The Academic Growth Campaign was one of the University’s most ambitious recruitment drives, aiming to attract around 100 world-class researchers over two years in fields such as AI, renewable energy, health, and digital transformation. From the outset, the strategy needed to emphasise collaboration, innovation, and long-term vision. I developed the design concept around situational photography, capturing leading academics in their real research environments to highlight the vibrancy and impact of their work. This approach made the campaign both authentic and aspirational, positioning Loughborough as a place where research talent can thrive.

The assets included a campaign microsite, animated digital banners, and programmatic adverts across platforms such as jobs.ac.uk. One of the key creative ideas was to animate between different academics’ portraits with the call to action “Build Your Team”, underlining the campaign’s focus on team-based recruitment. The adaptability of the design system allowed it to work across everything from online advertising to printed collateral used at international conferences. Strategically, this ensured that messaging was consistent and impactful while remaining flexible enough to evolve across the campaign’s multiple review points. By linking strong visual storytelling with targeted design choices, the campaign projected Loughborough as a leader in research recruitment and innovation.