Founded in 2022, Origins is a student-led and individually funded post-secondary dance team representing the University of Waterloo. Their social media presence, particularly on Instagram, effectively communicates essential information to their target audience, engaging the Waterloo dance community while authentically showcasing the team's identity and culture. Origins refreshes its Instagram aesthetic each term with a new creative direction, with this season introducing an innovative visual approach unprecedented in its social media history.
Skip to the Reflection
Role
Creative Direction, Photography, Graphic Design
Duration
Tools & Skills
Figma, Illustrator, Creative Direction, Graphic Design, Collaboration, Design-thinking
Worked with
As new members join Origins each term, the team creates personalized introduction posts on Instagram. These features celebrate each dancer's achievement in joining the team while helping followers connect with the evolving roster of talented performers.
All designed by Ella Ye
Ella proposed a nostalgic yearbook-themed photoshoot inspired by elementary school picture days. This creative concept allowed members to handwrite their information, adding an authentic personal touch that enhanced the charming, memory-book aesthetic.
Orchestrating a photoshoot amongst 25 members demanded meticulous scheduling. The directors created a detailed timeline specifying each dancer's designated timeslot for their portraits.
To highlight individual personalities, we invited members to embody their favorite high school trope—whether jock, nerd, cheerleader, or others—and bring personal props that reflected their chosen character, adding depth and authenticity to the creative concept.
Following the five-hour photoshoot, each member selected their two favourite portraits for their profile designs. I then developed three distinct templates: a student ID card, a lined paper sheet, and a simple sheet of paper. Initially using placeholder fonts, these mock-ups were later refined with the members' actual handwriting, creating authentically personalized designs that perfectly captured the yearbook aesthetic.
R
eflection
Community is everything
I emphasized this point in my Warriors Esports branding case study, but it manifested differently during this photoshoot.
Being part of the team myself while orchestrating the shoot alongside my members created an atmosphere of genuine fun despite the long, tiring process. Their trust in both Ella's and my vision, combined with their excitement about participating in the photoshoot, allowed for an environment that was.
I really like creative direction
Embracing creative direction allowed me to translate conceptual visions into tangible outcomes
Seeing a simple idea progress through multiple stages of refinement to become a fully realized creative concept showcases how liberating iterative thinking and collaborative vision-building can be
Creative Direction, Digital Marketing
