The SEPTA Store

Initially hired as a photographer at SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) to document Mural Art’s public art initiatives across SETPA’s properties, but an internal restructure redirected my role to support the SEPTA Store by photographing products for their online store, where part of SEPTA revenue's is generated.

SEPTA BLT TShirt Product Photo

Key Card Badge Holders

Logo Tie

Vehicle Shot Glass Set

Broad Street Line Toy Train

Golden Logo Watch

SEPTA's limited budget required me to photograph products with my personal iPhone in an improvised setup and rely heavily on creative Photoshop editing to achieve professional results. This quickly translated into my first and most recurring lesson at SEPTA: creative and effective solutions emerge from limitations.

Before Editing

After Editing

Listed on SEPTA Store

Over 6 months, I photographed and contributed to 100+ products being added to the SEPTA online store, ranging from apparel to shot glasses and jewelry.

SEPTA Merch at Reading Terminal Market

Lifestyle Photography

To promote the expanded online store, we leveraged SEPTA's @septaphilly Instagram account (48K followers) with lifestyle photography that showcased products throughout iconic Philadelphia locations, connecting the SEPTA Store and its merchandise to the city it serves.

Another challenge with lifestyle shoots was SEPTA's policy of not showing models' faces in photos due to liability concerns. This pushed me to get creative with directing the models and finding natural-looking ways to position models and frame shots so their faces weren't visible, whether through angles, poses, or environmental elements.

Merch Photoshoot at Jefferson Station

Retro Trolley Tees on Market St

Tie Dye Tee at FTC

SEPTA Metro Merch outside of SEPTA HQ

R1/Airport Line anniversary promo at Gray 30th St. Station

Merch at Jefferson Station

Through photographing current inventory and exploring Philadelphia during lifestyle shoots, I identified opportunities for new merchandise and started developing design concepts.

Working closely with the SEPTA store team who managed both the physical location and online fulfillment, I learned that customers frequently requested children's products for young transit enthusiasts. I initially focused on designing child-oriented merchandise including t-shirts, backpacks, and accessories that are still sold at the SEPTA store today.

SEPTA Metro Lines Bib

SEPTA Stars Tee

All Vehicles White Onesie

Broad Street Line B1 Backpack

I also designed annual limited edition merchandise for SEPTA's 2024 Bus Roadeo and their highly anticipated annual holiday sweater that sold out within days of pre-order launch.

2024 Annual Holiday Sweater

SEPTA's safety mascot, Paws, wearing the sweater

2024Bus Roadeo Tote Bag and Shirt

Below are some of my favorite merch pieces that I designed for the SEPTA Store, which are still being sold today. I regularly checked in with the retail staff to get feedback on customer suggestions and learn which of my designs were performing best.

All Vehicles Button Up

BLT (Bus, L, Trolley) Tee

Tie Dye Vehicle Modes Tee

This close collaboration with the retail team gave me valuable insight into store operations and sparked my interest in the marketing and decision-making processes beyond just design. Understanding what drove sales and customer preferences led me to propose and create marketing campaigns that would showcase store products across SEPTA's digital advertising channels.

With both design experience and a growing collection of photography content, I worked on collaborative projects between the store team and SEPTA's marketing department, all aimed at promoting store sales while my materials supported broader marketing efforts.

September Back to School Special Deals

SEPTA Employee Newsletter

SEPTA's internal newsletter prominently featured the store for several consecutive weeks, with three full-page spreads showcasing new merchandise and sales to SEPTA employees. Two of these newsletters featured seasonal sales such as Back to School in early September and End of Summer Sale in late August.

End of Summer Sale Newsletter

Towards the end of my co-op, I designed and proposed a comprehensive digital advertising campaign for the SEPTA store, researching and selecting strategic locations: platform screens near Temple University to target students and faculty, bus shelter digital displays in tourist-heavy center city, and in-bus monitors for intra-city commuters.

One of my proposal slides highlighting ideal locations for ads

I selected detailed lifestyle imagery for larger displays and streamlined product shots for smaller or more distant screens to optimize visual impact across different viewing contexts. Due to SEPTA's limited budget, advertising was limited to SEPTA owned screens such as digital bus shelters, urban panels, and in-bus small screens. Though this was initially a limitation, it directly presented the SEPTA store to it's primary audience: SEPTA riders.

Urban Panel Screen Ad Above Station

Digital Ad Featuring Some Year-round Products

Digital Bus Shelter Ad in Center City