Spearheading a Strategic Rebuild of a Failing Design Community to Revive Vision and Engagement
Strategic Leadership | Execute Operations | Workflow Optimization
Project Role
UDesign Founder of iSchool Chapter at UofT, Outreach Specialist
UDesign Founder of iSchool Chapter at UofT, Outreach Specialist
Tool
Google Drive, Discord, Instagram, Figma
Google Drive, Discord, Instagram, Figma
Timeline
Q2-3 2025
Q2-3 2025
Industry
Creative Organization Strategy
Creative Organization Strategy
UDesign, a design community on campus, struggles with sustainability. Once momentum fades, knowledge is lost, roles become unclear, and the sense of purpose dissolves. When Koyu joined UDesign until she graduated, the organization had no structure, no team, and no consistent presence.
Koyu set out to reimagine what a student-run design organization could be. Treating it like a product design project rather than a club, she focused on creating an operational foundation that could outlast any single team. From defining strategic roles to rebuilding outreach pipelines and creating a new experience for mentorship, Koyu helped shape a self-sustaining ecosystem that empowers internal and external students to connect, build, and thrive now and in the future.
Koyu played a pivotal role in reshaping UDesign’s direction for the upcoming academic year, before officially holding the president title and serving as the founder of the Ischool chapter. Stepping in during a leadership gap, she took charge of strategy, operations, and long-term vision, effectively acting as the president behind the scenes to rebuild the organization from the ground up.
Responsibilities
Designed and led a new end-to-end hiring process from scratch, increasing daily applicant rate by over 56% (3.6/day vs. 2.3/day from the previous year), and successfully recruited a cross-functional team aligned with UDesign’s new direction.
Created comprehensive role-specific handbooks to define responsibilities, communication workflows, event planning SOPs, and long-term growth paths for smoother onboarding, clearer team alignment, and reduced dependency on leadership for day-to-day guidance.
Initiated and led outreach efforts to other student clubs across campus, resulting in 3 large-scale partnerships where UDesign was invited to serve as a main sponsor and featured collaborator.
Designed and managed content for UDesign’s Instagram and Discord channels, including event promotions, design posts, and community opportunities, driving 3× engagement and solidifying the club’s presence as a leading design organization on campus.
Team size
Koyu (Myself)
What Happens Without Leadership
When UDesign's leadership began to falter, with two inactive co-presidents, no clear direction, and a team that stopped attending meetings, the community slowly began to disintegrate. As the Outreach Specialist, Koyu had spent the year building connections and pitching event ideas, but nothing moved forward. The energy was missing. Meetings stalled, decisions went unresolved, and no one took real ownership.
5+
of external client projects has not completed due to internal disorganization.
3 months
into the cycle, without clear accountability systems and leadership support.
130+
members in the Discord community witnessed UDesign’s extended period of inactivity and minimal communication.
The issue at hand is…
UDesign faced a critical breakdown in operations due to inactive leadership, internal disorganization, and the absence of sustainable systems. 3 months into the cycle, without clear accountability structures or leadership support, team motivation declined, and core responsibilities remained unfulfilled. What was once a vibrant community became stagnant. As a result, over five external client projects remained incomplete, putting its reputation, purpose, and future sustainability at risk.
Turning Intent Into Accountability
Koyu formally requested the authority to take the lead from the co-presidents, following up persistently through emails and messages until she received their support. Once the responsibility was in her hands, she treated it with full accountability, knowing the future of the organization now depended on her actions. Koyu began by thoroughly analyzing the team’s breakdown and identifying gaps in collaboration, unclear roles, and a complete lack of structure. From there, she established a new vision for how the team could function with clarity, autonomy, and long-term sustainability.
Direction Setting for Sustainability
Refined UDesign’s strategic direction by consulting with student association presidents for feedback and long-term support. Set a clear vision for sustainability, defined role scopes, and outlined growth opportunities to build a more structured and resilient organization.
Roles Standard Operating Procedure
Koyu defined clear roles and responsibilities, outlined growth opportunities within the team, and established a transparent workflow for task ownership and reporting, including a step-by-step framework for executing events.
Revamping the Hiring Experience
Redesigned the full hiring process by creating two tailored interview rounds for each role, managing all communications and timelines. Increased application volume by 56% from the previous year and streamlined candidate flow from 33 applicants to 9 final interviews. Led the outreach campaign with hiring announcements and FAQ posts across social media.
Strategic Marketing & Community Campaigns
Strategically led online engagement through purpose-driven social media campaigns, including design discussions, event promotions, and hiring announcements. Boosted visibility, transparency, and successfully onboarded members to the newly launched Discord community.
Where UX Meets Ownership
Unlike a typical UX project that follows a standard double diamond process in a team setting, this solo initiative required a more adaptive, strategic, and product-thinking approach. Koyu applied my UX background and design methodology to solve a problem and rebuild the infrastructure from the ground up with intention. This 6 months process was deeply personal.
It began with a strong sense of accountability and responsibility for having been part of a team that remained inactive for an entire year. That feeling became the foundation for everything that followed. Koyu treated the problem like a product challenge, identifying pain points, mapping roles, restructuring workflows, and creating systems that would support people, collaboration, and momentum.
Her Solo Leadership
Koyu led the strategic restructuring of UDesign, a student-run design agency at the University of Toronto. She identified core issues in the club’s structure and engagement, then mapped out clear roles, workflows, and responsibilities to rebuild operational clarity.
30% Disorganization
Files, roles, and responsibilities lacked structure and transparency
40% Inactivity
No visible output or engagement for over a year
30% Unclarity
Members and the public didn’t understand the club’s purpose or direction
Root Cause Breakdown
Koyu understands how UDesign’s recurring challenges are interconnected and build up over time.
Building the Foundation for Sustainability
How might we build a design organization where students feel supported, aligned, and empowered to grow as designers? Koyu has never run a professional design agency, but she understands the frustration of working in a team without structure, clarity, or continuity. This is a great chance for her to challenge herself by starting an initiative without any support or guidance.
Build systems, not dependencies
Operational Infrastructure
Top priorities:
Onboarding flow with documentation and templates
Centralized collaboration tools for transparency
Repeatable project planning frameworks
Distributed ownership and accountability
Design for learning and longevity
Culture of Growth & Continuity
Top priorities:
Defined growth paths and leadership opportunities
Clear vision and shared long-term goals
Feedback loops and self-initiated involvement
Consistent rituals that build team belonging
Roots, Layers, Structures
What Koyu did in this 6 months
Lessons in Leadership, Structure, and Sustainability
What started as a sense of responsibility to fix what was broken became one of the most transformative experiences in her understanding of design. Rebuilding UDesign from the ground up taught her that design is about people, systems, and long-term impact. Now, she thinks about how to design structures that help others do their best work, even after she's gone. She began to see leadership as a form of design. It made her realize that real impact comes from what you leave behind, not just what you build in the moment.
Koyu played a pivotal role in reshaping UDesign’s direction for the upcoming academic year, before officially holding the president title and serving as the founder of the Ischool chapter. Stepping in during a leadership gap, she took charge of strategy, operations, and long-term vision, effectively acting as the president behind the scenes to rebuild the organization from the ground up.
Responsibilities
Designed and led a new end-to-end hiring process from scratch, increasing daily applicant rate by over 56% (3.6/day vs. 2.3/day from the previous year), and successfully recruited a cross-functional team aligned with UDesign’s new direction.
Created comprehensive role-specific handbooks to define responsibilities, communication workflows, event planning SOPs, and long-term growth paths for smoother onboarding, clearer team alignment, and reduced dependency on leadership for day-to-day guidance.
Initiated and led outreach efforts to other student clubs across campus, resulting in 3 large-scale partnerships where UDesign was invited to serve as a main sponsor and featured collaborator.
Designed and managed content for UDesign’s Instagram and Discord channels, including event promotions, design posts, and community opportunities, driving 3× engagement and solidifying the club’s presence as a leading design organization on campus.
Team size
Koyu (Myself)
What Happens Without Leadership
When UDesign's leadership began to falter, with two inactive co-presidents, no clear direction, and a team that stopped attending meetings, the community slowly began to disintegrate. As the Outreach Specialist, Koyu had spent the year building connections and pitching event ideas, but nothing moved forward. The energy was missing. Meetings stalled, decisions went unresolved, and no one took real ownership.
5+
of external client projects has not completed due to internal disorganization.
3 months
into the cycle, without clear accountability systems and leadership support.
130+
members in the Discord community witnessed UDesign’s extended period of inactivity and minimal communication.
The issue at hand is…
UDesign faced a critical breakdown in operations due to inactive leadership, internal disorganization, and the absence of sustainable systems. 3 months into the cycle, without clear accountability structures or leadership support, team motivation declined, and core responsibilities remained unfulfilled. What was once a vibrant community became stagnant. As a result, over five external client projects remained incomplete, putting its reputation, purpose, and future sustainability at risk.
Turning Intent Into Accountability
Koyu formally requested the authority to take the lead from the co-presidents, following up persistently through emails and messages until she received their support. Once the responsibility was in her hands, she treated it with full accountability, knowing the future of the organization now depended on her actions. Koyu began by thoroughly analyzing the team’s breakdown and identifying gaps in collaboration, unclear roles, and a complete lack of structure. From there, she established a new vision for how the team could function with clarity, autonomy, and long-term sustainability.
Direction Setting for Sustainability
Refined UDesign’s strategic direction by consulting with student association presidents for feedback and long-term support. Set a clear vision for sustainability, defined role scopes, and outlined growth opportunities to build a more structured and resilient organization.
Roles Standard Operating Procedure
Koyu defined clear roles and responsibilities, outlined growth opportunities within the team, and established a transparent workflow for task ownership and reporting, including a step-by-step framework for executing events.
Revamping the Hiring Experience
Redesigned the full hiring process by creating two tailored interview rounds for each role, managing all communications and timelines. Increased application volume by 56% from the previous year and streamlined candidate flow from 33 applicants to 9 final interviews. Led the outreach campaign with hiring announcements and FAQ posts across social media.
Strategic Marketing & Community Campaigns
Strategically led online engagement through purpose-driven social media campaigns, including design discussions, event promotions, and hiring announcements. Boosted visibility, transparency, and successfully onboarded members to the newly launched Discord community.
Where UX Meets Ownership
Unlike a typical UX project that follows a standard double diamond process in a team setting, this solo initiative required a more adaptive, strategic, and product-thinking approach. Koyu applied my UX background and design methodology to solve a problem and rebuild the infrastructure from the ground up with intention. This 6 months process was deeply personal.
It began with a strong sense of accountability and responsibility for having been part of a team that remained inactive for an entire year. That feeling became the foundation for everything that followed. Koyu treated the problem like a product challenge, identifying pain points, mapping roles, restructuring workflows, and creating systems that would support people, collaboration, and momentum.
Her Solo Leadership
Koyu led the strategic restructuring of UDesign, a student-run design agency at the University of Toronto. She identified core issues in the club’s structure and engagement, then mapped out clear roles, workflows, and responsibilities to rebuild operational clarity.
30% Disorganization
Files, roles, and responsibilities lacked structure and transparency
40% Inactivity
No visible output or engagement for over a year
30% Unclarity
Members and the public didn’t understand the club’s purpose or direction
Root Cause Breakdown
Koyu understands how UDesign’s recurring challenges are interconnected and build up over time.
Building the Foundation for Sustainability
How might we build a design organization where students feel supported, aligned, and empowered to grow as designers? Koyu has never run a professional design agency, but she understands the frustration of working in a team without structure, clarity, or continuity. This is a great chance for her to challenge herself by starting an initiative without any support or guidance.
Build systems, not dependencies
Operational Infrastructure
Top priorities:
Onboarding flow with documentation and templates
Centralized collaboration tools for transparency
Repeatable project planning frameworks
Distributed ownership and accountability
Design for learning and longevity
Culture of Growth & Continuity
Top priorities:
Defined growth paths and leadership opportunities
Clear vision and shared long-term goals
Feedback loops and self-initiated involvement
Consistent rituals that build team belonging
Roots, Layers, Structures
What Koyu did in this 6 months
Lessons in Leadership, Structure, and Sustainability
What started as a sense of responsibility to fix what was broken became one of the most transformative experiences in her understanding of design. Rebuilding UDesign from the ground up taught her that design is about people, systems, and long-term impact. Now, she thinks about how to design structures that help others do their best work, even after she's gone. She began to see leadership as a form of design. It made her realize that real impact comes from what you leave behind, not just what you build in the moment.
Koyu played a pivotal role in reshaping UDesign’s direction for the upcoming academic year, before officially holding the president title and serving as the founder of the Ischool chapter. Stepping in during a leadership gap, she took charge of strategy, operations, and long-term vision, effectively acting as the president behind the scenes to rebuild the organization from the ground up.
Responsibilities
Designed and led a new end-to-end hiring process from scratch, increasing daily applicant rate by over 56% (3.6/day vs. 2.3/day from the previous year), and successfully recruited a cross-functional team aligned with UDesign’s new direction.
Created comprehensive role-specific handbooks to define responsibilities, communication workflows, event planning SOPs, and long-term growth paths for smoother onboarding, clearer team alignment, and reduced dependency on leadership for day-to-day guidance.
Initiated and led outreach efforts to other student clubs across campus, resulting in 3 large-scale partnerships where UDesign was invited to serve as a main sponsor and featured collaborator.
Designed and managed content for UDesign’s Instagram and Discord channels, including event promotions, design posts, and community opportunities, driving 3× engagement and solidifying the club’s presence as a leading design organization on campus.
Team size
Koyu (Myself)
What Happens Without Leadership
When UDesign's leadership began to falter, with two inactive co-presidents, no clear direction, and a team that stopped attending meetings, the community slowly began to disintegrate. As the Outreach Specialist, Koyu had spent the year building connections and pitching event ideas, but nothing moved forward. The energy was missing. Meetings stalled, decisions went unresolved, and no one took real ownership.
5+
of external client projects has not completed due to internal disorganization.
3 months
into the cycle, without clear accountability systems and leadership support.
130+
members in the Discord community witnessed UDesign’s extended period of inactivity and minimal communication.
The issue at hand is…
UDesign faced a critical breakdown in operations due to inactive leadership, internal disorganization, and the absence of sustainable systems. 3 months into the cycle, without clear accountability structures or leadership support, team motivation declined, and core responsibilities remained unfulfilled. What was once a vibrant community became stagnant. As a result, over five external client projects remained incomplete, putting its reputation, purpose, and future sustainability at risk.
Turning Intent Into Accountability
Koyu formally requested the authority to take the lead from the co-presidents, following up persistently through emails and messages until she received their support. Once the responsibility was in her hands, she treated it with full accountability, knowing the future of the organization now depended on her actions. Koyu began by thoroughly analyzing the team’s breakdown and identifying gaps in collaboration, unclear roles, and a complete lack of structure. From there, she established a new vision for how the team could function with clarity, autonomy, and long-term sustainability.
Direction Setting for Sustainability
Refined UDesign’s strategic direction by consulting with student association presidents for feedback and long-term support. Set a clear vision for sustainability, defined role scopes, and outlined growth opportunities to build a more structured and resilient organization.
Roles Standard Operating Procedure
Koyu defined clear roles and responsibilities, outlined growth opportunities within the team, and established a transparent workflow for task ownership and reporting, including a step-by-step framework for executing events.
Revamping the Hiring Experience
Redesigned the full hiring process by creating two tailored interview rounds for each role, managing all communications and timelines. Increased application volume by 56% from the previous year and streamlined candidate flow from 33 applicants to 9 final interviews. Led the outreach campaign with hiring announcements and FAQ posts across social media.
Strategic Marketing & Community Campaigns
Strategically led online engagement through purpose-driven social media campaigns, including design discussions, event promotions, and hiring announcements. Boosted visibility, transparency, and successfully onboarded members to the newly launched Discord community.
Where UX Meets Ownership
Unlike a typical UX project that follows a standard double diamond process in a team setting, this solo initiative required a more adaptive, strategic, and product-thinking approach. Koyu applied my UX background and design methodology to solve a problem and rebuild the infrastructure from the ground up with intention. This 6 months process was deeply personal.
It began with a strong sense of accountability and responsibility for having been part of a team that remained inactive for an entire year. That feeling became the foundation for everything that followed. Koyu treated the problem like a product challenge, identifying pain points, mapping roles, restructuring workflows, and creating systems that would support people, collaboration, and momentum.
Her Solo Leadership
Koyu led the strategic restructuring of UDesign, a student-run design agency at the University of Toronto. She identified core issues in the club’s structure and engagement, then mapped out clear roles, workflows, and responsibilities to rebuild operational clarity.
30% Disorganization
Files, roles, and responsibilities lacked structure and transparency
40% Inactivity
No visible output or engagement for over a year
30% Unclarity
Members and the public didn’t understand the club’s purpose or direction
Root Cause Breakdown
Koyu understands how UDesign’s recurring challenges are interconnected and build up over time.
Building the Foundation for Sustainability
How might we build a design organization where students feel supported, aligned, and empowered to grow as designers? Koyu has never run a professional design agency, but she understands the frustration of working in a team without structure, clarity, or continuity. This is a great chance for her to challenge herself by starting an initiative without any support or guidance.
Build systems, not dependencies
Operational Infrastructure
Top priorities:
Onboarding flow with documentation and templates
Centralized collaboration tools for transparency
Repeatable project planning frameworks
Distributed ownership and accountability
Design for learning and longevity
Culture of Growth & Continuity
Top priorities:
Defined growth paths and leadership opportunities
Clear vision and shared long-term goals
Feedback loops and self-initiated involvement
Consistent rituals that build team belonging
Roots, Layers, Structures
What Koyu did in this 6 months
Lessons in Leadership, Structure, and Sustainability
What started as a sense of responsibility to fix what was broken became one of the most transformative experiences in her understanding of design. Rebuilding UDesign from the ground up taught her that design is about people, systems, and long-term impact. Now, she thinks about how to design structures that help others do their best work, even after she's gone. She began to see leadership as a form of design. It made her realize that real impact comes from what you leave behind, not just what you build in the moment.