Project Overview
How can we address the issue of self-worth at Princeton, a campus characterized by intense academic, social, and professional pressures? This was the central question posed in ENT200: Creativity, Innovation, and Design for Fall 2023.
Challenge: Address the stigma surrounding failure and rejection at Princeton, where a competitive and high-achieving culture often leaves students feeling isolated or defeated.
Goal: Design an innovative, community-centered solution to normalize rejection, spark conversations about resilience, and encourage a mindset shift around failure.
Outcome: A campus-wide sticker campaign that used humor and relatability to make rejection a shared experience, fostering connection and resilience.
Our Process
Understanding the Problem
Princeton University’s competitive and high-achieving culture often places immense pressure on students to excel academically, socially, and professionally. While this environment fosters excellence, it can also lead to unintended consequences: a pervasive fear of failure and rejection
Princeton students face intense competition to secure spots in prestigious eating clubs, student organizations, and coveted internship opportunities. The exclusivity of these spaces creates barriers that limit participation in critical aspects of campus life, such as social connections and professional development. This culture perpetuates the idea that "failure isn’t an option," leaving students feeling isolated and disheartened when faced with rejection..
There is so much s*** to get done at Princeton…everyone seems to have it together and there is
no room to fail.
"
"
— A distressed Princeton student
To help address this problem, we conducted three rounds of interviews with 15+ students to uncover the underlying challenges:
A pervasive fear of rejection in academic, social, and career contexts.
A lack of open conversations about coping with failure and building resilience.
A desire for relatable, lighthearted ways to normalize and celebrate rejection.
From these findings, we identified the need for an approach that normalizes rejection and fosters a sense of community through humor and relatability.
Our Solution:
The Princeton Resilience Network
The name Princeton Resilience Network was chosen to reflect the core mission of our project: to build a campus-wide initiative that fosters resilience and community while addressing the stigma of rejection and failure. The concept of a “network” emphasized the importance of creating connections among students, turning rejection into a shared and relatable experience rather than an isolating one.
At Princeton, rejection often feels deeply personal due to the competitive culture, but we wanted to reframe it as an inevitable and even valuable part of growth. This idea of resilience—bouncing back from setbacks and embracing failure as part of success—became the cornerstone of the project. It guided every stage of our brainstorming and campaign development, reminding us to focus on solutions that normalize rejection in ways that were engaging, empowering, and unique to the Princeton experience.
The logo, featuring a tiger (Princeton’s mascot) alongside the initials PRN, symbolizes both individual strength and collective resilience. Its bold, modern design ties into the campaign’s mission of empowerment and relatability. The visual identity reinforced our message and became a recognizable symbol for the campaign, helping it gain traction across campus.
Guidelines for Success
01
Conduct thorough user research to understand the target audience's perspectives.
02
Prototype multiple solutions addressing self-worth and resilience.
03
Incorporate user feedback to iterate and improve designs.
04
Deliver a final solution that is creative, feasible, and impactful for the Princeton student body.
Initial Concept:
Discussion Forum Website
Our initial concept was a discussion forum website where students could share experiences, seek advice, and connect over shared struggles. The platform aimed to create a supportive digital space for addressing rejection, mental health, academic challenges, and career pressures, while also providing access to valuable resources.
We envisioned features such as categorized discussion threads (e.g., academics, mental health, career), anonymous posting for increased comfort, and a repository of curated resources to guide students through tough times.
While this concept aligned with the problem's goals, user feedback revealed limitations:
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Lack of Originality: The concept was perceived as too similar to existing platforms, such as Fizz, which already serves as a popular anonymous discussion forum for Princeton students.
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Limited Emotional Appeal: Students expressed that the platform lacked creativity and emotional resonance, making it less engaging and relatable.
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Doubts About Participation: Concerns were raised that the website might not successfully foster meaningful engagement or build a sense of community among users.
This feedback prompted us to pivot to a new direction.
Pivoting to Creativity:
The Sticker Campaign
After reevaluating our approach, we brainstormed and launched a sticker campaign to normalize rejection and foster community through humor. This idea stemmed from insights into student preferences for relatable, visual solutions.
Design Process:
1. Brainstorming:
2. Prototyping:
3. Final Design:
🧠 Developed sticker ideas inspired by popular student organizations, eating clubs,
and internship rejection culture.
🎭Used humor to make rejection relatable and less intimidating.
🖨️ Designed and printed initial sticker prototypes using the Princeton MakerSpace lab.
📢 Distributed stickers to students for feedback, iterating based on responses.
🎨 Expanded the sticker collection to include a wide variety of designs.
🐯 Themes included resilience, rejection humor, and Princeton-specific cultural references.
The sticker design process was a deeply collaborative effort that tied into the heart of the Princeton Resilience Network (PRN). As a team, we brainstormed witty slogans inspired by common rejection experiences at Princeton—ranging from competitive eating clubs to coveted internship opportunities. These ideas were then transformed into bold, visually compelling designs, blending humor and relatability to normalize rejection.
To ensure our designs resonated with students, we printed prototypes at the Princeton MakerSpace and distributed them in high-traffic campus spots, such as dining halls and study areas. Through this distribution process, we invited feedback, sparking conversations and gathering insights on how students perceived the stickers. This iterative approach allowed us to refine the designs and expand the collection to reflect the diverse experiences of the Princeton community.
Our goal was to make rejection a shared, less intimidating experience by encouraging students to display their stickers proudly on laptops, water bottles, and dorm doors. By turning rejection into a point of connection and even laughter, we sought to foster resilience and reinforce the central PRN mission: to empower students to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth, rather than setbacks.
It’s refreshing to see rejection reframed in such a positive, creative way. These stickers are amazing!
Student Reactions
The stickers were a small but meaningful reminder that failure is part of the process and not the end of the story.
I put one on my water bottle, and now people keep asking where I got it—who knew rejection could be this entertaining?
Key Takeaways
Empathy-Driven Design
Through three rounds of student interviews, I developed a deep understanding of user needs, uncovering the emotional barriers Princeton students face regarding rejection and self-worth. This process highlighted the importance of empathy in product design—by immersing myself in the target audience’s challenges, I was able to identify humor and relatability as essential tools for engage
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Brainstorming and executing the sticker campaign required seamless teamwork, where my role involved leading design ideation while incorporating diverse perspectives. Working collaboratively helped us develop creative, actionable solutions that balanced innovation with cultural relevance to the Princeton community.
The pivot from a discussion forum website to a sticker campaign underscored the value of rapid prototyping and feedback-driven iteration. By testing early concepts and actively incorporating user input, I learned how to refine ideas into solutions that resonate deeply with users, ensuring meaningful engagement and impact.
Iterative Problem-Solving
Effective Communication & Branding
As the lead designer, I developed a cohesive visual identity for the Princeton Resilience Network, including logo creation and unified branding across all sticker designs. This experience emphasized the importance of consistency and storytelling in branding to create a memorable and impactful product.
Designing and distributing stickers involved multiple rounds of prototyping, user testing, and iteration. Printing and distributing numerous stickers as prototypes taught me how to validate concepts in real-world settings, integrate qualitative and quantitative feedback, and use data to drive design improvements.
User-Centered Prototyping
Balancing timelines, resource constraints, and iterative feedback cycles required efficient project management. From early ideation to final implementation, I coordinated team efforts, tracked milestones, and ensured successful delivery of a high-impact campaign.
Project Mangement & Execution