UA Little Rock Aces Visual Storytelling with PhotoShelter

Raising the Bar on Campus Creativity

In the heart of Arkansas, where education meets innovation, lies the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Home to over 9,000 students, it thrives on the power of visuals. Behind every inspiring photograph and every eye-catching brochure is a team passionate about their community and dedicated to seeing the university thrive.

Today, UA Little Rock is seeing the best enrollment in 15 years, halting a long-lasting enrollment decline. They’re leading in affordability, and recently reached an exciting milestone in its Centennial Campaign, raising over $200 million toward its overall campaign goal of raising $250 million by 2027. With all of the impactful work accomplished behind the scenes at this institution, they needed a robust asset management solution to reclaim their time and empower their storytelling.

The Challenge: Protecting UA Little Rock’s Visual Identity

Ben Krain, a university photographer, captures the essence of UA Little Rock through his lens. His images tell the story of student life, academic achievement, and community engagement. However, before PhotoShelter, accessing and sharing these vital assets was a struggle. “With ResourceSpace, it was an in-house server, and public access was much more complicated to obtain,” Ben explains. The outdated system often created frustrating bottlenecks.

• Modernizing systems to enhance efficiency was a clear priority. “We basically had to have a tech person partnering with us for any hardware problems,” Ben recalls. The team recognized the need for streamlined tools to eliminate reliance on IT. Transitioning from an in-house server to a more intuitive, centralized platform would save time and allow team members to focus on their work rather than troubleshooting outdated systems.
• Inconsistent permissions led to misuse of images across departments. “This is our public face of the university,” Ben emphasizes. “We don’t want anybody altering it, or misusing it – in terms of having the images out there in the wrong place.” Without centralized control, on-brand representation was difficult to enforce.
• Searching for specific assets took too long. Organizing years of accumulated content with metadata and modern search tools would drastically reduce the time spent locating visuals. Designers would often spend valuable time combing through endless folders, limiting their ability to focus on creative work.

 

 

“Our old system was clunky and slow. You would just have to search through folders and folders of photos. So, it wasn’t nearly as user-friendly as PhotoShelter, and it was really old and outdated. It had to go. We had to do something else. So we’re happy to have something that works better and quicker.”

Muriel Schrepfer, Graphic Designer, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The Solution: Graduating to Better Digital Asset Management

Before implementing PhotoShelter, the creative team struggled to manage their assets. UA Little Rock needed a better way to organize and share its visual content. 

Here’s how PhotoShelter delivered:

• Self-service access to assets simplified workflows. “With PhotoShelter, you guys manage everything,” Ben says with relief. “We don’t run out of space. It never goes down. It’s much easier to just not have another problem to handle.” Departments could now retrieve assets without involving the photographer. Advanced keywording and AI Visual Search tools made finding specific visuals a breeze, dramatically reducing bottlenecks.
• Improved brand control ensured consistency. PhotoShelter’s robust permission settings addressed Ben’s concerns about brand protection. “It’s nice that you have to be an invited user in order to download any of the content, and you can control who’s able to do that and what timeframe that access is cut off,” he notes. With features like gallery expiration dates and user-specific permissions, the team can now confidently share assets while maintaining strict control over their use.
• Efficient content organization boosted productivity. Robust metadata and intuitive search functionality allowed the team to locate high-quality visuals instantly. This freed up time for designers to focus on creative output, enhancing the overall quality of marketing materials.
• Analytics drove smarter decisions. PhotoShelter’s reporting tools gave the team insights into asset performance and usage. These metrics helped justify investments in new content and guided strategic planning efforts.

 

 

 

The PhotoShelter-Marq Integration Keeps UA Little Rock On-Brand

With easy access to their PhotoShelter Library within Marq’s design templating tool, those working on graphics around campus don’t have to leave one platform to browse their media. UA Little Rock is one of the first organizations to use this powerful integration and they’re already seeing the benefits.

“The Marq integration with PhotoShelter should help a lot. It’s one less step from having to go into PhotoShelter, find a picture, download it, or even request an account so they can download it. Now, it just plugs it right in…. We have several templates from brochures, social graphics, postcards, and rack cards. And we have around 35 departments across campus that have an account in Marq – anywhere from athletics to the student experience center to the school of nursing or the law school. Anybody who has an account with Marq and with PhotoShelter is able to integrate that, which really streamlines the process.”

Muriel Schrepfer, Graphic Designer, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Little Rock, Big Impact with PhotoShelter

With PhotoShelter, UA Little Rock’s creative team has transformed how they manage and share visual assets. No more frantic searches for lost images, no more unreliable in-house server. PhotoShelter has become their trusted partner, a silent hero working tirelessly behind the scenes. With every click and every download, they’re not just managing assets; they’re shaping perceptions, building connections, and sharing the vibrant spirit of UA Little Rock with the world.

“When I came here 6 years ago, the previous photographer had set up ResourceSpace for the team, and it was terrible. People had some trouble with it, and there were some complications. So, I looked into some alternatives, and there were a few other companies, but PhotoShelter seemed to be the simplest and smartest. And it’s been really spreading good vibes across campus since we got it.”

Ben Krain, Photographer, University of Arkansas at Little Rock