Context
Kappa Kappa Gamma is a national women's fraternity with an active chapter at the University of Virginia. During my time in the chapter, I held two leadership roles - first as Director of Public Relations, and later promoted to Vice President of External Affairs - with increasing responsibility over how the chapter communicated, presented itself, and connected members.
A major focus of my leadership was elevating the chapter's brand presence and creating cohesion across physical and digital touchpoints. This included merchandise, social media, and event-related communications to ensure the chapter showed up consistently while remaining relevant to its members.
My Role
As Director of Public Relations and later Vice President of External Affairs, I led the chapter's brand strategy and execution across merchandise and digital platforms.
To support long-term consistency, I developed a brand pack outlining visual guidelines like approved fonts and color palettes. This served as a reference point for the chapter and helped maintain cohesion across merchandise, social content, and event materials as multiple members worked within the brand.
My responsibilities included:
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Setting creative direction and brand standards
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Designing and producing original merchandise
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Refreshing the chapter's digital presence
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Leading and mentoring a team of directors
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Managing timelines and cross-functional collaboration
The progression between roles expanded my scope from execution to strategy and required long-term planning of chapter projects.
Approach
In the past, the role designed in isolation, but I knew I wanted the chapter's brand to reflect our range of perspectives, leading me to create a committee of eight members representing all three pledge classes. This group revealed three important insights that inspired my creative direction:
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Members felt our current social media and merchandise were outdated and inaccurately represented the large chapter
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Members wanted merchandise that felt modern, fashionable, and trendy
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Members were less inclined to purchase merchandise they did not find stylish
This research and new organizational structure kept creative direction clear while incorporating community insight in the process.
Merchandise as Brand Expression
Merchandise was treated as a primary expression of the chapter's identity - not just products, but touchpoints that evoked a sense of community.
Design & Production Process
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Gathered feedback and preferences from the committee
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Created ideation and visual direction boards
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Drafted designs in Adobe Photoshop
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Collaborated directly with manufacturers to finalize product type, fit, and color
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Oversaw distribution to members
This end-to-end process ensured creative intent translated accurately into finished products.
Merchandise Categories
Merchandise was organized into three core, distinct categories:
Event-Specific Merchandise
Custom pieces designed for philanthropy, social, and chapter events - marking shared moments while aligning with the chapter's broader brand.
New Member Packs
Cohesive sets of branded items created to welcome new members after the recruitment process.
Gameday & Evergreen Merchandise
Repeat-use pieces designed for longevity, reinforcing brand presence across semesters.
Merchandise Archive
Across event-specific pieces, new member packs, and gameday items, the focus was on resonant creative and brand cohesion.
Click through our Kappa Kappa Gamma merchandise archive below.
Digital Presence
Alongside merchandise, I led a refresh of the chapter's digital presence to reinforce the same identity on social media.
This included:
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Developing consistent graphic templates
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Aligning tone and visual styling across platforms
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Supporting event promotion and chapter initiatives
The goal was to ensure digital touchpoints reflected the same brand standards established through merchandise and event experiences.
Promotional graphics and new social media below.
Outcomes & Impact
The new structured and collaborative approach led to measurable results:
400+
follower increase driven by updated digital strategy
7
large-scale events planned and executed annually
50%
increase in merchandise sales from original designs
5
directors supervised and mentored
17
custom merchandise items designed and produced
Reflection
This experience taught me how effective brand strategy depends on structure and collaboration. Establishing a feedback loop within the chapter generated creative work that resonated across our 160+ chapter. Leading teams and managing long-term projects strengthened my ability to think strategically and execute intentional brand decisions within a larger organization.