From Awareness to Action: Reimagining CPR Education

Strategy Lead | Collaboration with the American Heart Association

December 2025

Strategy Lead | Collaboration with the American Heart Association

December 2025

Over a two-day Techstars x USC sprint, my team and I developed and pitched a product that took home 1st place, securing interviews with Techstars Catalyst and the Techstars Accelerator.


I led a four-person team through user research, technical validation, and materials exploration, and built the pitch narrative and deck to set our speaker up for a winning presentation.

Through 4 months, my team and I had the privilege to work with the National Director Health Equity Strategies of the American Heart Association to find a solution to bridge the gap between awareness and action when it comes to CPR.


We utilized a series of campaigns for flyers and social media to spread awareness throughout a general audience.

THE BUSINESS PROBLEM:
The American Heart Association needed to close the gap between CPR awareness and action — people knew CPR mattered but weren't getting trained.


THE INSIGHT:
People freeze in emergencies not from apathy, but from low confidence and harmful misconceptions (that only professionals can do CPR, that there's no legal protection, etc.). The real opportunity was making people feel they already have the power to help.


THE SOLUTION:
"Be a Hero. Lock In & Learn CPR." Was created and heroic imagery paired with a two-pronged rollout: static posters/transit ads driving to class sign-up via QR code, and short-form social content (Reels/TikTok) busting myths and demonstrating simplified techniques with clear CTAs.


RESULTS:
Since this was an educational project, we pitched this to the National Director Health Equity Strategies of AHA. A couple months later, the strategy was implemented into their social media.

Be A Hero

"Be a Hero" focuses on empowering the population to learn CPR through heroic imagery. The campaign is aiming to inspire action, even providing a direct link to certification classes through AHA Atlas.


The CTAs direct viewers’ attention to learning CPR with catch phrases like “lock in” and “pass the pulse,” phrases derived from our previous iterations.



Triple Meaning

  1. Learning CPR is Heroic.

KNow how to perform CPR can be the difference between life and death.


  1. Inspire...

Confidence, altruism, and urgency. Give people a productive outlet to become the hero they want to be.

3. Anyone Can Be a Hero.

Show many different kinds of people and relationships—all races, ages, and genders. This tells everyone: "You have the power to save a life."


‍


"Be a Hero" focuses on empowering the population to learn CPR through heroic imagery. The campaign is aiming to inspire action, even providing a direct link to certification classes through AHA Atlas.


The CTAs direct viewers’ attention to learning CPR with catch phrases like “lock in” and “pass the pulse,” phrases derived from our previous iterations.



Triple Meaning

  1. Learning CPR is Heroic.

KNow how to perform CPR can be the difference between life and death.


  1. Inspire...

Confidence, altruism, and urgency. Give people a productive outlet to become the hero they want to be.

3. Anyone Can Be a Hero.

Show many different kinds of people and relationships—all races, ages, and genders. This tells everyone: "You have the power to save a life."


‍


Pass the Pulse

Pass the Pulse

The public visuals are a good way to make an announcement and raise an simple awareness.

However with the power of social platform like Instagram or TikTok. Audiences are able to track our campaign from a first-glance impression to actionable activities.

Different platforms can post different types of information(fun reels, or infographic posts) and release events like local AHA community hub, pop-up mobile certify center etc. for further connecting


‍


The public visuals are a good way to make an announcement and raise an simple awareness.

However with the power of social platform like Instagram or TikTok. Audiences are able to track our campaign from a first-glance impression to actionable activities.

Different platforms can post different types of information(fun reels, or infographic posts) and release events like local AHA community hub, pop-up mobile certify center etc. for further connecting


‍


The heartbeat line as a visual thread


  • Runs continuously through every carousel frame, mirroring the emotional arc from everyday normalcy → crisis → action


  • Uses minimalist line-art to keep the message legible for fast-scrolling feeds.


  • Repeats consistent typography and the "Pass the Pulse" sign-off across posts to build recall.


  • Mimics the sensation of a pulse "coming back to life" as the viewer swipes, reinforcing the campaign's core message.


‍


The heartbeat line as a visual thread


  • Runs continuously through every carousel frame, mirroring the emotional arc from everyday normalcy → crisis → action


  • Uses minimalist line-art to keep the message legible for fast-scrolling feeds.


  • Repeats consistent typography and the "Pass the Pulse" sign-off across posts to build recall.


  • Mimics the sensation of a pulse "coming back to life" as the viewer swipes, reinforcing the campaign's core message.


‍


Let's Get to Know Each Other

Let's Get to Know Each Other