EY Graduate Programme

As part of EY’s Employer Branding team, I led the creative direction for the national Graduate Programme campaign, “Smart Move: Big Futures Start Here” over a five-month period.

The objective was to refresh the graduate brand proposition, enhance the end-to-end recruitment experience, and deliver a cohesive, multi-channel campaign across web, social, digital, and physical touchpoints.

My role spanned brand development, UX/UI design, creative direction, stakeholder engagement, and end-to-end production oversight across multiple internal teams and external partners.

Problem

While EY had strong brand recognition, the existing graduate recruitment experience lacked emotional resonance and did not fully align with the expectations of a modern graduate audience.

The campaign website was content-heavy, visually static, and not optimised for how graduates explore, compare, and evaluate early-career opportunities.

Research identified several key gaps:

  • A need for clearer pathways and practical, actionable guidance

  • Greater emphasis on visual storytelling to communicate culture and career progression

  • A more intuitive, confidence-building application journey

The challenge was to re-energise the employer brand, create a more relatable and aspirational campaign, and design a recruitment ecosystem that effectively engaged and converted graduate talent.

Competitor Analysis

Process

Research & Insight

  • Conducted competitive benchmarking across Big Four firms, global consultancies, and leading technology employers

  • Facilitated user research sessions with graduates to understand motivations, behaviours, and decision-making drivers

  • Synthesised insights to inform a more targeted content and experience strategy, including:

    • Concise, structured messaging

    • Story-led content frameworks

    • Clearer programme navigation and role articulation

    • A more dynamic and authentic visual approach

Brand Development

  • Evolved the visual identity system in line with EY’s global brand, tailoring tone of voice and visual expression for a graduate audience

  • Defined core messaging themes centred on growth, opportunity, and real-world impact

  • Established a flexible creative framework to support consistent execution across all channels

Hero Concepts

UX / UI Design

  • Led the redesign of the graduate recruitment website, focusing on:

    • Improved information architecture and page-level hierarchy

    • Chunked, scannable content to support faster comprehension

    • Modular design components to enable scalability and reuse

  • Partnered closely with development teams to ensure alignment with accessibility standards and usability best practice.

Content & Production

  • Directed and coordinated delivery across employer branding, talent acquisition, digital teams, and external agencies

  • Oversaw the creation of campaign assets across:

    • Website and digital platforms

    • Social channels (Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok)

    • Outdoor and print media

    • Graduate events and campus activations

Customer Journey

Implementation

  • Delivered a fully integrated campaign anchored by the redesigned website as the central experience hub

  • Ensured consistency of messaging, visual identity, and storytelling across all touchpoints

  • Introduced a more dynamic and human-centred visual language, reinforcing themes of ambition, progression, and belonging

Grad Ireland & DCU Events

Conclusion

By leading the creative strategy and execution of the Smart Move campaign, I helped reposition EY’s graduate offering to better reflect the aspirations of emerging talent.

The result was a clearer, more engaging, and more relevant recruitment experience, designed to support informed decision-making and drive application intent.

Key Outcomes & Capabilities Demonstrated

  • Led end-to-end delivery of a national, multi-channel employer brand campaign

  • Translated user insight into a cohesive brand and experience strategy

  • Designed and delivered scalable digital experiences aligned to user needs and business goals

  • Managed complex stakeholder environments and multi-vendor delivery models

  • Delivered high-quality creative output across digital, social, and physical channels

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