Creative Approach

Marketing and Communications
What We Do
Creative Approach

The Creative team works diligently to help our campus partners achieve their goals. We follow a detailed process that allows us to support your projects while maintaining standards of excellence and authenticity.

Photography

All of our campus partners help us tell Ole stories authentically. We believe that authentic photography is a key component of all of our marketing materials. We cherish the opportunity to help you capture events, projects, classroom shots, and other academic and non-academic activities that are part of the St. Olaf experience.

We have a team of photographers (students, staff, and contractors) who help us cover as many requests as we can.

Submit your Photo Request

IMAGE SELECTION PROCESS

We have built an extensive library of images that capture different elements of the St. Olaf experience. It is important that when selecting images to support a project, the person selecting images from our media library consider a few things:

Does the selected image tell an authentic story?

It is important to us and the community that the images used in our marketing materials reflect life on the Hill. Knowing that we do not stage photography and that we strongly encourage that captions are included whenever possible, always ask yourself if the image you selected matches your messaging, tone, and goals.

Is the selected image going to be used in the right context?

It is vital that the people featured in the image know and understand what their photo is going to be used for. You should also make sure that a caption is included to provide additional information about the people featured and other relevant information.

How does the selected image fit when seen through the lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?

Understand that selecting images directly impacts how your audience perceives the realities of life on campus. Know that there is no formula to be used and that every project you work on is different. We need to take the time to develop the skills and knowledge to reflect on our processes, identify new paths, and explore new ways to be inclusive and authentic at the same time.

Yes! Please help us tell stories that include diverse voices, amplify diverse stories, and empower underrepresented minorities to share their experiences. That being said, it is also important to be aware of over-representation. St. Olaf remains a predominantly white institution, and we want you to avoid misleading your audience or reflecting a percentage of diversity that feels inauthentic or exaggerated.

We know that our partners never intend to tokenize underrepresented communities. However, it can be very easy to fall into a pattern of seeing diversity as something to check off an imaginary list when putting together marketing materials. This can lead to tokenizing and over-representation. We care about finding the right way to tell our stories in an inclusive manner, and we want you to develop your strategy with that mindset from the start. Our partners should work on developing a process that includes these conversations along each step of the way. If you do, your images won’t be the only element that reflect diversity, and tokenizing is less likely to occur.

It is important for our partners to recognize that we all carry biases with us. Sometimes we may not be aware of their presence and we might need help or feedback from other members of our institution to identify and understand them more clearly. As our community grows in diversity, we want to make an effort to accept that there’s more potential for cultural blindspots to appear. When selecting an image, make sure you ask questions that connect your content to the person’s identity — including, but not limited to, nationality, culture, race, and gender identity. It’s important to consider that in certain cases you might be unaware of a connection to a stereotype. Including captions and requesting permission from the people featured in the image is a great way to prevent unintended outcomes.

Things change, people change, and conversations surrounding DEI can evolve quickly. The academic calendar can make it easy for us to fall into a repetitive cycle and apply older processes to projects that may need to be revised and updated. It is crucial to constantly audit your work to ensure that your marketing materials never feel outdated.