Virtual Y

COVID proved the need for hybrid experiences to support acquisition and retention, which inspired us to create Virtual Y. Free with every YMCA of the North membership, Virtual Y’s best-in-class products and content are the easiest (and least expensive) way to connect with (and stay connected to) the YMCA.

Digital Product + Content

Originally created as a Web app, Virtual Y features live streams and video content to attract members while combining product customization with content personalization to retain them. Virtual Y also received a surge in growth and increased use after introducing the its native mobile apps for iOS and Android — the first apps to be defined, designed, and built by a YMCA (instead of relying on a white label solution).

My role centered around end-to-end digital product design — from product definition and prototyping to production oversight and performance testing. I also played an instrumental role securing the funds needed to create two state-of-the art video recording studios, produce custom content series, and license music to help YOTN produce more and better content than its peers.

Brand Identity + Marketing Kits

We also developed a brand identity and customizable marketing templates to support in-branch promotion. The marketing kits feature a customer-focused message and ‘gold’ double chevron graphics placed behind shots of our most popular instructors in the studio.

To shape the identity and marketing kits designs, we spent time creating mood boards and created design concepts to explore messaging ideas. The resulting concept not only provided a proof-of-concept for the brand repositioning campaign, but it solidified the ‘gold’ accent idea.

We (figuratively) centered the ‘double chevron’ graphic behind our instructors as part of the Virtual Y identity, and we (literally) centered them in our image templates, which make it easy to create new images that can be used in existing templates without impacting the layout.