UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
2026
2026
2026
Defining the Chicago Mind
Defining the Chicago Mind
Defining the Chicago Mind
Defining the Chicago Mind
The University of Chicago launched its largest fundraising campaign to date, aiming to raise over $10 billion. What began as a celebration of the University's past, present, and future thinkers expanded into a donor dinner and website to convert the University's campaign identity into a digital experience.
The goal of the experience involved creating a design that easily allowed users to explore campaign priorities, Chicago Mind profiles, and upcoming events. As lead designer, I oversaw the project from concept through launch, defining the MVP, building the design system, and partnering with development through CMS documentation and QA, with a structure for AI-assisted workflows.
The University of Chicago launched its largest fundraising campaign to date, aiming to raise over $10 billion. What began as a celebration of the University's past, present, and future thinkers expanded into a donor dinner and website to convert the University's campaign identity into a digital experience.
The goal of the experience involved creating a design that easily allowed users to explore campaign priorities, Chicago Mind profiles, and upcoming events. As lead designer, I oversaw the project from concept through launch, defining the MVP, building the design system, and partnering with development through CMS documentation and QA, with a structure for AI-assisted workflows.
The University of Chicago launched its largest fundraising campaign to date, aiming to raise over $10 billion. What began as a celebration of the University's past, present, and future thinkers expanded into a donor dinner and website to convert the University's campaign identity into a digital experience.
The goal of the experience involved creating a design that easily allowed users to explore campaign priorities, Chicago Mind profiles, and upcoming events. As lead designer, I oversaw the project from concept through launch, defining the MVP, building the design system, and partnering with development through CMS documentation and QA, with a structure for AI-assisted workflows.
SKILLS
SKILLS
SKILLS
UX/UI
UX/UI
Design System
Design System
Agentic Design
Agentic Design
Interaction Design
Interaction Design
TOOLS
TOOLS
TOOLS
Figma
Figma
Claude
Claude
Concept
Concept
Concept
The concept centered around putting Chicago's greatest minds in focus. Spotlight projections and custom illustrations bring each priority area to life, creating the feeling of stepping into the minds behind the campaign.
Built to Scale
Built to Scale
Designed to support a 10-year campaign, the system needed to evolve beyond launch. Modular templates, reusable components, and structured documentation gave the client flexibility to manage new content while allowing the experience to scale as campaign priorities shifted.
With AI in Mind
With AI in Mind
The system was built and documented with AI-assisted workflows in mind, using clear documentation, reusable patterns, and organized elements to create a foundational system that can evolve with the campaign and digital tools.
The system was built and documented with AI-assisted workflows in mind, using clear documentation, reusable patterns, and organized elements to create a foundational system that can evolve with the campaign and digital tools.
Insights
Insights
This project reinforced the importance of a structured design system beyond visual consistency. Establishing clear documentation, processes, and shared systems allowed the team to move faster and created a foundation that could adapt to emerging workflows and tools. Within the first 1–2 months of launch, the campaign raised over $2B, a strong signal that the digital experience successful alongside the broader campaign.
This project reinforced the importance of a structured design system beyond visual consistency. Establishing clear documentation, processes, and shared systems allowed the team to move faster and created a foundation that could adapt to emerging workflows and tools. Within the first 1–2 months of launch, the campaign raised over $2B, a strong signal that the digital experience successful alongside the broader campaign.
Garrett Majewski – 2026