What’s it about?

Brand might sound like something for sneakers or soda. But at Dornsife, it’s about the value of what we’re doing together. Not just the “what” but the “why.” Creative Content partners with departments, centers/institutes, and units across the college to help you clearly tell your distinctive story and what sets you apart. From fine-tuning voice to shaping visual identity, we turn complexity into clarity and explore how messages drive audiences to connect.

Check out some of our work

Admission Campaign

The Challenge

Launch a new multi-year marketing campaign

The USC Dornsife Office of Admission and Student Success was ready to launch a new admission campaign. Working closely with their team, we created a suite of print and digital marketing materials — including two new websites — to help them reach prospective and admitted students.

Our Creative

The Creative Content team led the Admission team through the process of reimagining their marketing materials from concept and design to the final product including a new Viewbook, several brochures, templates for flyers and social media, two websites and more; we established a cohesive visual identity for materials; led art direction for a day-long on-campus photoshoot with students and faculty to highlight the student experience; and ensured the project remained on time and within scope.

Project Features

Project Management
Brand Strategy & Marketing
Art Direction
Graphic Design
Web Design

The Result

The Office of Admission and Student Success has a wealth of brand new marketing materials to meet their distinct and varied needs for upcoming admission cycles. Not only is each piece available in both print and digital forms, the team also has templates they can use for flyers, social media and more to keep their content fresh and updated so their campaign has a longer lifespan. With their new prospective student and admitted student websites, they also have the flexibility to refresh and add content as needed.

Project Highlights

Examples of imagery used on the USC Dornsife Admissions campaign

Mockup of the cover and inside of the Admissions publication, Your Dornsife Degree

Example Majors flyers for USC Dornsife Admissions

USC Dornsife Admissions Accepted Students printed materials, including a folder, Beyond the Classroom, and Letters from students

The Creative Content team led the art direction for the look and feel of the campaign. We organized a two-day campus shoot, capturing authentic student experiences that could be used in print and digital materials including the website. More than 40 USC Dornsife students participated in the shoot. The visual tone blended prestige and contemporary aesthetics with LA’s vibrant energy.

As part of USC Dornsife’s recruitment material update, the Creative Content team collaborated with the Office of Admission to develop a compelling viewbook designed to increase applications, yield, and enrollment. The goal was to showcase the school’s academic strengths, dynamic student experience, and distinctive attributes.

In the viewbook, a map of the more than 90 majors at USC Dornsife helps prospective students explore the possibilities for focusing their studies.

A two-page spread in the viewbook featuring a student in the USC Dornsife Archaeology Research Center.

“Your Dornsife Degree” is a companion piece to the viewbook produced by the Creative Content team, providing prospective students with an overview of a four-year path as an undergraduate.

We built two Admission websites – one for prospective students and another for admitted students. The websites are a cohesive extension of the new Admission campaign. The prospective student site, pictured, allows students to visualize their future selves and the experiences they can expect from a USC Dornsife education.

As part of the suite of marketing materials, Creative Content design social media templates for the Admissions team.

We created templates for flyers about each major.

One-page templates for students planning on attending law school, medical school or other graduate programs.

The viewbook is now a centerpiece of USC Dornsife’s recruitment strategy. Its striking visuals and clear messaging effectively capture the school’s distinctive appeal, helping attract top-tier applicants. The piece offers the Office of Admission a powerful tool for driving applications and yield, while also strengthening USC’s competitive position. Its emotional resonance ensures it connects with both students and parents, leaving a lasting impression.

Folder designed to hold two brochures created for admitted students.

Brand Strategy & Messaging: Mathematical Data Science

The Challenge

A new master’s program needed to differentiate itself from its competitors.

Ahead of its launch, the Mathematical Data Science master’s program was looking for help crafting a way to describe its value for students and what sets it apart from other similar programs. The Creative Content team met with the directors to learn about the program and devised a brand messaging platform that could inform all marketing efforts whether they were in print, digital or in person.

Our Creative

We created a brand messaging platform for the Mathematical Data Science master’s program, which included: A core message; brand attribute messages, a set of key messages that form a strategic narrative; an elevator pitch describing the program; and a proposed design concept for their website and print materials.

Project Features

Messaging
Brand Strategy & Marketing
Website Strategy
Design Strategy

The Result

The program now has a messaging framework in which to express what sets it apart. The strategic narrative we created has been used in a number of their marketing materials including a video, their website, brochures, presentations and more.

Project Highlights

Slides from the PowerPoint deck for the messaging of Math and Data Science

Math and Data Science example Slide from the messaging deck

The brand messaging platform created by the Creative Content team for the Mathematical Data Science master’s program included: A core message, brand attribute messages, an elevator pitch describing the program, and a proposed brand design.

Brand attribute messages (BAM) are a set of key messages that form a strategic narrative. They are short enough to use as sound bites, but together they provide a messaging framework for marketing materials.

The elevator pitch is a short, engaging description of the brand — quick enough to be delivered during an elevator ride. It uses relatable language (no academic jargon), a positive tone, and highlights impact/outcomes.

A proposed design concept for the Mathematical Data Science master’s program at USC Dornsife.

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Brand Strategy

What’s it about?

Check out some of our work

Admission Campaign

The Challenge

Our Creative

Project Features

The Result

Project Highlights

Brand Strategy & Messaging: Mathematical Data Science

The Challenge

Our Creative

Project Features

The Result

Project Highlights

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Our Work