Agency:
Grey San Francisco.
Campaign:
Move Stage Home.
Client: Reliant Energy
My Title:
Associate Creative Director – Digital.
My Role:
Core member of the five-director campaign ideation team.
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I concepted, boarded, developed, and presented all online ads with the support of a copywriter, and direct report designer, with final approval from the ECD* & CD.* As well, I advised on media buys and approved ad unit integration. I had on-set content requirements for digital as part of the shot list. I was accountable for all digital deliverables – a new product/service at this traditional shop.
Optional reading Info:
Set up:
I was hired to lead and build Grey's online advertising capability. I was responsible for the digital side of each campaign. The custom at Grey was to present big campaign concepts initially as TV spots – Reliant Energy (Client) was familiar with this approach. Winning directions moved into phase two, integrating online creative and look & feel refinement. This task was a shared effort between the ECD, two CDs, myself, and the TV ACD* (The campaign ideation team) – we all had a hand in bringing this campaign
to fruition.
ECD** Executive Creative Director (The big boss)
CD** Creative Director (The day-to-day boss who manages everything)
ACD** Associate Creative Director. (The CD's right-hand man/woman does all the hands-on heavy lifting).
Agency:
Grey San Francisco.
Campaign:
The Power In Your Hands
My Title:
Associate Creative Director – Digital.
My Role:
Core member of the five-director campaign ideation team.
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Once again, I was responsible for the digital side of this campaign. All things digital passed through my hands; that is not a pun. The custom at Grey was to present big campaign concepts initially as TV spots. The ECD was well aware that the only way Grey could deliver the digital side of this idea was if I could hire a specific (key-man/key-person)* flash animator I knew. Presenting this idea to NRG was conditional on that agreement. Solving the hands for digital was a tough challenge.
** “Key-Man” is a legal term, but it is sexist.
ECD** Executive Creative Director (The big boss)
CD** Creative Director (The day-to-day boss who manages everything)
ACD** Associate Creative Director. (The CD's right-hand man/woman does all the hands-on heavy lifting).
Agency:
Havas Global.
Campaign:
Business Of Yes.
Title: Contract ACD
onsite for seven months.
Role Digital:
I concepted and developed original interactive online ad concepts, presented them internally to the CD, developed storyboards, and owned the presentation decks for the CD's client reviews. I prepped assets and worked with vendors to evolve ad unit prototypes.
Role Art/Brand:
I explored campaign art treatments and variations in Sky, People, Buildings, typography, foliage, etc. I also created and developed two original cityscape scenes (shown here) for State and federal messaging.
Role Print:
I designed 30+ large-format ad 'lead compositions' as visual guides for campaign build outs–these were print-ready ads. Ad layouts were exceedingly technical due to the dense mesh-gradient vector cities that required master-level adobe illustrator skills.
ECD** Executive Creative Director (The big boss)
CD** Creative Director (The day-to-day boss who manages everything)
ACD** Associate Creative Director. (The CD's right-hand man/woman does all the hands-on heavy lifting).
Agency:
Shiftworks San Francisco.
Experience Design Vision:
Carbon Experience.
Client: Carbon 3D
My Role:
Creative Director*/Concept owner/Hands-on Designer/Print-ready production designer.
CD** Creative Director (The day-to-day boss who manages everything)
Agency: Shiftworks San Francisco.
Client: DROP (previously “Massdrop”)
My Role: Creative Director*/Concept owner/Hands-on Designer/Print-ready production designer.
CD** Creative Director (The day-to-day boss who manages everything)
Extra:
I started with a small freelance print job for Drop. Formerly called "Massdrop," this startup had begun rebranding to "Drop." Supporting the CMO & Head Of Brand, I quickly took over all Marketing, design, Brand, and package design initiatives. Drop has been one of my longest-standing clients.
Agency: Shiftworks San Francisco.
Client: DAYMI (Cold-press organic California juice brand)
My Role: Creative Director*/Concept owner/Hands-on Designer/Print-ready production designer.
CD** Creative Director (The day-to-day boss who manages everything)
Results:
• A bold standout design in an earthy category.
• A successful brand discovery phase.
• Defined “modern and sophisticated” as a deep brand core-value.
• Ownable brand flavors.
• Mega-Brand merger – huge buy-out.
Agency: Freestyle Interactive
Client: EA:
** EA (Electronic Arts-Top 3 Global video game Company)
Campaign: “C&C3-Kane’s back”
Task:
Amp up hardcore gamers with a digital ad campaign that's buzzworthy and engaging.
Solution:
Get up close and personal with (the video game’s elusive mystery- boss, “Kane”. - This interactive video experience simulates a real interaction with the seldom-seen “Kane” persona from the game cutscenes.
Role:
Art Director (Come up with all the ideas and design all the things)
Results:
• An EA record, second-highest demo download metric.
• Massive community fan hype.
• Free ad hosting on fan sites and blogs.
• An agency record, most video clips in a single ad.
My Role:
• Brainstormed all creative with Copy CD.
• Owned & presented all decks to the client with CD*.
• Developed storyboards and all designs.
• Concepted Kane Speaks video scenes.
• Attended Video Shoot with CD* & co-directed shots.
• Scrubbed/cut/managed video selects.
• Solved user flows on video unit.
• Worked with a UK-based (hand-drawn) studio on Scorpion animation.
• Shot the shit with Kane (a blackjack dealer from Vegas)
• Basked in the adoration from the C&C3 Studio head at EA for a top recorded metric.
CD** Creative Director (The day-to-day boss who manages everything)
Snatched:
The jewel of the online work.
Set up:
This campaign had a lot of moving parts. I'm focusing on the "Snatched" online work.
Two Shops
This campaign was a partnered-agency effort between Freestyle Interactive and HEAT. HEAT handled all TV, Print, and Out Of Home (OOH). I worked for Freestyle, and we headed up all the online work.
My Role:
After the initial concepting (agency term for brainstorming) and sell-through to the client, As the assigned Art Director, I owned the development and execution of all aspects of this concept. Of course, always under the watchful eyes of the creative leads with – regular reviews/support/adjustments/direction, and approvals.
My Role:
Ideation, concept development, design, video direction, prototype-ad oversight, and scraping with Heat ( Partner TV Ad Agency) over talent film-shooting time.
Agency:
McCann M.R.M & Partners, San Francisco
Client:
Intel (ASUS Republic of Gamers)
My Title:
Senior Art Director – Digital.
My Role:
Come up with all the ideas and design all the things.
What’s in an Idea?
Well, in this case, it was my only contribution to this project.
Set up:
I was booked on two other Intel projects at M.R.M. McCann in San Francisco. However, I volunteered to join the brainstorming sessions on this campaign since I reported to the same creative leads – the team was happy to get help because it was all after-hours work.
My Role:
Among other ideas, this concept was my brainchild. Apart from a detailed hand-drawn storyboard (long since lost) and a rudimentary write-up, I had no other hand in the development.
Results:
That said, Intel / ASUS R.O.G. picked my "Area 51 gamer girl" as the winning concept.
Challenge:
Create an enticing large-format print graphic for Carbon's first-ever presence at the Auto Interiors trade show – alerting designers that components are now being 3D printed.
Risky gamble:
I pushed the client to go with illustration for the key art. They saw this as a risk since the norm was high-res images like all the other vendors.
My rationale:
Speak "idea-stage" when enticing designers about what's possible with 3D manufacturing and stand out in the sea of sameness.
Results:
Illustration stands tall with colossal lead-gen at the auto interiors trade show.
My Role:
Research, Ideation, design, illustration, print production.
Note: The car sketch outline was stock illustration that I colorized.
This page is in development.
Project:
Apparel branding for high-end Japanese rope-dyed selvage denim.
Brief:
On brand design, with a 1950s Swiss design slant.
I pulled out all the "WTF" tricks to get noticed and hired at Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco.
Note:
John Travolta was in the news at the time because WikiLeaks posted the name of the Scientology planet, "Scion, or Zion," which only the men go to after death.
This page is in development.
Freestyle:
A provincial freestyle ski team, ages 10-19. Bold and start-gate-ready stylized italic letterforms are crash-kerned and loaded to win. The "F" doubles as an inverted freestyle aerialist that reads in 2D and 3D. Supermarket rave-style type gets full marks and can stick any landing. This mark is an earned badge that aspiring Olympians wear with pride.
Crayon Industries:
When a TypeKit (acquired by Adobe, now called Adobe fonts) founder, a Google executive, and a computer code savant decided to start an agency in San Francisco, they hired me to develop their brand symbol.
