
UT Thanks Day
Summary
UT Thanks Day is an annual celebration, hosted by the Donor Relations Team, honoring donors who create opportunities for UT students.
The goal is to encourage as many students as possible to come out to help say, "Thank you" to the UT donors as part of stewarding their gifts. This attitude of gratitude helps with donor retention.
Project Results
This project garnered three CASE awards for design and stewardship:
- 2018 CASE District IV
Gold Award for
Design - Special Pieces - 2018 CASE Circle of Excellence
Silver Award for Stewardship - 2018 CASE District IV
Silver Award for Stewardship
project Scope
- Brand identity refresh
- Video editing
- Print and digital collateral
- Event collateral
Thanks Day 2.0
The original look included the campus tower, which has served as the school's most distinguishing landmark for years. The client liked it, but wished to "humanize" it. Not quite, human, but successfull nonetheless.
We first updated it with a bolder color palette to make it pop. We then brought in the school mascot as the primary design element. Students and alumni particularly have a strong affinity for a school's mascot, which is often the most visible figure on a college campus. Presidents, athletic directors, and coaches come and go, but a mascot is typically unchanging, so the brand has staying power.







#UTThanksDay
Raine Munkens
Assistant Director for Donor Relations
The University of Texas at Austin
Tyler enthusiastically stepped into a role where our new team needed fresh creativity, even when we weren’t sure where to start. My work with Tyler during UT Thanks Day led to two CASE District IV 2018 Awards: Gold in “Design-Special Pieces” and Silver in “Donor Relations / Stewardship,” as well as CASE Circle of Excellence Award: Silver in “Silver Award for Stewardship."
It’s been a true privilege to collaborate with Tyler. He’s incredibly professional, thoughtful, and very easy to work with. Without his design and communications talent, attention to detail, quick turnaround, and ability to work well remotely, this campus-wide campaign would not have been so successful. Grateful for Tyler and all he does for us—I could not recommend him more!