work from initial designs. The boundaries of geometric elements were pushed to include more circles and unconventional shapes, moving toward a more inclusive and fun aesthetic. These choices along with clarified copy and polished layouts helped increase engagement in both the challenge and general earth-conscious practices in an eye-catching but not overbearing way.
The design for Zoo New England's Plastic Free July campaign needed to be scalable not only across the 31-day period, but across social media and email marketing efforts. To accomplish this, emails used geometric and illustrative elements from Instagram and Facebook campaigns in headers and calls to action, integrated seamlessly with ZNE's branded footer. Copy and CTAs aimed to engage existing team members in elements of the challenge while inviting new members to explore impacts, team feeds, and Instagram tips.
