Ready, Set, Register: Designing for Gen Z
Ready, Set, Register is Front Range Community College's race themed spring registration campaign, designed for Gen Z: an audience that gives an ad 1.3 seconds, watches vertical video first, and trusts unpolished work over studio polish. Registration opens November 2; classes start January 20. Six weeks to move thousands of students to register early.
I set the audience rules first and built every asset against them: a motif that reads in 1 glance, video first formats with the words on screen, and concepts in the visual languages students already trade in. Made with FRCC Student Communications, Student Life, and MarCom. Medallion Award winner. All dates cover 2025 to 2026.
The brief came before any art. Six facts about how this audience actually looks, watches, and trusts set the rules; every section that follows answers a line of this sheet.
Every rule answers a line of the brief. The message is 3 words and reads inside 1.3 seconds. A retro race car, a helmeted racer with a tassel, and a checkered border make every format recognizable mid scroll. Navy and gold keep it unmistakably FRCC. One action everywhere: register early. Opens November 2; classes start January 20.
Video is where the audience lives. The launch film puts a real racer and a muscle car in the campus parking lot, played straight enough to be funny, gag inside the first second. Short cuts keep the words on screen for sound off feeds. The produced pieces sit between the films, where they run.
