Crafting compelling visual narratives for academic success

As a marketing designer and creative director at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University, I led strategic initiatives to enhance engagement, streamline production, and reinforce Massey’s adaptable visual identity. Each project required a unique approach while maintaining brand cohesion, balancing academic credibility with engaging storytelling.

Jump to projects:
Qualification Guides & Programme Brochures
Create with us, Recruitment Campaign
Toi Rauwhārangi Creative Bootcamp
Exposure Exhibition Event Branding

Two banners featuring musicians with guitars display the text 'That moment you feel the manaaki' and a crest at the top.

Banners and building facade at Massey University Wellington with rankings and welcome text.

Understanding the audience

Massey University serves diverse stakeholders—prospective students, current students, academic staff, and industry partners—each requiring tailored engagement. Through stakeholder workshops, we identified the need for materials that balanced academic rigour with compelling narratives while addressing evolving audience needs at different stages of the recruitment journey.

Qualification guides & Programme brochures

Two-page spread from a brochure by Massey University College of Creative Arts, featuring text about the Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts program, images of Māori artworks, student activities, and staff portraits. The design includes blue backgrounds and cultural graphics.

University brochure with various sections highlighting programs like humanities, social sciences, psychology, education, and environment. Features images of diverse students and faculty, along with text about courses, faculty profiles, and the university's location. Prominent text includes "Haere Mai Welcome" and "Thinking Meets the Changing World." Includes a QR code and a map of New Zealand.

Brochure promoting Massey University in New Zealand, highlighting key features like global student body, campus locations in Auckland, Wellington, and Manawatū, and the country's peaceful reputation. Includes images of campuses and students, a map of New Zealand, and notable rankings for education quality.

Two magazine covers showcasing Massey University. The left cover highlights working in New Zealand during and after studies, with a mountain hiking image and text about part-time work and post-study visas. The right cover emphasizes innovative learning, featuring text about academic excellence and a campus scene with people walking.

Strategic approach

I modernised and standardised eight key guides and brochures for domestic and international audiences, creating a scalable design system for future production by:

Strengthening brand governance to ensure consistency while allowing adaptability for different audiences.
Tailoring content to maximise engagement across international and domestic markets.
Enhancing visual storytelling by integrating large-scale imagery with academic narratives, showcasing hands-on learning experiences.
Embedding digital tools such as QR codes to provide direct access to online resources.

Brochure of Massey University New Zealand on blue background, highlighting subjects such as Art, Agriculture, Science, Technology, Business, and Humanities. Features student profiles, success stories, and images of campus life. Emphasizes innovative learning.

Brochure for Massey University promoting Bachelor of Business program. Includes student testimonials, images of students, rankings, and specialization options. Features QR codes for more information and admission requirements.

University brochure featuring Massey University, highlighting its ranking in five subjects and the Master of Construction program details, including course structure, admission requirements, and scholarship information. Includes images and text in English.

Six cover designs from a Massey University brochure, highlighting a different field: aviation, science, humanities, health, creativity, and business, with images and text emphasising impacts on the world, Aotearoa, and individual lives.

University brochure showing a Bachelor of Science program from Massey University, New Zealand. The brochure features images of students and information on science majors and entry requirements, presented on a blue background.

Responsibilities

I led key aspects of the project, including:

Developing adaptable design systems and templates that streamlined production while maintaining brand integrity.
Managing junior designers and collaborating with editors and stakeholders to refine content.
Leading stakeholder workshops and content mapping exercises to eliminate redundant content and improve readability.
Enhancing information architecture for clarity, structuring content into three key sections: College Success & Experience, Academic Offering, and Getting Your Journey Started.
Analysing scan data to optimise future content strategies and improve engagement.

A college brochure layout on a blue background featuring sections on science, agriculture, and technology. It includes headings such as 'Rankings & Accreditation,' 'Bachelor of Animal Science,' and 'Food Product Technology.' The layout showcases images of students, a laboratory, fields, animals, and nature scenes. QR codes and career options are also visible in the text.

Brochure for Massey University, New Zealand, titled 'Everything Available: Qualifications and More,' featuring students sitting on steps and interior pages with program information and images of graduates.

Massey University prospectus displaying various programs and student activities on a blue background.

Create with us
recruitment campaign

Four educational posters for various creative studies from Massey University, including Māori Visual Arts, Design, Creative Media Production, and Commercial Music, displayed on a fence along a street. Each poster features a student and encourages applying for the 2021 academic year.

Three Instagram posts by coca_massey promoting courses at Massey University. Left post is about studying the music industry with a musician image. Center post promotes the Master of Design at Weta Workshop School with art and design visuals. Right post highlights studying industrial design with product images.

Strategic approach

I developed a diversity-focused campaign that celebrated student identities and academic experiences to enhance engagement and relatability by:

Leading a high-energy campaign with a refreshed colour palette and visual language, incorporating Te Ara Toroa to symbolise the creative journey—an approach that influenced Massey’s national recruitment identity.
Highlighting cultural and personal identity to create an inclusive, student-led process.
Designing a script-free video strategy to capture spontaneous student insights for maximum relatability.

Collage of diverse design concepts, featuring textiles, graphic art, industrial objects, and promotional design courses from Massey University.

Three social media posts promoting courses with images of individuals and text. Left: "Design" with a man, teal background. Center: "Create with us" with a woman, yellow background. Right: "Study Commercial Music" with a person, purple background. Text encourages applying or booking for courses offered by cocca_massey."

Responsibilities

I was responsible for:

Directing on-set of creative execution, overseeing the visual aesthetic of the shoot in collaboration with an external photographer. Making adjustments to lighting, model positioning, and wardrobe while ensuring quality control by reviewing each shot in real-time to maintain alignment with the campaign vision.
Overseeing and executing digital assets for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and landing pages, as well as out-of-home advertising, including billboards, posters, and owned signage, to support enrolment targets.
Strengthening stakeholder alignment by refining internal communications, ensuring consistency across campaign rollouts.
Advocating for ethical representation by ensuring authentic and unaltered student imagery.

Two billboards promoting Massey University's College of Creative Arts. The left billboard is purple, featuring a person and the text 'Create with us' along with program options and an 'Apply Now' button. The right billboard is yellow, showing another person and similar text, located on the side of a building on a city street.

Toi Rauwhārangi
Creative Bootcamp

Two white boxes with bold text on vibrant backgrounds; one side reads 'CREATE WITH US' on pink, the other 'SHAPE THE FUTURE' on orange.

Strategic approach

I designed a tactile unboxing experience to introduce prospective creative students to Massey’s creative programmes when COVID-19 restrictions prevented in-person events. The project:

Created an immersive, hands-on recruitment experience that strengthened emotional connections with Massey’s six creative programmes.
Successfully retained prospective student engagement during lockdowns, reinforcing Massey’s adaptability and commitment to accessible virtual learning.

Three views of a cardboard box with bold black text and a geometric red and pink design on a vibrant pink background.

Stacked and assembled cardboard boxes with motivational text and colorful designs in a work area.

Responsibilities

I led key aspects of the project, including:

Designing custom-branded packaging with tailored content, including workshop materials, interactive tasks, merchandise, and recruitment information.
Maximising impact within budget by selecting cost-effective paper stocks, developing a sustainable no-glue dieline, and optimising print solutions.
Incorporating a multi-sensory engagement strategy with diecuts, perforations, folded elements, and dynamic typography to enhance interaction.
Iterating prototypes to refine ideas based on stakeholder feedback and external production processes.

Cardboard boxes with "CREATE WITH" text on pink background, showing art supplies like markers and pencils, hands assembling boxes.

Collage of geometric paper structures and packaging materials in black and white

Black and white photo of an open cardboard box, showing printed instructions inside.

Colorful door hangers with text on bright backgrounds

Exposure Exhibition event branding

Street view of a white building with posters and a window displaying a "Recycle Boutique" sign. Posters advertise various events. A "Phantom Billstickers" sign is visible above the posters. "It pays to recycle" is written on the window. A 30 km/h speed limit sign and a "Give Way" sign are on the street.

Person speaking into a microphone on a stage, wearing 3D glasses with a blue and black abstract design in the background.

Strategic approach

I led the creative strategy for one of Toi Rauwhārangi’s most significant events, celebrating the next generation of artists, designers, storytellers and musicians. The project:

Increased student involvement in branding through co-design and creative input sessions, including online surveys.
Streamlined workflows using Figma to improve efficiency, asset management, and stakeholder collaboration.
Developed a tactical content release strategy that aligned posts with key event milestones to build momentum.
Expanded audience reach by introducing TikTok and Instagram collaborative features, enabling content sharing across owned accounts.

Massey University graduate exhibition booklet with table of contents and event details.

Abstract collage with distorted black and white text on fabric-like surfaces, overlaid with a grid pattern in one section.

Abstract 3D distorted text graphics in black and white, featuring warped and overlapping words creating optical illusions across four sections.

Poster with bright pink and white design promoting Massey University's Exposure Exhibition, highlighting design, fine arts, commercial music, and creative media production. Beside it, a person installing a similar design on a stairway wall.

Responsibilities

I led key aspects of the project, including:

Overseeing creative direction, experience design, and social strategy for Toi Rauwhārangi’s most significant annual event, attracting over 4,000 visitors.
Managing a team of 11 creatives, ensuring high-quality deliverables across wayfinding, signage, digital, print, photography, and social media.
Defining clear job descriptions for student contributors, helping them articulate their skills for future employment.
Reviewing creative performance annually, assessing effectiveness and identifying areas for improvement to inform future campaigns.