The Challenge : Showing What Can’t Be Explained in a Campus Tour
When students and parents visit DOT School of Design, they can see the studios, classrooms, and infrastructure. What’s harder to communicate is what truly defines the school - its design philosophy, teaching approach, learning culture, and design thinking mindset.

DOT wanted a brand documentary that could capture this invisible layer of learning. While admissions teams can explain courses and outcomes, the everyday thinking, experimentation, and creative process that happen inside the campus are difficult to convey through conversation alone. The challenge was to translate this lived experience into a film that felt honest, immersive, and believable.

The Solution : A Brand Film That Completes the Campus Visit
Instead of creating a conventional promotional video, we studied how prospective students and parents move through the design school admissions process - what they look for during a campus visit and what influences their final decision.

We designed a 15-minute brand documentary film that was meant to be viewed after a campus tour. By this point, visitors had already experienced the physical space. The film helped them understand how design education actually works at DOT, connecting what they saw to how students think, learn, and create.

To bring people to the campus, we created shorter teaser edits for Instagram and YouTube. These films were designed to build curiosity and drive visits, not to explain everything. The full documentary was intentionally kept offline, ensuring it remained a powerful in-person experience.

The journey was simple and strategic:
Online discovery → Campus visit → Watch the brand documentary → Understand the teaching philosophy

The film was crafted to be cinematic yet grounded, blending the appeal of a branded film with the authenticity of a documentary. Real student work, everyday moments, and the natural rhythm of campus life allowed DOT’s values to come through organically.

Result : Clear Brand Understanding and Stronger Admission Engagement
The brand documentary became a core part of DOT’s admissions experience.

Students and parents gained a clear understanding of DOT School of Design’s teaching philosophy and learning culture, beyond just courses or facilities. Admission conversations became more meaningful, with visitors asking better, more informed questions. The film helped build trust, increased engagement, and made it easier for admissions teams to communicate DOT’s unique value.

The result was a design school brand film that didn’t just promote the campus - but helped prospective students understand what it truly means to learn, think, and grow at DOT School of Design.