First-Year Experience for WSU Students.
The Dean of Wayne State University’s College of Education sought to redesign the first-year orientation experience to better showcase campus resources, the city of Detroit, and student engagement opportunities. In response, I proposed and developed a structured scavenger hunt initiative designed to immerse first-year students in the academic, cultural, and social environment of Wayne State.
Idea List
I generated and evaluated multiple solution concepts, narrowing the options to two viable approaches: a WhatsApp-based group experience and a scavenger hunt model. After stakeholder consultation with the Dean and design team, we selected the scavenger hunt format based on alignment with engagement goals and implementation feasibility.
Mood Board
Following selection of the scavenger hunt concept, I developed a visual mood board to establish brand direction and experiential tone. This included a defined color palette and curated imagery designed to reinforce themes of strength, creativity, and boldness aligned with the Detroit and Wayne State identity throughout the participant experience.
Infographic
Following completion of the mood board, I developed a strategic infographic to consolidate key information about Wayne State, Detroit, and the broader campus experience. The infographic served as a planning tool to structure content, synthesize research, and identify priority locations and themes to be incorporated into the scavenger hunt experience.
Final Design
After finalizing the visual direction and content framework, I designed the full scavenger hunt experience, developing accessible yet thought-provoking prompts suitable for students new to Detroit and Wayne State. I partnered with the Dean to determine an effective distribution strategy, ultimately aligning on post-orientation email delivery to enable flexible participation—either individually or in small groups.
Design Brief
As the final deliverable, I developed a comprehensive design brief documenting the strategic rationale behind the visual identity, typography, imagery, and location selection. The brief articulated how each design decision supported the overarching objective: fostering school pride, resilience, and connection to the “Detroit Strong” ethos as students begin their college experience.
The College of Education and the Dean endorsed the design and elected to incorporate it into first-year orientation programming on an ongoing basis.