Did you know children laugh around 300 times a day, while adults average just four? That insight sparked Big Time Play Time — a creative platform I developed with the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago to bring more energy, imagination, and visibility to their summer camp programs.
The goal was to create a standout conceptual approach and a flexible visual direction that could help the YMCA connect with both kids and parents — capturing the spirit of unfiltered fun while staying true to the Y’s mission and brand.
The Challenge
The YMCA typically relied on authentic photography of real campers — heartfelt, but often visually indistinct in a crowded summer camp landscape. They needed a fresh creative direction that could break through, feel unmistakably fun, and still remain clearly “YMCA.”
The Approach
Inspired by the YMCA’s Power of Play message, I developed Big Time Play Time as a campaign-ready creative platform built around exaggerated, larger-than-life moments of joy. The visual toolkit featured kids interacting with oversized objects — like giant binoculars for nature hikes — designed to make camp feel epic, playful, and memorable at first glance.
The system combined bold typography, bright brand color, and energetic layouts that could flex across formats depending on where the YMCA wanted to apply it.
Results
The work received strong feedback from both YMCA families and internal teams. The Creative Director noted that the concept stood out in the market and generated real excitement — with visuals that felt fresh, fun, and distinctly on-brand.
Why it Worked
By grounding the work in a simple human insight and pairing it with imaginative, kid-first visuals, Big Time Play Time captured the joy of camp in a way that felt emotionally resonant, visually distinctive, and built for real-world flexibility.
Print Collateral
Social Media
Digital Advertising
Web
Swag
Did you know children laugh around 300 times a day, while adults average just four? That insight sparked Big Time Play Time — a creative platform I developed with the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago to bring more energy, imagination, and visibility to their summer camp programs.
The goal was to create a standout conceptual approach and a flexible visual direction that could help the YMCA connect with both kids and parents — capturing the spirit of unfiltered fun while staying true to the Y’s mission and brand.
Designing within fixed brand constraints
At the client’s request, ARxIUM’s logo and primary color palette remained unchanged. The system was intentionally designed to deliver clarity and consistency without altering the core brand.
