Sterling Silver – Executive Recognition Program
Mountain America Credit Union
Concept, Naming, Identity, Coin Design, Executive Presentation
Role: Creative Lead (Senior Visual Designer)
The Challenge
Employee engagement data revealed Recognition and Compensation as two of the lowest-performing categories, while Town Hall participation continued to decline. MACU needed a recognition system that felt meaningful, prestigious, and visibly led by executive leadership.
The Insight
Research into recognition frameworks led to the insight that challenge coins—used by military and first-responder organizations—carry deep symbolic value. They represent belonging, honor, and achievement, making them an ideal foundation for a CEO-presented award.
The Idea: Sterling Silver
Employee engagement data revealed Recognition and Compensation as two of the lowest-performing categories, while Town Hall participation continued to continued to decline. MACU needed a recognition system that felt meaningful, prestigious, and visibly led by executive leadership.
Sterling Silver is a quarterly, CEO-presented recognition program centered around a custom .999 silver challenge coin—designed to feel permanent, ceremonial, and earned.

Program Goals
      • Reinforce MACU Way values
      • Elevate executive storytelling
      • Increase Town Hall engagement
      • Create a tangible, lasting award
Visual System
The coin design balances institutional gravitas with cultural symbolism. The front features a refined interpretation of MACU's eagle logo, while the reverse translates each MACU Way value into a heraldic visual language—positioning the award alongside traditional challenge coins in tone and permanence. 
System at Scale
The program was designed as a repeatable system, integrating nominations, selection, executive presentation, and company-wide storytelling without fragmenting the experience.
Impact
Sterling Silver demonstrates my ability to identify cultural gaps, translate cultural insight into executive-ready concepts, and design systems that operate at both symbolic an organizational scale.
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