Career Bridge
DESIGN + STRATEGY + COPYWRITING
This rebrand and campaign project was developed through close collaboration and consultation, prioritizing respect, listening, and shared understanding throughout the process. I worked alongside Indigenous Elders, consulted with students, and collaborated with the University of Lethbridge team to ensure the branding aligned seamlessly with the university’s full rebrand while still maintaining its own identity. This collective approach ensured the final outcome felt authentic, culturally respectful, and genuinely representative of the community it serves, resulting in a brand shaped by the voices and values of those connected to it.
The Campaign
Designing for Career Bridge involved creating a cohesive suite of print and promotional materials that functioned as a unified system rather than isolated pieces. The project spanned brochures, posters, flyers, and bookmarks, each designed to stand on its own while reinforcing a consistent visual language across both digital and physical touchpoints. Careful attention was given to hierarchy, typography, and repetition so information could be easily adapted to different formats without losing clarity or impact. The result was a flexible collection of materials that worked in unison, allowing Career Bridge to communicate clearly across campuses, events, and online spaces, while maintaining a recognizable and professional presence regardless of scale or medium.
the results
Through the integrated campaigns across digital, print, web, events, and recruitment materials, the department achieved a 35% increase in student bookings, expanding annual appointments from approximately 350 to more than 500. The renewed brand and marketing efforts also supported a 32% increase in work-integrated learning placements, growing from an estimated 250 placements to more than 300 students securing career-building opportunities across the Lethbridge and Calgary campuses. These initiatives helped elevate the visibility of Career Bridge's services for more than 7,000 University of Lethbridge students and alumni, contributing to a program where co-op students collectively earned over $5.56 million in the last year through paid work experiences.
Creating the branding for Career Bridge focused on visually representing connection, growth, and progression within the university’s career department. The core visual element is an arch shape symbolizing the bridge itself, expanded into three distinct arches in different colours to represent the three offices and phases of Career Bridge: Applied Studies, Co-op, and Career Services. This structure reflects the student journey, from exploration to experience to career readiness, while maintaining a cohesive system across all touchpoints. The branding also incorporates the gifted Blackfoot name for the department, meaning Beautiful Golden Eagle, as a subtitle included on all promotional materials, grounding the identity in cultural significance, respect, and a sense of aspiration and forward movement.
The Brand Voice
When developing the new voice of the brand, the goal was to create a tone that spoke to students as well as recent graduates and alumni, some of whom could theoretically have been working in their field for years.
The strategy was to avoid calling back directly to academic or institutional accomplishments, milestones, or incentives, instead orienting the copy to focus squarely on professional development. The copy must be directed at every potential client, regardless of academic status or age, so slogans like “The bridge between campus and career” were used heavily in the promotion, unless otherwise directed by the department in the case of student-only events or workshops.
