Leading Handshake's first consumer-focused campaigns
In a market flooded with AI buzzwords and automation hype, Handshake wanted to stand out as a breath of fresh air. With genuine and relatable content, hands-on support, and career connections that actually deliver, this campaign makes one thing clear: when it comes to your future, Handshake is where you’ll get real results.
As the Design Lead for this campaign, I developed the creative strategy and visual system that brought the idea to life—showcasing how being real is both our differentiator and our most relatable quality for the next generation of job seekers. My approach spanned everything from photography direction, UI representation, experiential marketing, to color story and storytelling devices that visually communicate how Handshake delivers real results.
We framed impactful moments through the lens of our product—to connect student faces with their future roles. This approach helped audiences picture themselves not in distant “someday” careers, but in tangible next steps that feel achievable, human, and real.
Project Scope
— Design Lead
— Creative Direction
— Packaging
— Event Design
Collaborators
— Matt Ebling for motion design
— Stephanie Jung, brand design support
— Google Gemini team for our on-campus activation partnership
Spotlighting values
The creative direction puts real people, real jobs, and real results at the forefront—highlighting the moments that truly matter to students. By pairing these values with intimately framed, documentary-style photography that captures their career journeys, we celebrate their wins and empathize with their challenges.
Homepage facelift
Unlike a typical seasonal campaign, this one had heavier lifting to do—it marked the official launch of Handshake’s dedicated marketing effort for our student audience. We set out to show students that Handshake is the platform built for them. To meet this moment, we redesigned the student-facing homepage with refreshed messaging, imagery, and more action-oriented design that invited students to take charge of their careers.
On-campus activations
Rounding out a campaign that reached across every touchpoint—from in-product engagements to social campaigns and digital marketing ads—we brought it into the real world through a partnership with Google Gemini, activating in person across 30 campuses nationwide.
