School Students Aren't Afraid to Go Whimsy, Your Design Shouldn't Be Either
What fearless, festive school Twibbons can teach any creator about designing for joy
The week classes reopened at Holy Trinity College in General Santos City, students arranged a specified date and time for fellow cohorts to change their display picture to the same Twibbon. The Twibbon is shared on the same day, with the same caption. The 2026-2027 batch had their faces placed inside a frame of pistachios and Dubai chocolate desserts and asked, in Taglish, "Ano tara?" In English, it might sound something like, “So? Are you coming?”
There are no ties connecting Dubai chocolate to their school or what they are studying, but why not? Not long ago the world was so entranced by this dessert, so why not turn something quite mundane like going back to school into something fun they enjoy?
The campaign by the students of Holy Trinity College in General Santos City is one among many that reminds us of the growing trend of Whimsy Twee, or most people on the internet only call it being whimsy these days.
Whimsy can be understood as a form of aesthetics that intentionally uses different kinds of patterns, colors, or materials. The aesthetics embrace child-like wonder and playfulness, far from being monotone or serious. It can manifest in someone’s fashion sense, decorations of space, way of speaking, or, in this case, these students’ Twibbons.
From left to right Abre Klase SY: 26-27 DP Blast, mpls, TWIBBON MPLS SPENSA 2026
Look at how these Twibbons are doing. For MPLS, Indonesia's orientation week for new students, SMA 14 Pekanbaru dressed its Twibbon in Toy Story characters and pulled 784, the most in this batch. SMP Negeri 1 Palembang built a glowing wizard portal with a cartoon witch in the corner. SMK 1 Rawajitu Selatan went full golden cinema, red curtain and spotlight. MAN 1 Lampung Tengah dropped blocky, Minecraft-style students onto a corkboard of school supplies. SMAS Santo Yoseph in Denpasar turned the whole thing into a Monopoly board, dice, game tokens, a GO! corner, and passed 544. None of these play it safe. That is exactly why students wanted them.
From left to right Twibbon MPLS SMAS Katolik Santo Yoseph Denpasar 2026, Twibbon Matsama Mansalate 2026, peserta
However, numbers and whimsy aren't necessarily causal in this case. Rather, it is these students' full embrace of fun that catches our attention. They are not embarrassed to embrace the wonders of the life they live, and that makes school campaigns the one place they can go fully whimsical.
You might be tempted to think: “I’m no longer a student, maybe this isn’t for me?” But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Enjoyment of life isn’t reserved for just particular demographics. So lean in. The mistake to avoid here is to hesitate. It is letting the mundanity of daily life swallow you, find the wonders even in how you design your Twibbon.
So what can you do as a creator?
First and foremost, keep the whimsy off the face.
You are making a Twibbon, so have a dedicated empty space for the face of your supporters. Notice how the designs we mentioned do it: the dice, the aliens, the wizard, the dessert ring all sit in the border. The center two-thirds stays clear for the supporter’s photo. The face is the star and the whimsy is the crowd cheering around it.
Ok, sure. But what are the whimsy things?
Here’s the catch: it really can be anything. However, the strongest frame features something that is close, or feels personal, either to its creator or supporters.
It can be a movie universe or the community's colors and mascot. Find something that feels like you belong to it, the same way these school and college Twibbons are built around what their program actually stands for.
It can also be something very specific bordering on “weird” but feels genuinely fun. Try an unconventional cursive font, a glowing effect, or use of decorations that strays far from minimalism.
Here is a fun table comparing the same fearless instinct, done two ways:
Whimsy that fights the face | Whimsy that remains aware |
|---|---|
😐 Stickers scattered edge to edge, three or more fonts, sparkles drifting over the face | 💖 One clear world, its props kept to the border, face zone wide open |
😐 Looks forced with elements that feel like advertisements | 💖 Looks like something an individual would actually post |
😐 Campaign unreadable when the image shrinks | 💖 Campaign name/slogan still readable at thumbnail size |
Made for the same fearlessly whimsical people, but one frame buries them under decoration, while the other frames them and lets them shine. Which group would you be a part of?
Whimsy is a way to fight how nerve-wracking the first day of school might have felt for these students. Match their audacious vibe, try out the whimsical route, and design based on what makes you joyous.
