Camp Michigania Staff
The Michigania staff host over 200 families for 11 consecutive weeks every summer. As they live along the shore of Walloon, they are charged with a curating and executing whimsical activities for children age 0 all the way to senior adults. Unlike campers that stop in for only a week, the staff spend almost 14 weeks of their summer from preparation to teardown bringing camp magic alive. I worked with leadership at Michigania to imagine innovative staff gifts for a variety of moments throughout the summer.
Scope
Illustration
Merchandise
Strategy
Role
Creative Director
Graphic Designer
2025 Shirt
End of summer shirt inspired by local Northern Michigan trees, which were a large part of this year’s teams essence. The tree’s were whimsically stylized, inspired by the Frog & Toad illustrations by Arnold Lobel. The lore of camp’s magical creatures was subtly incorporated.
Playing Cards
Leadership came to me in need of a unique idea for an incentive for 2025 recruitment, specifically for retaining previously staff. This would serve as a give-away at a New Year’s staff reunion during a pivotal time before final staffing decisions are made. Knowing the audience of this would already have worked at camp, it became key to play on the nostalgia and unique qualities of working at Camp Michigania.
A deck of playing cards became the answer, as this item itself is widely used over the summer. The goal was to make every staffer feel seen in one aspect of this deck. The turn-around was fast so the design needed to be simple and effective.
Reference to magical creature lore
Staff housing
2025 Softball Shirt
Annual staff softball t-shirt worn during games against the other local children’s summer camp.
Playing off past years, this shirt features one of Michigania’s magical creatures — Uni the Unicorn.
2025 Staff Gifts
Beginning of summer staff tote bag.
Multipurpose graphic matching the style of the tote.
Stamp-able design, used on notebook.
2024 Shirt
End of summer staff shirt made in collaboration with staff to incorporate phrases or inside jokes and celebrate each teams unique culture. The design also features graphics that resonate with the entire staff team.
2024 Staff Stickers
These designs play off the camper merchandise with small shifts for staff. See the camper designs.