Campus Cares Hub
Experiential learning
The full brand and marketing system for a new campus basic-needs hub, built as a live experiential project with a paid student design intern.
What it is
The brand and marketing system for GCC Cares, a new campus basic-needs hub in the former bookstore building. The hub consolidates services into one place: a food pantry and bodega, social services, community resources, a kids corner, a hangout space, and a monthly farmers market. The design work spans print, digital, signage, and mural concepts.
Who it’s for
Two audiences at once. The hub itself serves GCC students facing basic-needs insecurity, at a Hispanic-Serving Institution where roughly 44% of students are food insecure. The design work is also student experiential learning, real client work done by students for a real campus initiative.
The goal
Give the hub a warm, welcoming identity that makes students want to walk in, not feel like they have to. The system needs to work across every surface, from a printed flyer to a wall mural, so the space reads as community, not charity.
How it works
A two-person team runs it: Michelle plus a paid student design intern working through an AmeriCorps education award. AI is part of the production workflow for research and briefs. The build moves in phases, from research and brand foundation through the illustration library and mural concepts, so students only start painting once the visual language is set.