Project Overview

Client: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Industry: Education, EdTech
My Role: Brand and Social Media Designer

Background

As the sole designer for the Content Marketing team, I produced print collateral, graphics, templates, and content/imagery for the HMH social media channels. I also heavily contributed to HMH’s Shaped blog, spearheading a new direction in visual imagery to include illustrations and graphics instead of just lifestyle photography. Additionally, I collaborated with other teams in creating visuals such as infographics and banners to support national campaigns. Outside of social media and blog work I prepared white papers, assisted in developing the email newsletters, edited content and copy, and updated branding across all platforms.

Problem

Previously the Content Marketing and Social teams relied heavily on lifestyle imagery and open source graphics to promote their content. While it served its purpose, the designs were not aligned with HMH's brand identity, and it led to disparate visuals that were not consistent across platforms nor interesting for users to click through, leading to low engagement. The visuals were also seen as outdated, and the goal set in front of me was to modernize the the company's presence in the digital space and make it cohesive. An example of the company's Instagram feed previously:

Results

In addition to the statistics below, the blog continues to reuse the educational resources I designed to be used throughout the school years.

Design Process

I start by getting a prompt from the Content Marketing team, then brainstorm ideas in a sketchbook before designing the visuals on the best software for the job. For illustrative work I usually start in Photoshop, but for vector illustrations I like to work in Illustrator before moving on to AfterEffects if I'm creating motion graphics. By basing these designs on HMH's color guidelines, I maintaiedn the visual consistency of the graphics even as they vary across platforms and visual styles. The content changes throughout the year to compliment the academic calendar, which allowed me to design for different topics such as Women's History Month and Election Day activities. I was the first to introduce motion graphics more heavily to boost visual interest, and my illustrative work was well-received. The results allowed for a more cohesive experience within the social media platforms that better reflected the company's identity.

For print collateral, which mostly consists of educational lessons and posters for users to print out, I applied HMH's branding in a minimalist color palette and type hierarchy to keep the focus on the content.

Motion

Podcast Templates

Social Media Imagery

Educational Print Resources