OMNICHANNEL CAMPAIGN · INFOGRAPHICS
The Event Effect: Gen Z Retail Report
From research brief to omnichannel rollout, I concepted, pitched, and executed the full design system for MERGE's flagship Gen Z retail study across web, social, print, and press.
CLIENT
MERGE (internal)
DELIVERABLES
Web, social, print, press
MY ROLE
Sole designer: Concept through production
TOOLS
Illustrator, Photoshop,
InDesign
SCALE
1,000 survey respondents,
7 diary participants
27K
Paid LinkedIn impressions on the
campaign graphics
20k
Reach via QSR Magazine partner email distribution
2.8k
Views on the national press release
6
Outlets that picked up the findings,
from Ad Age to international press
THE BRIEF
MERGE needed a visual identity for a research report that could live across every channel
The Event Effect was a major research initiative for MERGE: a quantitative survey of 1,000 Gen Z consumers combined with qualitative spending diary studies of seven real Gen Z event-goers. The findings needed to reach retail brand clients, press, and Gen Z consumers themselves across a homepage, social media, press releases, and a live event. My job was to design the system that made all of it feel cohesive.
MY ROLE - WHAT I OWNED
Researched Gen Z design trends and pitched three creative directions to stakeholders
Led execution of the selected concept across all deliverables; sole designer from brief to final production
Designed the report homepage with infographics and seven custom diary webpages (one per participant)
Created graphic packages for three press releases distributed to national media
Designed a multi-week social campaign across Instagram and LinkedIn
Produced a print piece for a live presentation event where diary participants were interviewed
CONCEPT CREATION AND DECISION
Three directions.
One choice that pushed the brand further than usual.
Before any execution, I researched how designers were reaching Gen Z audiences visually, examining colors, typography, and formats that resonated with the cohort the report was studying. I developed three distinct directions and presented them to the team. Option C was the final selected direction. This option kept MERGE's typographic system intact while letting the secondary palette, lime green, high-contrast, and editorial layouts carry the Gen Z energy the content needed.
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Option A: Safe, Brand-forward.
Stayed within MERGE's standard brand palette and typography. Clean, but predictable, and it didn't reflect the Gen Z energy of the content.
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Option B: Bold, Fully Expressive
Deviated entirely from MERGE branding, new fonts, new color palette. Energetic, but disconnected from the company's visual identity.
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Option C: Brand-adjacent, Balanced
Kept MERGE's fonts and main brand colors, but leaned hard into the secondary and tertiary palette: lime green, playful layouts. Fun, without abandoning the brand.
CONCEPT CREATION AND DECISION
One visual system, four output types
Report homepage + 7 diary pages
Custom-designed web pages for the full report and each of the seven Gen Z diary participants
3 press release graphic packages
Visual assets supporting national media distribution of the report findings
Multi-week social campaign
Instagram and LinkedIn graphics across multiple weeks of report promotion
Live event print piece
Print collateral for the event where diary participants were interviewed in person
THE OUTCOME
The Event Effect was published in September 2024, distributed across national press, and presented at the Retail Influencer CEO Forum in NYC, where MERGE's Chief Performance and Data Officer presented findings to retail brand and industry leaders. The full report is still live at mergeworld.com*.
This was the most creatively autonomous project of my time at MERGE, from research to concept pitch to omnichannel execution, entirely owned by one designer.
*Note: MERGE's branding has been refreshed since this report launched, so the live version reflects their current visual identity rather than the original design.
