It’s that time of year once again – back to school! Whether you’ve got students that are K-12 or University-bound, it’s the season to get your school supplies in order and hit the books once again. We work with schools of all education levels and we’re proud to help spread school spirit to students of all ages. One of our longtime customers is North Dakota State University! I sat down with Leah Ecklund to learn a bit more about how they use buttons and stickers on campus.
ED: What is your role at NDSU? How long have you been there?
LE: I am the Senior Graphic Artist at the NDSU Foundation on the Alumni and Donor Connections team. I’ve been with the Foundation just over 3.5 years and cannot imagine a better role for me at this point in my life. I was hired as the first internal graphic artist and have had the pleasure of building out the role and team over my time here so far.
ED: What is your favorite thing about your job?
LE: Every day I get to do something different. My role touches nearly every branch of the Foundation so there is truly never a dull moment. I get to design entire publications showcasing our incredible students and faculty and then turn around and create proposals for our development team to help fund new buildings, research, and scholarships with our committed donors. I love pushing the boundaries on what “corporate” design can look like and I am so fortunate to work for an organization that both embraces creativity and encourages it.
ED: How does NDSU use and distribute buttons?
LE: We use our buttons from Busy Beaver primarily for marketing and giveaways! When we brand social events and athletic events, for example, we always try to incorporate “take-aways” for our attendees that promote the event itself but also, we try to make it something someone would hang onto with Bison pride. Buttons have become the perfect avenue for that. We never charge for them and instead see them as a marketing tool to get green and yellow out into our community. A great example of this is our hosted Watch Sites for the NDSU Football games. We send curated packages nation-wide to our alumni and friends who sign up to be “hosts” of a game watch event in their local community.
ED: What made you choose to order with Busy Beaver?
LE: When I started my role, I wanted to create strong partnerships with people who do great work. Busy Beaver was the clear choice for our button orders. Our creative team has a mantra about “believing that everyone is the best at their job”, especially when it comes to other creatives. Busy Beaver has been phenomenal to work with from the start, and your people embody the mantra in your communication, deliverables, and personalities. I am always over the moon when we get your packages. As an artist, it is so satisfying to see your work in a physical outcome, and the buttons we receive from Busy Beaver have always exceeded my expectations.
ED: Why do you think buttons and stickers are so popular on college campuses?
LE: Bison pride runs deep at NDSU and in the Fargo-Moorhead community. We love buttons and stickers because they are tangible and universal. They’re collectable and unique to the person who grabs it – will they display it in their office? Will they wear it on a lanyard? A championship football pep-fest, a homecoming parade, our annual Giving Day fundraising event – all instances where we’ve used buttons to both promote and celebrate!
We are so lucky at NDSU to have fans around the globe. It’s our job to ensure that those fans feel connected and part of the Herd. Buttons (and stickers) help us spread that message no matter where they reside.
ED: I noticed that most of your orders feature our matte finish, why does your school choose to use this special finish?
LE: We have gotten great feedback about our buttons in general, but the matte finish feedback has been resounding! The matte finish offers a soft, quality feel to our buttons that helps elevate our branding and artwork.Many of our events are photographed and the matte finish ensures that no matter the lighting, the buttons stand out without a glare in photos. Our green and yellow brand colors really stand out when matte! It’s such a great, modern way to elevate buttons.
ED: How do you decide what artwork to put on buttons and stickers?
LE: I focus a large part of my design process on keeping up with trends, noticing what other organizations are putting out, and honestly just talking to our people. My role is to be the last set of eyes on anything visual that leaves our door at every point of the design process. I work with coworkers and partners to offer fresh perspectives. How would we ever get a large scope on what the general population would want, if we didn’t ask them? We love to push small details into our events and buttons make that easy to do!
Many thanks again to Leah for taking the time to sit down with me and for her incredibly thoughtful responses. It’s always a blast to see our buttons and stickers in the wild and their life outside of our doors. It’s an honor to help contribute a small piece in the history and culture schools all over! Want to create some of your own custom merch for your school? Now is the perfect time! Visit our college page to get inspired or reach out to talk about your next project.
