Updating the Journey: The SVSU Applicant Portal Joins the FTIC Communications System

B.C. Design-Creative has updated our Seneca Village State University First-Time-in-College (FTIC) Communications Journey Mock-up, adding a new layer to the project: a mock SVSU Applicant Portal.

The new portal replaces the fictional university’s legacy MySeneca Portal, which was phased out in Fall 2026. More importantly, its addition allows us to demonstrate something that has been central to the FTIC project from the beginning: a communications journey is more than a collection of messages.

It is a connected system designed to move an audience toward action.

A Transactional Center for the Journey

Email, SMS, direct mail, social media and campaign content all play important roles throughout the enrollment funnel. They can introduce opportunities, communicate deadlines, answer questions and encourage prospective students to take their next step.

But those communications need somewhere to lead.

The SVSU Applicant Portal serves as the transactional center of the FTIC communications journey.

While other channels prompt students to take action, the portal provides a consistent destination where applicants can view their status, complete requirements, access resources, register for key experiences and continue progressing toward enrollment.

The newly added mock-ups visualize that relationship.

Instead of treating the applicant portal as a separate technology product, we designed it as part of the broader communications ecosystem. An email may remind an applicant about a missing residency document, for example, while the portal shows the requirement, provides context and gives the student a path toward resolving it. A notification can announce an upcoming event while the portal provides the destination for registration.

One channel prompts. Another enables. The system connects them.

Why Mock Up the Portal?

B.C. Design-Creative does not develop applicant-management software, and that is part of what makes this exercise valuable. Organizations do not necessarily have to wait until the development stage to think critically about digital experiences.

Communications and creative teams can prototype interfaces to visualize workflows, establish content hierarchy, identify necessary features and demonstrate how a digital platform should interact with a larger communications strategy. Those mock-ups can then provide a much clearer starting point for the developers, vendors and technical teams responsible for implementation.

For the SVSU project, the portal helps transform an abstract communications plan into something stakeholders can actually see and navigate.

Designing the System, Not Just the Message

The expanded SVSU FTIC Communications Journey continues to represent where B.C. Design-Creative sees significant opportunity for institutional communications.

The work is not simply about designing a better email, postcard, presentation or interface.

It is about understanding how those pieces work together.

From first inquiry through application, admission and enrollment, every communication should have a role—and every requested action should have a logical destination.

The addition of the SVSU Applicant Portal makes that system more visible.

And for us, that's the point of the mock-up: not simply showing what communications can look like, but demonstrating how communication can work.

-Creative Fulfillment Team

APPLICANT PORTAL - DESKTOP

APPLICANT PORTAL - MOBILE