Creative Strategy • Creative Direction • Branding • Marketing
Outschool
A space where parents, educators, and learners come together to rediscover the joy of learning.
While I was there, I wore all the hats: creative strategy, hands-on design, art direction, campaign wrangling, last-minute asset-saving… You name it, I was on it.
Leading a lean but mighty team of in-house creatives and external partners, we steered the brand through a full visual refresh, multiple marketing campaigns, and more ad-hoc requests than should be legally allowed.
We made it all happen with heart, hustle, and zero brand guideline breakdowns. (Okay, maybe one. But we made it through.)
Credits:
Creative Lead: Karen Pedroza
Copy Lead: Stephanie Tisza
Strategist: Alex Bollinger
Video/Motion: Roman Cortez
Illustrator: Clem den Exter
Copywriter: Janet Gardner
Agencies: Geist, Flocksy
When I joined Outschool, the brand was a little too “college brochure”. It was polished, but not speaking to the full spectrum of our actual audience: curious kids aged 3 to 18 and the parents making it all happen behind the scenes.
So we pivoted.
We partnered with the incredible team at Geist to reimagine the brand from the ground up: one that reflected curiosity, connection, kindness, and yes, a little irreverence. The goal? Build a visual and tonal system that welcomed both learners and grown-ups, from preschoolers chasing dinosaurs to teens diving into math, K-pop, or climate activism.
It was a necessary evolution. Outschool’s user base had exploded 11x during the pandemic, and the brand needed to grow up without growing stale. The refresh helped position Outschool for its next chapter: an inclusive, dynamic space that sets learning free and makes it joyful again.
Set Learning Free Campaign
To reposition Outschool as more than a marketplace and more like a movement, we launched a brand campaign rooted in one core idea: Set Learning Free. The visuals celebrated curiosity, individuality, and growth, highlighting everything from robotics to K-pop to the stock market.
We ran paid ads in the New York Times, launched city-targeted direct mailers, and rolled out organic + paid social across multiple platforms.
Stats: 10M+ impressions across campaign creative, 4M+ reach, 327% increase in social engagement, 10% brand awareness lift, and $150K+ in incremental sales.
TL;DR: We gave the brand a bigger voice and made it impossible to ignore.
The Great Campout Campaign
Summer usually means learning slows down, but not for homeschoolers. We created The Great Outschool Campout to turn summer into a season of curiosity and keep learners engaged through fun, skill-building classes.
The campaign targeted homeschool families looking for supplemental learning in subjects like math, reading, and science, paired with a little extra fun. Learners could earn digital badges by completing themed classes, adding a layer of gamified motivation and personal achievement to their profiles.
The result? A campaign that drove engagement during a traditionally slow season and made learning feel like a summer adventure.
Organic Social
Organic social is where we get to let loose. We leaned into Outschool’s playful tone with memes, short-form videos, and scroll-stopping creative that made learning feel fun, fast, and completely unforced. The goal was to make bite-sized videos feel as bingeable as your favorite feed and just as satisfying.