As part of Society 13, McCann’s internal employee recognition initiative, the team launched a unique way to celebrate hard work, leadership, and company values — through a custom collection of “Merit” patches.
Designed to acknowledge employees who go above and beyond, the patches were created as a tangible, wearable form of recognition. Team leaders could award patches to employees who exemplified any of McCann’s core values — from creativity and collaboration to resilience and leadership. Each patch features a custom illustration representing a specific value, giving the collection a playful yet meaningful visual language.
In addition to value-based designs, I also illustrated a set of city-specific patches, one for each McCann office across the country. These allowed employees to show a bit of local pride while building a sense of identity within the larger agency network.
To bring it all together, every employee was gifted a McCann-branded backpack — a canvas to display their earned patches and tell their own story. The best part? Only fellow employees or those “in the know” would understand the meaning behind each patch, adding an insider quality to the program and strengthening the internal culture in a fun, expressive way.
ILLUSTRATION / DESIGN
Creative Directors:
Amy O’Neill
Bill Schaefer