Overview
Due to COVID-19, the California Academy of Math and Science's Senior Class of 2020 was unable to hold prom, graduation, and grad nite. As Senior President, my Class Board and I decided to use the $20,000 we raised to create Senior Grad Packages for each graduating senior to receive during the drive-through graduation. Designs must be prepared for print and distributed to all 170 CAMS seniors by the end of the school year.
Project Details
Timeframe: 3 Months
Team: Kweeny Jose, Margaret Navalta, Abbey Terrado, Oliver Kestenbaum
Tools: Autodesk Sketchbook, Phonto, Picsart, Google Slides
Planning
$20,000 is a lot of money and we only had a few weeks to figure out what to do with it before we graduated. We all agreed that the money should be used to create a grad package that included items that each senior could use and cherish long after graduation.
Together, we decided on what items we should include and used Google Sheets to budget accordingly. To get a better idea of what items to include, we also sent out a survey to the entire class to gather their input and sizes for clothing.
We ultimately decided to include the items listed in the Final Design section below.
Final Designs
The final grad package included the following:
• Pennant
•. Hoodie
• Long sleeve
•. Blanket
• Duffel bag
•. Lunch pail
• Insulated mug
•. Mask
• Lanyard
•. Stickers
• Panorama Class Photo
• Physical program
Physical Program
Click on the image below to view the rest of the program!
Putting the packages together...
Challenges & Lessons Learned
This was one of the largest projects that I have worked on and it continues to be the most rewarding project that I have ever worked on. The COVID-19 pandemic began on March 15, 2020, and that left us with only a few weeks to figure out what to do with all the money we raised. We were all devasted, but as the leaders of our class and school, there was no time to be sad.
With only a few weeks to get things done and everything going online, we couldn't risk wasting any time or making any mistakes. Communication and organization was crucial. Thankfully, we were able to distribute all 164 packages to each graduating senior by graduation.
However, the only thing that went wrong was that Custom Ink delivered someone else's lunch pails instead of the ones we designed. They were able to re-deliver the correct design, but by the time they delivered graduation was over. Still, I learned some valuable lessons from this entire project.
Ask for help!
While I designed the merchandise and prepared them for print on my own, I still needed feedback on designs and assistance with distribution. The rest of my Class Board was more than willing to help and it made the process much easier. I even got my family to help me out too!
Stay Organized.
With so many budgeting files and design files being worked on at the same time, it is easy to get overwhelmed and lose track of everything. File management definitely saved us during this process.
Enjoy yourself!
My team and I had no idea that the pandemic would happen and ruin our Senior Year. We spent most of our high school years looking forward to our last year and raising as much money as we can. If there's anything I learned it is to really enjoy the time we have and make the most of it.
What's Next?
After spending so many weeks on this grad package, I fell in love with designing and I learned that this is something I want to pursue as a career. After graduation, I will be attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where I will be majoring in Graphic Communication!
