Max CCA:
A few friends, a crazy idea, & a digital campus

UX Design,
Content & Community Building

2 physical campuses and siloed majors created an unideal culture that thrives on interdisciplinary practice. HOW MIGHT WE . . . unite the student body?

Problem
CCA's social culture is divided by majors, years, and space. We saw a need for connection across disciplines and CCA's two campuses (in Oakland and SF).
🔍
No unified space for collaboration or communication: People were looking for a common space to share or look for resources or info, but none existed.
Solution
💻
We created a "digital campus" on Facebook called Max CCA for our university, an open platform that shares student voices, student work, and cool events going on in and around CCA.
🏗
Max rapidly became friends with 1,783 CCA students, or 80% of the CCA community.
My Contributions

Max CCA was a passion project of a 4-student anonymous group with 2 UX Designers, 1 Graphic Designer, and 1 Industrial Designer. Over time, I became the main person running the Max platform day-to-day. For almost two years, I spent 4–6 hours per week interacting with the online community, creating and sharing resources, or planning for future initiatives.

Manage project written content, deadlines, and collaborated with the group strategizing our future plans.
Develop and implement Max’s branded voice(s) via brand and content strategy. All written content was either generated or checked by me.
Max is an open platform community space made for CCA students by CCA students
Emoting the 3 Personalities: Agent, Curious, Nerdy

AGENT Max shares Student Voices

Cool, Mysterious, Concise

Agent Max to friend-base. Do you copy? Whisper your thoughts to me and I'll spread it anonymously for the world to hear. Tell me about your college experience, or anything at all. Whisper to me in the portal http://bit.ly/agentmax. Over. #AgentMax

🤫
300+ whispered thoughts in 1.5 years
🤖
started with a Typeform, ended with a Textbot
🏆
The most popular Max Personality
🗣
Successfully sparked in-person and online conversations across campuses

CURIOUS Max shares Student Work

Enthusiastic, Shy, Humble

Hello, my name’s Curious and… I’d like to say… I saw your cool artwork at school the other day, but lots of people didn’t get a chance to. That’s a real shame, I think... You know what? If you send me your work, I’ll put it up for everyone to see! This way, we will all bridge the gap between disciplines and you’ll get to see all the awesome stuff being done in CCA.
So, if you’re interested in submitting your work or nominating a friend’s, message me picture(s) and an optional short description. I can’t wait to share your work with the world!

🎨
10 student work posts across all majors
📈
Each post generated 50 reactions on average, much higher than other Max posts
💡
Successfully showcased student work: diverse and interdisciplinary

NERDY Max shares Events

Chill, Quirky, Thorough

Hey! Nerdy Max in the house. There’re so many events, lectures, and workshops going on in CCA and we rarely get to hear about them. I’m here to share information with you so that you’re aware of what’s happening within and outside your major. Nerd out! #NerdyMax

📅
Weekly "Nerdy Calendar" shares of all cross-campus events + external major-related events
🎤
Quarterly "Nerdy AMAs" with CCA Professors generated fun activities and interactions
📣
Student Clubs, teachers, and students reached out and Max promoted direct event links on the Fb page
"Max, are you a robot?"

"I don't recall a time when anyone has ever asked me how I feel." 🤖

Some of Max's posts were commented on, or Max would occasionally receive messages. I was always lurking online in case Max was ever talked to directly. Sometimes Max was privately consulted for advice or a listening ear. In my favorite conversation, a student asked Max if it was a robot. Naturally, I played along.

Recognized by California College of the Arts and partnering with the CCA Student Council

Because of the success of the Max CCA Platform, students came to see Max as an entity that represented the current student body. There were up's and down's––to be expected on Facebook when posts were being made my anonymous students. At one point, we did have to clarify that the school itself was not managing the page and that it was just a bunch of students :) 

Soon, the original Team Max was preparing to graduate, and we wanted to make sure the platform continued to exist for future generations. Team Max met with members of the Student Council and we agreed to collaborate with a 1-year handoff process. As of 2020, the Max Platform is inactive and the current Student Council is debating on whether or not to revive it. Irregardless, Max CCA represents an important and successful project that can inspire them moving forward. I myself have gotten more interested in community and culture building after seeing the power of a powerful brand and platform in action! It's something that I carry with me wherever I go.

How Max Changed My Life
As President of the Student Council...

While Max was active, I became the Coordinator of the CCA Chimera Council. My personal mission during my tenure was to build a foundation/platform that the Council could use to get feedback, and it just so happened that Max was the perfect solution. (I like to joke that "Max infiltrated the Student Council!") In spring 2018 we announced our partnership and I hope that Max continues to serve the student body at CCA as members of the Student Council come and go.

Use Negativity to Fuel Positive Change

I learned how to make my education my own. I was always so skeptical of CCA, but I was also tired of complaining and doing nothing about it. I got involved with Team Max, somehow ended up in Chimera Council…and realized there is hope! It’s just muddled by a lack of transparency. That’s something I’m working on continuously as a part of Team Max and Chimera Council — establishing a platform to help unite the CCA community — as well as in my own projects and life. Now I encourage everyone, especially every student at CCA, to take charge of your ambitions, actually turn your negativity into fuel for action, and make a real difference in your community! It’s okay to be negative, but turn that energy into something productive and positive :)