Student Recruitment Lookbooks

As we began brainstorming for the 2024 WVU Recruitment Plan ahead of the new Admissions Marketing cycle, market research and focus groups revealed to us that while our Viewbooks from the previous year looked impressive, many future Mountaineers were overwhelmed with the immense amount of information — to the extent that they glossed over the most pertinent takeaways! After hearing this, we decided it was time for a change. We did away with our 60+ page ‘Big Viewbook’ in favor of separate, pared-down lookbooks — one focused on academics, the second focused on the student experience. It was also decided that the WVU brand, as a whole, needed a facelift.

As the lead designer for WVU Recruitment, I worked in collaboration with Creative and Design Directors to define the look of our new brand. With streamlined copy, bigger and better visuals, new typefaces and graphic elements, these pieces are designed to be more appealing and digestible for our Gen Z audience (and their guardians) while still delivering the key information needed for them to make an informed decision about college. Although I wish we had redefined the brand before the Academic Lookbook was finalized, I enjoyed seeing the evolution of our brand happening in real-time.

Ahead of the 2025 Admissions Marketing cycle, we revisited our visual identity once more. Gathering marketing collateral from the past year, we met to discuss the brand’s evolution; what worked, what didn’t, and how to move forward. These strategic decisions regarding consistent type treatment, photo editing, and intentional design of small elements (i.e. QR codes) resulted in an effective design system for the 2025 Lookbooks and other recruitment marketing collateral.