2021–2025Redesigning library engagement through merchandise
Context / Challenge
UTS Library had traditionally produced tens of thousands of low-cost calico tote bags, distributed during orientation and open days to attract students and reinforce the library’s visibility. But by 2021, student behaviour had shifted: borrowing physical books was no longer the primary reason students visited the library. The tote bag—once functional and symbolic—no longer reflected how students engaged with library services or university life.
As a result, event booths saw declining engagement, and a key service touchpoint had become disconnected from student needs and expectations.
Approach
Rather than treating the tote bag as a recurring procurement task, I reframed it as a service touchpoint—an opportunity to build trust and connection with students through a physical artefact aligned to how they actually used the library, what they valued from university life and the university’s broader sustainability commitments.
The goal was to move from low‑value giveaway thinking toward insight‑led and values‑aligned design that could create meaning, engagement and longer‑term relationships with students.
Methods
User research
In‑person and social media polling was conducted to understand whether tote bags still resonated with students. Insights showed students valued fewer, higher‑quality items with personal significance—particularly items that meaningfully supported everyday university life amid rising cost‑of‑living pressures.
Insight‑led reframing
Research findings were used to challenge assumptions around cost, quantity and perceived value, reframing the tote bag not as a short‑term promotion but as a long‑term service artefact.
Values‑aligned decision‑making and stakeholder influence
A shift to lower‑volume, higher‑quality production was proposed, arguing for ethical and sustainable sourcing to align with UTS’s strategic commitments to sustainability and responsible procurement. While not initially research‑led, this design stance was tested and validated through student adoption and response, and subsequently embedded as standard practice.
Service prototyping
Designed not only the artefact but its distribution and narrative—trialling scavenger hunts, limited releases and storytelling to change how students encountered the library.
Iterative service redesign
As student needs evolved over time—particularly in response to cost‑of‑living pressures—I adapted the service intent of merchandise engagement. The focus shifted away from high‑energy, high‑volume giveaways designed to maximise visibility, toward calmer, more student‑aligned moments of support. This included shifting merchandise to include practical items that improved day‑to‑day university life, such as notebooks, academic planners, phone chargers, fruit and coffee vouchers.
Ecosystem collaboration
Partnered with in-residence artists, communications and event teams to ensure each iteration felt intentional, cohesive and genuinely student‑centred.
Results
The redesigned merchandise became synonymous with the library’s ethos of support, acting as a gateway into deeper academic services. For the first time, students actively sought out the library at events, at times lining up by the thousands. More than a freebie, the merchandise became a cultural artefact that:
Beyond events, the project influenced internal practice by establishing research, sustainability and experiential value as core criteria for future service touchpoints.
This project demonstrated that values‑led, insight‑informed design can outperform high‑volume, low‑value approaches, helping stakeholders see promotional artefacts as part of the service experience, not an afterthought.
Redesigning library engagement through merchandise
Context / Challenge
UTS Library had traditionally produced tens of thousands of low-cost calico tote bags, distributed during orientation and open days to attract students and reinforce the library’s visibility. But by 2021, student behaviour had shifted: borrowing physical books was no longer the primary reason students visited the library. The tote bag—once functional and symbolic—no longer reflected how students engaged with library services or university life. As a result, event booths saw declining engagement, and a key service touchpoint had become disconnected from student needs and expectations.
Approach
Rather than treating the tote bag as a recurring procurement task, I reframed it as a service touchpoint—an opportunity to build trust and connection with students through a physical artefact aligned to how they actually used the library, what they valued from university life and the university’s broader sustainability commitments. The goal was to move from low‑value giveaway thinking toward insight‑led and values‑aligned design that could create meaning, engagement and longer‑term relationships with students.
Methods
User researchIn‑person and social media polling was conducted to understand whether tote bags still resonated with students. Insights showed students valued fewer, higher‑quality items with personal significance—particularly items that meaningfully supported everyday university life amid rising cost‑of‑living pressures.
Insight‑led reframing
Research findings were used to challenge assumptions around cost, quantity and perceived value, reframing the tote bag not as a short‑term promotion but as a long‑term service artefact.
Values‑aligned decision‑making and stakeholder influence
A shift to lower‑volume, higher‑quality production was proposed, arguing for ethical and sustainable sourcing to align with UTS’s strategic commitments to sustainability and responsible procurement. While not initially research‑led, this design stance was tested and validated through student adoption and response, and subsequently embedded as standard practice.
Service prototyping
Designed not only the artefact but its distribution and narrative—trialling scavenger hunts, limited releases and storytelling to change how students encountered the library.
Iterative service redesign
As student needs evolved over time—particularly in response to cost‑of‑living pressures—I adapted the service intent of merchandise engagement. The focus shifted away from high‑energy, high‑volume giveaways designed to maximise visibility, toward calmer, more student‑aligned moments of support. This included shifting merchandise to include practical items that improved day‑to‑day university life, such as notebooks, academic planners, phone chargers, fruit and coffee vouchers.
Ecosystem collaboration
Partnered with in-residence artists, communications and event teams to ensure each iteration felt intentional, cohesive and genuinely student‑centred.
Results
The redesigned merchandise became synonymous with the library’s ethos of support, acting as a gateway into deeper academic services. For the first time, students actively sought out the library at events, at times lining up by the thousands. More than a freebie, the merchandise became a cultural artefact that:- Reinforced the library’s non-transactional ethos—a place that gives freely and welcomes all.
- Created opportunities for approachable, low-pressure service engagement.
- Reframed generic giveaways into meaningful, student-aligned experiences.
- indicated a shift in student engagement behaviours and expectations
Beyond events, the project influenced internal practice by establishing research, sustainability and experiential value as core criteria for future service touchpoints.
This project demonstrated that values‑led, insight‑informed design can outperform high‑volume, low‑value approaches, helping stakeholders see promotional artefacts as part of the service experience, not an afterthought.
2021–2025Redesigning library engagement through merchandise
Context / Challenge
UTS Library had traditionally produced tens of thousands of low-cost calico tote bags, distributed during orientation and open days to attract students and reinforce the library’s visibility. But by 2021, student behaviour had shifted: borrowing physical books was no longer the primary reason students visited the library. The tote bag—once functional and symbolic—no longer reflected how students engaged with library services or university life.
As a result, event booths saw declining engagement, and a key service touchpoint had become disconnected from student needs and expectations.
Approach
Rather than treating the tote bag as a recurring procurement task, I reframed it as a service touchpoint—an opportunity to build trust and connection with students through a physical artefact aligned to how they actually used the library, what they valued from university life and the university’s broader sustainability commitments.
The goal was to move from low‑value giveaway thinking toward insight‑led and values‑aligned design that could create meaning, engagement and longer‑term relationships with students.
Methods
User research
In‑person and social media polling was conducted to understand whether tote bags still resonated with students. Insights showed students valued fewer, higher‑quality items with personal significance—particularly items that meaningfully supported everyday university life amid rising cost‑of‑living pressures.
Insight‑led reframing
Research findings were used to challenge assumptions around cost, quantity and perceived value, reframing the tote bag not as a short‑term promotion but as a long‑term service artefact.
Values‑aligned decision‑making and stakeholder influence
A shift to lower‑volume, higher‑quality production was proposed, arguing for ethical and sustainable sourcing to align with UTS’s strategic commitments to sustainability and responsible procurement. While not initially research‑led, this design stance was tested and validated through student adoption and response, and subsequently embedded as standard practice.
Service prototyping
Designed not only the artefact but its distribution and narrative—trialling scavenger hunts, limited releases and storytelling to change how students encountered the library.
Iterative service redesign
As student needs evolved over time—particularly in response to cost‑of‑living pressures—I adapted the service intent of merchandise engagement. The focus shifted away from high‑energy, high‑volume giveaways designed to maximise visibility, toward calmer, more student‑aligned moments of support. This included shifting merchandise to include practical items that improved day‑to‑day university life, such as notebooks, academic planners, phone chargers, fruit and coffee vouchers.
Ecosystem collaboration
Partnered with in-residence artists, communications and event teams to ensure each iteration felt intentional, cohesive and genuinely student‑centred.
Results
The redesigned merchandise became synonymous with the library’s ethos of support, acting as a gateway into deeper academic services. For the first time, students actively sought out the library at events, at times lining up by the thousands. More than a freebie, the merchandise became a cultural artefact that:
Beyond events, the project influenced internal practice by establishing research, sustainability and experiential value as core criteria for future service touchpoints.
This project demonstrated that values‑led, insight‑informed design can outperform high‑volume, low‑value approaches, helping stakeholders see promotional artefacts as part of the service experience, not an afterthought.
Redesigning library engagement through merchandise
Context / Challenge
UTS Library had traditionally produced tens of thousands of low-cost calico tote bags, distributed during orientation and open days to attract students and reinforce the library’s visibility. But by 2021, student behaviour had shifted: borrowing physical books was no longer the primary reason students visited the library. The tote bag—once functional and symbolic—no longer reflected how students engaged with library services or university life. As a result, event booths saw declining engagement, and a key service touchpoint had become disconnected from student needs and expectations.
Approach
Rather than treating the tote bag as a recurring procurement task, I reframed it as a service touchpoint—an opportunity to build trust and connection with students through a physical artefact aligned to how they actually used the library, what they valued from university life and the university’s broader sustainability commitments. The goal was to move from low‑value giveaway thinking toward insight‑led and values‑aligned design that could create meaning, engagement and longer‑term relationships with students.
Methods
User researchIn‑person and social media polling was conducted to understand whether tote bags still resonated with students. Insights showed students valued fewer, higher‑quality items with personal significance—particularly items that meaningfully supported everyday university life amid rising cost‑of‑living pressures.
Insight‑led reframing
Research findings were used to challenge assumptions around cost, quantity and perceived value, reframing the tote bag not as a short‑term promotion but as a long‑term service artefact.
Values‑aligned decision‑making and stakeholder influence
A shift to lower‑volume, higher‑quality production was proposed, arguing for ethical and sustainable sourcing to align with UTS’s strategic commitments to sustainability and responsible procurement. While not initially research‑led, this design stance was tested and validated through student adoption and response, and subsequently embedded as standard practice.
Service prototyping
Designed not only the artefact but its distribution and narrative—trialling scavenger hunts, limited releases and storytelling to change how students encountered the library.
Iterative service redesign
As student needs evolved over time—particularly in response to cost‑of‑living pressures—I adapted the service intent of merchandise engagement. The focus shifted away from high‑energy, high‑volume giveaways designed to maximise visibility, toward calmer, more student‑aligned moments of support. This included shifting merchandise to include practical items that improved day‑to‑day university life, such as notebooks, academic planners, phone chargers, fruit and coffee vouchers.
Ecosystem collaboration
Partnered with in-residence artists, communications and event teams to ensure each iteration felt intentional, cohesive and genuinely student‑centred.
Results
The redesigned merchandise became synonymous with the library’s ethos of support, acting as a gateway into deeper academic services. For the first time, students actively sought out the library at events, at times lining up by the thousands. More than a freebie, the merchandise became a cultural artefact that:- Reinforced the library’s non-transactional ethos—a place that gives freely and welcomes all.
- Created opportunities for approachable, low-pressure service engagement.
- Reframed generic giveaways into meaningful, student-aligned experiences.
- indicated a shift in student engagement behaviours and expectations
Beyond events, the project influenced internal practice by establishing research, sustainability and experiential value as core criteria for future service touchpoints.
This project demonstrated that values‑led, insight‑informed design can outperform high‑volume, low‑value approaches, helping stakeholders see promotional artefacts as part of the service experience, not an afterthought.
