LAC AVATARS
The Learning Abroad Center needed a hero to tell its story. I created Alex as a gender neutral, race neutral protagonist that would serve as an avatar represent the University of Minnesota students. Alex would become the face of the Learning Abroad Center.
the hero’s journey
I decided to utilize Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey to illustrate the type of ordeals that students experience abroad. The “Call to Action” is them picking up one of our promotional materials and deciding to leave their home - “Ordinary Reality”. They “Seek Council” when they come in to talk with our advisers, “Prepare” for the journey ahead by applying for financial aid and “Choose a path” when selecting a program. They “Acquire Companionship” when they meet their study abroad cohort and face a “Challange” or the “Darkest Hour” with the initial culture shock and the difficulties of adapting to a new environment. The students are “Rewarded” with new knowledge and experience, and finally “Return” home having experienced “Growth”.
12 archetypes
As we began to expand the campaign I wanted to create more avatars to better depict the diversity of the student body. I decided to utilize the 12 iconic archetypes described by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. I created: Cristian the Caregiver, Riley the Ruler, CJ the Creator, Sidney the Sage, Ike the Innocent, Enola the Explorer, Riley the Rebel, Leo the Lover, Hana the Hero, Wendy the Wizard, Jack the Jester and of course Alex the Regular,
Alex embodies the Regular archetype, the relatable and trustworthy guy/girl next door. Since Alex represents the entire department this would be the archetype we would align our branding and marketing with: simple, friendly and accessible.
Illustration style
I wanted to expand the avatar flat illustration style to create the study abroad world. Below are some samples from a poster campaign we did about various global locations.
Avatar poster and Snapchat geofilter used for Fall Fair 2019.
Fall Fair 2019
Awards and publications
The Avatar campaign won the “GoAbroad Innovation Awards ” award in 2019 and in 2020 the article “Avatars Engage Gen Z” was publishe in the Journal of Strategic Innovation & Sustainability.
Vinyl decals utilizing the avatars placed throughout the UofM campus to drive student traffic to our office.
LAC website banner promoting virtual Internships utilizing the avatars studying from home in 2020.
Fall Fair 2021 website banner
Avatar t-shirt, mug, notepad, bottle and suitcase decal.
2023 Rebrand
I updated the avatars for 2023 making using the market research my the ma conducted on Gen-Z. They got bold new colors and more relatable style.
AVATAR ANIMATION
As the avatars continued to evolve I decided that the best way to tell the story of Learning Abroad would be through animation. I used Adobe Character animator to capture the voice and performance of our actors to create engaging short films that were used in LAC newsletters and social media channels.
Alex, Hana & Leo discuss study abroad.
Alex, Jack & Wendy discuss accessibility abroad.
Alex & Enola talk about internships