#Portfolio Showcase: the stellar nursery

SEND THE DELIVERABLES LINK TO: Teodora.migdalovici@thealternativeschool.com / win@thealternativeschool.com

MANDATORY. Submissions must be shared via a link. Solutions sent as email attachments WILL NOT BE considered.

#Portfolio Showcase: the stellar nursery

Context

In 2022, #TheAlternativeSchool organized the first Portfolio Showcase, meeting talents from design, art direction, SoMe, Copywriting, strategy with senior professionals, in a 2.30 h event @Mindspace Victoriei. In front of the audience, 5 talents presented live their portfolios, received feedback from 4 awarded seniors on how to improve their work & their personal brand and the very best got job opportunities via #TalentMagnet, the recruitment platform and scholarships to the new School semester. The vibe of the event: close to a stand up show: laughter, relevant insights, lovely networking & good food were in order. For 2023 onwards, we need a new name / logo and the best mechanics to ensure the success of this event at industry scale.

For whom

Upcoming talent willing to refine their work and find guidance.

Established talent, looking forward to adjust their portfolio & digital imprint.

Top players to find best talent – as the sponsors & partners of the event.

To Do

Decide upon the name of the event, in order to be relevant for the most talented people out there (can be #Portfolio, The Nursery, The Stellar Nursery or a completely different name).

Create the logo for the event.

Via digital solutions (micro-website / so-me / groups – up to you) propose the most relevant registration, connection & promo mechanics, to attract the best talent and the right audience. (4-5 lines, can be doubled by visuals.)

Create the “call for applications” simulations for 3 Social Media platforms (insta being one of them. You can use insta formats only, if you think that’s the right thing to do).

Deliverables

The A3 board presenting your solutions to the brief.

The board has the team logo. The logo & the 3 simulations (high rez, editables).

Note

If the school logo is necessary in the economy of your proposal, use the one created by Razvan Dan, when you implement & decline the ideas.

Mandatory

Upload your solution until April, 11th, at 23.59.

Design, Art Direction, Social Media, Copywriting, Strategy

News article cover image.

12/9/25, 11:59 PM

LOVE & LOBBY the festival

Anthropology, Semiotics, Applied creativity in the service of brands, Businesses & Society at large.

WHO

LoveAndLobby -TheFestival is an international online creative competition, that celebrates the way contemporary brands use identity, local flavor, customs, tradition and pop-culture to solve universal solutions in local key, serving as catalyst for evolution, both in business and at society level.

VALUES

Diversity, Inclusiveness, Celebrating both the inner wisdom & voice of a given community or culture, while reaching out to the world at large.

WHY

To create a virtual library celebrating identity and local wisdom, applied in business and society, for the benefit of all.

WHAT WE NEED

Create a visual system to promote the nine festival categories (either in relation with the sections or independently). Explain the system in 150 words. Demonstrate the concept of your visual system by declining it in 3 different visuals, ready to be used on Instagram. Propose the best launching strategy idea to spread the news about the festival within the international creative community: 150 words.

FESTIVAL CATEGORIES
  1. BEST USE OF SYMBOLS

  2. BEST USE OF LOCAL INSIGHT brands tapping into local insight to solve a problem

  3. BRANDS CELEBRATING TRADITION

  4. BRANDS CELEBRATING POP-CULTURE

  5. BRANDS ADDRESSING CULTURAL TENSIONS

  6. BRANDS CREATING CULTURE

  7. BEST CHALLENGE ON IDENTITY CLICHES related to age, gender, place of birth, beliefs

  8. BEST USE OF CULTURALLY RELEVANT LOCATIONS

  9. BEST CULTURAL AMBASSADOR Architect, Artist, Creative Director, Director, Inventor, Musician, Photographer, Producer, influencing & celebrating local culture

THE FESTIVAL HAS 5 SECTIONS EACH SECTION HAS A DIFFERENT JURY

  1. BUSINESS & SOCIETY IMPACT win-win-win

  2. INNOVATION & DESIGN graphic design / fashion / packaging / product / services / window display

  3. NEW MEDIAS & TECH digital, SM, VR, AR, AI

  4. PR & LOBBY

  5. FILM short, documentary, fiction, musical video

TONE OF VOICE

Colorful, vital, diverse, opposites attract.

AUDIENCE

The international creative crowd: creators, producers, designers & clients.

MANDATORY

Use the existing LoveAndLobby logo, if necessary. Add info/elements, if necessary. However, the main logotype will remain unchanged.

NOTE

The general chromatic code for the LoveAndLobby platform and also for the Ladies First Magazines is GOLD / WHITE / BLACK / ANTHRACITE. For the festival visual expression, we encourage you to explore complementary graphic & chromatic formulas.

HISTORY

LOVEANDLOBBY.COM started as a private diplomacy platform exploring and promoting cultures of the world, especially those that have a stigma attached to their name/identity in the western media.

It includes a digital magazine, interviewing talent from around the world, currently focusing on the Middle Eastern region, and soon beyond.

Under the LoveAndLobby umbrella, there are also a series of hard copy magazines called #LADIESFIRST (including editions for Romania, Turkey, Israel), mapping creative industries of the world, with a soft spot for the gender tensions.

The plans around building a LoveAndLobby community of like-minded individuals include the LoveAndLobby Festival and the very first PRIVATE EMBASSY, a 200m space where exhibitions, creative residencies and the international creative crowd could interact and meet.

EVALUATION SYSTEM

From 1-5, where 1 is the lowest, 5 is the highest.

CRITERIA

30 % IDEA

-ORIGINAL, IMPACTFUL, FRESH, UNEXPECTED, CREATES INSTANT MEMORABILITY-

30% STRATEGY

-ABILITY TO UNFOLD / WILDFIRE KIND OF SPREADING-

30% EXECUTION

-IT GRABS YOU BY THE EYEBALLS AND RELEVANTLY STICKS WITH THE VIEWER LONG BEFORE EXPOSURE-

10% WOW FACTOR

USEFUL LINKS

Click on each symbol.

MBQ, a social entrepreneurship dedicated to saving & reviving the rromani tradition of jewelry making & metal crafts, is launching “Atelier Nevers”.

In the 2h timeframe, one can present his or her idea of jewelry. Then, guided by a designer, it will be put on paper.

Master Nevers, a highly skilled rromani craftsman, will help you translate it into a beautiful reality.

For safety reasons, a maximum of 5 people can attend at once, presenting the green pass.

Fee: 200 Ron / person

YOUR TASK

Create an integrated campaign strategy to promote Atelier Nevers, so it can reach the most talented, yet unknown jewelry designers out there.

Create a series of 3 visuals for Instagram and 1 Facebook cover to decline your strategy. A 2 min video would be nice as well, though not mandatory.

Povestea Bârlog a pornit la Cluj, în fosta fabrică Ursus, unde o echipă de rebeli determinati a spus NU etichetelor & standardizarii si a vrut să creeze un drum la mijloc între industrial si craft.

O gasca de berari, nebuni după bere dar si dupa ALTCEVA. Pe cât de multi oameni suntem în lume, pe atât de multe gusturi pot exista.

Astfel, Bârlog are in ADN celebrarea diferentelor de opinii, gusturi, credinte, pareri si crede cu tarie ca aceste diferente ii transforma intr-o comunitate puternica.

Adevarul arata cine suntem, cu bune si cu rele. Rebeli, dar hotarati, ei nu compromit calitatea si sunt mândri de tot ce iese din mâinile lor.

E randul tau la altceva. Construieste o campanie de activare digitala prin care Barlog celebreaza diversitatea, pornind de la tool-urile generatiei Z.

News article cover image.

4/6/25, 11:59 PM

KFC retail sauces – a bundle for social occasions

KFC retail sauces – a bundle for social occasions

WHAT

We need to create the ultimate trio-bundle of KFC retail sauces, an add-on that you can bring to any BBQ party, dinner, friends’ gathering to spice up the meal & the good vibes.

BACKGROUND

KFC has 3 sauces launched in retail – the famous garlic one, the garlic & tomato and now the American Dip. They are the perfect add-ons for any at-home meal, not only going perfectly with chicken recipes, but also any other dishes you may think of.

DETAILS

We want to present them as a KFC trio for at-home cooking (or ordering). This means that we need to create a system/packaging that could fit all 3, as well as present their names and the KFC brand cues (logo, 3 stripes). The 3 products below.

Deadline: 6th of April

HOW AND FOR WHOM

The packaging should be interesting and eye-candy, easy to carry – meaning you don’t need to put it in a bag, but rather be able to take it with one hand – acting as a set containing the 3 sauces. Its target audience is, of course, the retail customers, KFC consumers, but also youngsters or young adults that may want a cool add-on for a home party.

END GAME

We need a prototype design that can be implemented and manufactured. It will potentially be used in KFC’s influencer and community giveaways, as well as in-store.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Recipient’s height: 150 mm, top to bottom.

Top (diagonal): 53 mm.

Recipient’s width: 70 mm, at the largest point.

AWARD

If there is an application selected to be implemented, the winning team receives a 1000 E award (500 E/person) on the behalf of #TheAlternativeSchool. The name of the contestants, their story & the school’s will be communicated within the package and in the press & Social Media, when the package will be officially launched.

IMPORTANT

Proposals that are degrading, humiliating, risky, tacky, aggressive, or offensive will not get shortlisted or selected for potential implementation.

DELIVERABLES

On a google drive link, mentioning the name of the team:

• The design of the package in high-rez JPG & editable format.

• Min. 3 different promo simulations (SoMe/Poster – up to you).

• A3 board explaining:

  1. The Insight.

  2. The Concept.

  3. The Strategy to make this package famous (The most efficient & engaging way to make this product design “a want to have one” item within its audience/communities).

  4. Expected results.
    • The min. 3 visual simulations (of the package & the 3 promo simulations (SoMe / Poster – up to you).

RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO MAKE A REMARKABLE BOARD

Give a cool name to the promo campaign for the 3 sauces.

Keep the copy concise, delightful, clear and non-redundant.

Have a remarkable product design idea.

Have a smart amplification idea to make the trio famous.

Have impactful, memorable visuals.

Respect the brand’s color codes (red & black).

Use visual languages & tone of voice that are relevant for the brand and its community (fun, entertaining, joyful, allusive, conversational).

Make your mama proud:

Make your mama proud: