Healthy Champions Signature Events

Values-Driven Branding

Healthy Champions is a school-based health education initiative provided by Penn State PRO Wellness. The program supports enrolled schools with free wellness resources focused on nutrition, physical activity, mental health, and overall well-being. Signature Events are recurring, themed wellness campaigns designed to engage students, staff, and school communities throughout the year.

Deliverable

Branding, Poster Design, Digital Design

Client

Penn State PRO Wellness

Audience

Elementary through high school students participating in the Healthy Champions program

Collaborators

Alicia Hoke, Allison Linton

Challenges

When I joined the Healthy Champions team, four Signature Events already existed: Walk to School Day, Go for the Greens, Move It Outside, and Apple Crunch.

Then in 2024, the team added two new events: Keep It in Mind (focused on youth mental health) and Work in Balance (focused on school staff wellness). 

The challenge was twofold:

  • Create strong, distinct brand identities for the two new events
  • Develop a cohesive visual system that unified all six Signature Events into a single, recognizable family without erasing the individuality of each campaign

The piece needed to feel supportive rather than prescriptive, as well as visually engaging in shared spaces.

Strategy & Approach

Rather than redesigning the existing events from scratch, I developed an illustrated branding system that could act as a connective layer across all campaigns. Key principles of the system included:

  • Bold, expressive illustration to convey energy, optimism, and approachability
  • Vivid, high-contrast color palettes to ensure visibility in school environments
  • Consistent layout structure and visual rhythm across posters
  • Event-specific iconography and imagery to preserve each campaign’s unique message

For  Keep It in Mind and Work in Balance, I created complete visual identities, including logos and supporting graphics, that were intentionally designed to “snap into place” alongside the existing events.

The Solutions

The final system unified all six Healthy Champions Signature Events into a cohesive campaign while allowing each initiative to retain its own personality.

Keep It in Mind uses thoughtful symbolism and organic forms to support conversations around youth mental health.

Work in Balance introduces a warm, approachable visual language focused on staff well-being and sustainable habits.

Existing events were visually aligned through shared illustration style, color intensity, and composition, creating instant program recognition across materials. The result is a flexible, scalable branding system that allows Healthy Champions to continue expanding its Signature Events without sacrificing clarity or cohesion.

Laptop showing the landing page for Keep it in Mind, a school event promoting mental health

Outcomes & Impact

This project demonstrates how illustrated branding systems can unify complex, multi-initiative programs. The Signature Events now function as a recognizable family of campaigns, helping schools quickly identify Healthy Champions resources while making each event feel celebratory, inviting, and purposeful.

This project highlights my ability to design branding systems that support visual consistency across multiple programs, audiences, and touchpoints.

Have a program or initiative that needs a more cohesive visual identity? Let's talk.

 View services & pricing
Start a conversation
>