Back to School — Alexa McNae – Group Creative Director, Head of Brand Design at Amazon

Back to School 2022

Amazon XCM
Creative Director: Alexa McNae
Senior Art Director: Julianna Schulte
Senior Designer: Michael Woody
Designer: Ayako High
Copywriter: Matthew Schnirman

Illustrator
Lisa Congdon

Photographer
Meredith Bruner and Allison Blomgren

The Back to School campaign of 2022 turned economic uncertainty into opportunity by celebrating children's individuality as a source of daily inspiration. Leveraging the emotional momentum of schools reopening post-pandemic, we positioned children's unique qualities as catalysts for learning, entertainment, and innovation. The high-energy campaign transformed the return to in-person education into a powerful narrative about the value of personal distinctiveness.

In partnership with acclaimed artist Lisa Congdon, whose distinctive style has graced everything from museum walls to major brand campaigns, we crafted a visual narrative that radiated with optimism and energy. Congdon's signature approach—known for its bold color palettes, whimsical patterns, and hand-drawn elements—seemlessly integrated with our design direction, bringing an authentic playfulness to the creative execution.

The result was a campaign that transcended traditional category aesthetics. Each facet of design expression,from Congdon's playful illustrations to our strategic art direction and messaging—worked in harmony to deliver a cohesive visual narrative of optimism and spirit. This comprehensive approach ensured the campaign remained uniquely ownable to Amazon while delivering on its core promise of celebrating individuality and joy.

We scaled our design system globally by building a comprehensive style guide that delivered comprehensive guidance including palette direction evoking our core brand colors, illustration direction, photo art direction, and messaging guidelines optimized for communicating value through our iconic brand voice. To maximize efficiency, we created a large templated asset library built for automation that enabled teams worldwide to execute quickly across social, display, and onsite experiences.