PMI · Mascot on spec

Professor Praxis

A project hero for the next generation. Professor Praxis is a PMI mascot concept, built on spec to connect with a younger audience, starting in junior high, and get kids psyched for project-based, collaborative, agile work.

Spec for PMIMascotCharacter designJunior high and up

Professor Praxis, a toy-like figure with orange round glasses, a trim red beard, a PMI sweater, a long black coat and white sneakers

01 · Who he's for

Junior high and up

A mascot that meets younger students where they are, long before project management shows up on a job title.

02 · What he does

Makes the work feel like play

Project-based, collaborative, agile work, carried by a character kids want to follow.

03 · Where he's been

Two decks so far

Developed step by step in Prompts to Partners. First put to work in Powerskills.

Built in the studio

One prompt. Hundreds of variations. One pick.

Praxis started as a written prompt in Midjourney, was narrowed to a single figure, refined in Photoshop, boxed as a toy with Gemini, broken out of his packaging in Runway and given a stop motion pass.

Midjourney exploration grid of Professor Praxis variations — Exploring in Midjourney

Professor Praxis as a boxed toy with die-line packaging — Toy and packaging in Gemini

Stop motion character design pass for Professor Praxis — Stop motion pass in Midjourney

Walk through the full pipeline deck →

First time on stage

Powerskills: Emotional Intelligence of a Project Hero

The first deck built around Praxis. It casts the project manager as a hero on a journey, with emotional intelligence as the compass: trust, conflict, stakeholder buy-in and a team that holds together. Purdue Global School of Business, Fall 2024.