Carton Council — Increasing Carton Recycling Through Online Engagement
My Role:
- Creative Strategist
- Visual Designer
- Design Manager
- Project Manager
- Photographer
- Art Director
- Video Editor
Deliverables:
- Updated brand guidelines
- Monthly social media calendar
- Social media content including graphics, gifs, and reels
- Videos for ads, social, and message testing
- Paid ads
- Original photography
- Online quiz
- Carton packaging designs
- Event collateral, displays, and handouts
- Swag giveaway items
- Presentation decks
While millions of Americans recycle cans, bottles, and paper, many are unaware that food and beverage cartons can also be recycled, and confusion remains about which cartons are accepted and how to properly recycle them. Carton Council’s goals were to raise awareness, educate consumers, and encourage recycling for a greener community and a healthier planet.
I joined the team as a junior designer, initially creating graphics for Carton Council based on established brand guidelines. As I became more familiar with the client and audience, I began evolving the visual approach, introducing cleaner design, more creative photography, and interactive content that encouraged engagement and aligned with emerging social media trends to better reach younger audiences.
Over time, I grew into the role of Art Director and took on a larger leadership position for the account. I became the lead designer (and sole designer for a period), helping shape the creative direction and expanding the brand across social and campaigns. This included:
- Leading monthly brainstorms with the digital team to develop social content
- Pitching and launching new initiatives such as Instagram GIPHY stickers and an increased focus on Reels
- Creating new brand guidelines to support the updated visual direction
- Overseeing a junior designer on new carton packaging designs, and videos for message testing
- Acting as the photographer for social content shoots and leading creative direction for larger photoshoots
- Coordinating giveaways and social content with partner brands
- Auditing and contributing design feedback during a website redesign with an external development team
I also worked on several integrated campaigns, including a 2018 initiative in Delaware and Maryland that used video, social content, IG Stories, Facebook chatbot, online quiz, and interactive experiences to educate residents about carton recycling. During the two-month campaign, the work generated 15.5M impressions, 1.7M video views, 62K click-throughs, and 40K social engagements, with 97% of quiz participants reporting they intended to recycle cartons.