Design Thinking Approach to Hybrid Identity Mascot for The Visual Communication Design Department at Bina Insani University

The development of visual identity in newly established academic programs presents a challenge in balancing institutional credibility with audience engagement. This study addressed this issue by exploring the design of a mascot for the Visual Communication Design Department at Bina Insani University as a strategic medium for identity representation and communication. The research aimed to develop a mascot that reflected the department’s positioning as both accessible to prospective students and aligned with professional industry standards. This study employed a Design Thinking framework supported by an in-house practitioner reflexivity approach. Data were collected through passive observation, internal document analysis, market segmentation analysis, and internal focus group discussions. The analysis integrated narrative and descriptive semiotic approaches to translate contextual insights into visual design decisions. The results indicated that the primary design challenge involved reconciling accessibility and professionalism, which was addressed through the development of a hybrid identity model. This model was represented through a female “inspirer” character and refined through iterative prototyping involving exploration of outfits, attributes, and institutional color hierarchy. The testing stage confirmed that the final design effectively represented institutional identity, resonated with the target audience, and functioned as a communicative persona. The study concluded that mascot design in higher education should be approached as a context-driven and iterative process of identity construction. The findings contributed to design research by demonstrating how visual and verbal elements can be integrated to support institutional branding and audience engagement.