CASE STUDY: Learning and Development
Project Details
Client: Rothko Brand Partners
Industry: PR and Design Agency
Summary
The project highlighted distinct opportunities to elevate everyday operations into a seamless extension of brand strategy. As Creative Manager, the focus was on proactively unlocking growth and collaboration across three key areas:
Gamified Onboarding: Seeing an opportunity to accelerate team integration, the workflow was reimagined to give new hires immediate, centralized access to team resources, project management tooling, and company culture from day one. The aim was to get them inspired and up to speed with the team strategy and procedures.
Internal Website: Recognising the potential to empower the team further, standardized file management, transparent task tracking, and streamlined processes were introduced to remove friction and automate creative flow.
Brand Consistency: As the agency evolved past its 25-year foundation, the opportunity emerged to unify client-facing and internal communications under a modern, human-centric design system that amplified the agency's core strengths.
Step 1: Brand Refresh
A comprehensive brand refresh modernized Rothko’s identity while honouring its 25-year foundation, establishing rigorous yet accessible governance tools:
Design Resource Library: Established a centralized repository featuring editable Canva brand kits for pitches, training and reporting. These include curated stock image libraries, icons, email signatures and wallpapers.
Website Redesign: A comprehensive website update to ensure a modern visual harmony across all internal and client-facing environments.
Pull-up Banners: Visual storytelling for conferences along the phrase of “Storytelling with Purpose”.
Step 2: Mascot Design
Seeing as this overall project is a multi-faceted internal engagement campaign, a mascot to latch onto was required. This gave a face to the company values and helped with adoption and emotional connection. The goal was to translate company values and operational etiquette into a relatable, behaviour-shaping persona.
A mascot name "Dot" was created to champion positive operational norms and make company values accessible and engaging for the entire team. The name is inspired by the use of a colourful full stop at the end of titles in the new design language and links to the round dot in the brand logo.
Apart from best practices, such as proper file structuring, standardized project folder maintenance, and collaborative team communication, the mascot also addresses creative burnout with practical guides on stress management, structured meditation, and the necessity of scheduled "focus time" for unstructured reflection.
Step 3: Chatbot Development
To enhance internal support and knowledge accessibility, an interactive conversational assistant was deployed right inside the platform which the team is already talking in every day, Microsoft Teams.
The custom chatbot runs on Microsoft Power Virtual Agents, personified through the "Dot" mascot to provide a friendly and approachable point of contact for staff.
It housed the knowledge base of frequently asked questions. The embedded platform enabled team members to quickly ask about internal policies, onboarding resources, brand guidelines, and operational workflows through a conversational interface.
Step 4: Internal Site and Onboarding Portal
To foster a culture of continuous growth, a centralised environment was engineered on Microsoft SharePoint:
Centralized Onboarding Hub: Built a digital portal serving as an immediate team network entry point, featuring shortcuts to frequent folder lcoations, stock image libraries, a "family tree" of staff biographies and custom video resources to accelerate new-hire integration from day one.
Structured Learning and Development Hub: Project management training trackers were built directly into the workflow, enabling team members to upskill through standardized courses and monitor their professional development with transparency and accountability.
Step 5: Gamified Training App
Learning and development initiatives were transformed into an engaging, interactive experience, leveraging the existing Microsoft 365 ecosystem. An inhouse mobile/web app was developed using Microsoft Powerapps to apply storytelling and visual design in creating a training game with levels, badges, characters and the existing mascot:
Gamified Mechanics: Developed a multiple-choice gamified training application featuring an immersive space theme to drive engagement and knowledge retention across the team in a fun, casual way.
Mascot Implementation: Narrative elements were guided by the internal mascot, blending agency culture directly into the educational journey and to bring alive character of the mascot above merely an image in a post.
Training Tracker System: Deployed a tracking framework based on badge attainment allowing employees to log, rate, and monitor assigned professional development tracks, ensuring visible progress and organizational accountability.
Step 6: Internal Messaging Campaign
Internal communications around procedures were energized through a dedicated digital campaign channel on Microsoft Teams, Emails and Microsoft Viva. The aim was to maintain high team morale and continuous two-way communication.
These posts featured the "Dot" mascot across regular posts, tips, and automated chatbot prompts to celebrate team milestones, reinforce positive operational habits, and drive active participation in the gamified training levels.
Step 7: Custom Learning Management System (LMS)
To further centralize professional upskilling, a bespoke formal learning management system was engineered for external sources of training, again built on Microsoft Powerapps architecture.
The app, named "Rothko Academy", provided a LMS framework tailored to the agency's exact operational and educational requirements from sources such as Google, LinkedIn Learning and Udemy. A comprehensive repository of learning resources was curated featuring external training modules. These were tagged by theme, allowing staff to easily filter, discover, and complete relevant professional development courses aligned with their specific career tracks.
