The UCDA Design Awards annually honor the best work in educational design—in print, digital, illustration, photography, and student competitions. These coveted awards are judged by a hand-picked panel of peer jurors composed of designers, design educators, photographers, and illustrators working in or doing a significant portion of their work for educational institutions—judges who inherently understand the higher ed environment.
Ohio University’s OHIO Giving Day Promotion video stood out to the judges during the 2022 UCDA Design Awards, earning a Silver Award in the In-house Digital category, as well as a Judge’s Award from judge Marq Mervin.
“While my top 3 contenders all had strengths, Ohio U's promo was tight, consistent, and gave the right amount of flair that felt near-flawless” said Mervin.
Aaron Hardin, director of creative and brand, and other members of the team answered some questions about how this project came together and how they find ways to keep creativity alive.
Tell us a little about yourself (or yourselves) and the career path that led to where you are now.
Aaron Hardin: I am the Director of Creative and Brand at Ohio University with the University Communications and Marketing team. I have been with the University for 6 years, starting on the comms team in the engineering school and then moving to UCM. I graduated from OHIO with a BFA in graphic design, and played snare drum in the University’s marching band, “The Marching 110.” Before Ohio University, I worked for a global footwear and apparel company called Rocky Brands Inc., based southeast Ohio in their e-commerce and marketing department for nearly 8 years. In every role I have had, I’ve been able to expand my skill set and knowledge of marketing by getting involved in projects that were probably outside of my job description. Being a part of the UCM team has truly been an amazing experience. Under the leadership of Robin Older, vice president of University Communications and Marketing, we have really been given the freedom to be creative which has given us the opportunity to be a true asset to our colleagues across the University.
What was your reaction when you learned you'd received a UCDA Award?
AH: We were honored and humbled to receive the award for this video among other projects we received awards for this year. For this project specifically, the audience was alumni and friends, so naturally the video didn’t necessarily get as much attention outside of that audience as our other productions that are for broader marketing efforts. I really felt that the storyline and execution from our team was truly remarkable, so I thought it was a great candidate for this award and evidently the judges agreed :)
How did you choose and develop the concept of the door? For someone who isn't familiar with Ohio University, does this particular style of door have any significance? And how did you STABILIZE the free-standing door? Also, nice job with the touches of green that are woven through the video.
AH: I would say the most important part of my job is to get out of the way of the team so they can execute on the work that they are passionate about and can be proud of. Since this project is no exception, I’ll let them answer in their own words.
Peter Schooner, Associate Director of Advancement Marketing Services: OHIO's University Communications and Marketing team highly prizes collaboration, and we generally start any video project by thinking about our overall goals and audiences, and how to create a concept that will connect those in a meaningful way.
For this project, our challenge was to distill the many funds to which donors can contribute into a singular idea. The common denominator was that any gift shares the OHIO experience with current and future students. Whether the student newspaper, a travel fund for study abroad, or a particular college’s scholarship fund, it was about engaging our audiences to want to pass on the same experiences that helped transform their own lives and careers to the next generation.
Brooke Preston, Associate Director of Creative Strategy: One phrase we kept coming back to was “opening the door for the next generation.” We thought it would be powerful to manifest this idea visually with an actual student walking through a physical door into different OHIO experiences throughout their college journey.
Collin Black, Video Producer: The door style is insignificant; I simply contacted the Ohio University theater department and asked if we could use one of their already made free standing doors and that is what they had. The metal frame that holds the door up can be seen from any angle other than the front. That thing was a logistical nightmare to transport; it was extremely heavy and would have fit awkwardly in any large van, but it looked fantastic on screen!
The green touches were entirely intentional; we shot this just before spring, so all of the trees were dead. We couldn't wait for the leaves to bloom because we had to finish it for Giving Day. I decided to improve the look by adding digital leaves to the background. To fit the timeline of starting university to graduating, I made it so that it's autumn leaves at first and then spring when she returns outside at the end.
This project was a dream come true for problem solvers. The actor who was supposed to appear in the final scene couldn’t make it. I decided to just come up with a creative solution and change the script slightly to accommodate her absence. I used Blender to create a CG double of her. It didn’t look great if you stared at it too long, but I animated her running across the screen quickly enough that you couldn't tell, and the best part is that no one did.
What was your timeline for this project? Where did this video run/how was it shared?
AH: The team was presented with the project in late February. The team wrote, shot and edited the spot in March, and it premiered early April. There were a few channels that we used to distribute the video. Because this purpose of the video was to compel folks to give, we sent direct emails to our alumni base with a link to the video included. We also posted the video both organically and through paid ads on social media.
Judge Marq Mervin said, “… the narrative felt strong, cohesive, and allowed us, as the viewer, to follow the entire journey from first-time college student to graduate to potential investor/giver. It also highlighted the various experiences students would get from the Ohio U experience.” What tips or advice would you give to in-house creative teams working on a project like this? How can we best work with—and sometimes convince—colleagues in other departments to move in a fun and creative direction?
AH: At OHIO, creativity is a big part of our DNA so doing something fun and creative is usually our starting point. Once you put a smile on someone’s face, it doesn’t take much convincing that you are headed in the right direction.
CB: I believe that at OHIO, people wanted to create something enjoyable because it makes our job more enjoyable. Working on a project that challenges you a little more isn’t such a big deal because you care about what you’re creating and want it to succeed. Adding that extra effort or having fun always makes the people watching like it more. If it's just a video of someone reading from a teleprompter, you'll never get the emotional response you want from the audience.
PS: We’re lucky to have an incredibly talented video team, led by OHIO alum Christofer Smith, who runs with every idea and makes it look and sound incredibly engaging, fun, and polished. We work with them closely on these projects to execute the story, work around roadblocks, and bring each scene to life. However, at the end of the day it's about telling a singular story that will authentically connect with our audience. We always work to make sure we have a compelling and clear narrative through line. Without it, no amount of special effects or bells and whistles will make a video successful.
We’re equally lucky to have a healthy relationship with OHIO’s Annual Giving team, which manages OHIO Giving Day. With highly visible projects like this, that critical foundation of trust and collaboration makes possible an open creative process, resulting in our team’s best work.
Steve Jobs once said creative people often feel guilty because they're not sure where creativity comes from exactly, it's just making connections between experiences. Where do you and your team find inspiration?
AH: I would say that the students and campus are major inspirations for the work we do. Because we value experience driven academics at OHIO, we all get to see students getting excited and passionate about the work that they are doing—not just reading about. That makes the story telling aspect of our work that much easier, because our students are doing amazing things. Our location in southeast Ohio is very unique in that we are at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, yet within a day’s drive to major metros like Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Nashville, and St. Louis. This gives us the ability to sort of shut ourselves off from the outside world and focus on the work we are doing, but still connected when we need to be.
Bonus questions: What's your team's favorite creative distraction? What do you do to keep your creative tank full?
AH: While I’m sure you would get a different answer from everyone, I would say that getting outdoors is a common thread with our team. Our campus is in the midst of a handful of state parks and within a few minutes of Wayne National Forest. We have access to mountain bike trails, hiking, lakes, caves, and almost any other outdoor activity you can think of, including just a 30 minute drive to ski slopes in West Virginia. So whether you like a nice stroll experiencing every season, or want to knock out a few hundred miles of the Appalachian Trail—your tank can get filled here.
About Ohio University
Ohio University, the oldest public university in the state of Ohio, is a four-year public institution located in Athens, Ohio, with five regional campuses across the state. Combined enrollment is more than 29,000 students across the state and online, about 21,000 of which are undergraduates studying at the residential campus in Athens,
Katharine McCann is art director for the University of Lynchburg in Lynchburg, Virginia and UCDA board member. She is an introvert who loves Nancy Drew, Wordle, cats, ketchup, pop culture, and trivia, and routinely goes down internet rabbit holes. She, her husband, two kids, and three cats live in Altavista (pronounced like ‘Al’ the name and ‘vista’ like VistaPrint, neither of which are the proper Spanish pronunciation), Virginia.
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