Branding is simple... but not easy.

A company’s brand identity is how that business wants to be perceived by consumers. The components of the brand (name, logo, tone, tagline, fonts, voice) are created to effectively communicate a company’s personality and its product value to potential customers, helping build brand recognition, association and loyalty.

The results, from Noah's to Quiznos, Musco to Collabrus, and Goodwill to DotGreen, are just some of the most lasting, memorable, and engaging visual symbols in the marketplace today (easy for me to say).

INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN: STRATEGY, PACKAGING, ADVERTISING, DIGITAL, SOCIAL MEDIA...

Targeted at a new health conscience audience, CamelBak’s new filtration bottle needed a fresh approach from start to finish. Created an integrated communication platform that has launched Groove into being a successful piece of CamelBak's business that continues to grow.

For over 20 years CamelBak has been the leader in active hydration. Along with rebranding their website experience, simultaneously launched them into a brand new market, water purification.

Tap water in. Freshly filtered water out... This intriguing promise, simple info graphic, and hero product photography tells a concise and appealing story of portable water purification. With national print advertising and equally eye-catching packaging, all focusing on a "Target" demographic, this effective campaign quickly made Camelbak Groove the leader in this expanding market. 

Put yourself in the shoes of our bareMinerals customers for just a moment: you hear about a cool new product or you want to find something to help you with a skin issue, your first step is to go online. But not on a computer, on your mobile device. The importance of this channel has shifted the retail landscape in the last years so dramatically that the new conventional wisdom is that this isn’t our online store, it’s our flagship. And her daily connection to the brand is our stream of emails. Her favorite place to kill time? Pinterest. Her guilty plea­sure if she has a minute? Instagram. 

What makes this iconically California beauty brand different? The healthy, inner beauty that comes shining through with a simple smile.... From a Mona-Lisa to a gaffaw... Be Original. Be Natural. Be Good.

The Future of Foundation... I led the digital creative for award-winning bareSkin Foundation, the #1 launch in the prestige beauty industry, as well as the largest product launch in the 40 year history of bareMinerals. In addition, I created numerous global toolkits including mobile UX, responsive website and email marketing, display advertising, social media campaigns, blogs and apps. 

Freshly filtered water. Anywhere... Expanding this intriguing water purification promise into digital (website, microsite, and social media), broadened this effective integrated campaign and quickly made Camelbak Groove the leader in the expanding portable water purification market.

User experience design (UX, UXD, UED or XD) is the process of enhancing user satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the user and the product. User experience design encompasses traditional human–computer interaction (HCI) design, and extends it by addressing all aspects of a product or service as perceived by users.

Say what?! Simply put, the user experience needs to be eye-catching, engaging, intuitive, and easy. From a disruptive headline, to a captivating image/video, it needs to capture someone's attention and hold it...

It’s simple... But, not easy.

The California Closets national print campaign was inspired by blending the stylistic imagery of the product (home organization) with it's benefit (living the life you want). The artistic and beautiful "mood board" compositions showcased the "Space To Be" campaign concept. Strengthened by the interactive (and innovative) online camera enabled the customer to own their creative experience and to, with one click, begin a dialogue with their CC designer.  

While bareMinerals continues it's evolution, the role of graphics and design needs to be updated to support the new bare Beauty positioning. The approach is to take is a slimmed-down graphic approach, with more emphasis on beautiful photos, characterized by smaller typography and more natural colors.

Created cutting-edge disruptive campaign starting with development of aspirational headline... "Space to Be" through editorial photography and interactive digital design which allowed customers to customize the site and "own" their creative mood board. This campaign instantly increased sales by 400%.

Art: Robert Rauschenberg, has always been one of my favorite American artists; his art of combining imagery to tell thought-provoking stories has always intrigued me. So, when developing the "Space To Be" campaign for California Closets, I found that combining the ideas of quality custom storage solutions (Space) with the freedom to focus on what matters most (To Be) told a very engaging dual-faceted story. The artistic mood board ad campaign was created.

Technology: After a thorough deep-dive into the client’s business goals, the Space To Be print campaign came relatively quickly; followed closely by the website’s dual-faceted UX. There were also lots of discussions regarding interactivity, and so, working very closely with UX development experts (GLG), and with the print ads top-of-mind, an innovative online camera was developed to easily snap Space To Be imagery throughout the site. This technology enabled the user to then create their own mood board and with one click, send their inspiration directly to their CC design consultant. 

Seamlessly combining art and technology not only made for a beautiful integrated experience, but also immediately increased sales by 400%.

STRATEGY, PACKAGING, POSTERS, OOH, PRINT ADVERTISING...

People love a good story. Stories are the reason we stay awake late to finish a book, watch a movie or binge watch on Netflix. Stories engage us like little else. If done right, storytelling can make your print communications more engaging, more impactful, and more motivating for your brand.

As a creative director, I'm responsible for ensuring that the packaging and print materials not only look visually appealing but also effectively communicate the brand's story. My role involves everything from conceptualizing new ideas to overseeing the design process and ensuring that the final products meet the highest standards of quality. I'm constantly exploring new trends and techniques to create innovative and memorable packaging solutions. My specific duties often include:

Conceptualization: Developing creative concepts that resonate with the target audience and effectively communicate the brand's message.

Design Oversight: Guiding and directing the design team to ensure that the final products meet the highest standards of quality and aesthetics.

Brand Consistency: Maintaining consistency across all packaging and print materials to strengthen brand recognition.

Problem-Solving: Identifying and addressing design challenges to create innovative and functional packaging solutions.

Collaboration: Working closely with other departments (e.g., marketing, sales, production) to ensure that the packaging and print materials meet business objectives.

Trend Analysis: Staying up-to-date with packaging and print design trends to incorporate innovative elements into their work.

Essentially, a creative director is the visionary behind the packaging and print materials, ensuring that they are not only visually appealing but also effective tools for marketing and branding.

It’s simple... But, not easy.

Mommy’s Bliss

Whether the design is evolutionary or revolutionary, a packaging system incorporates a simple set library of visual elements – Logo, product name, nutritional callouts, flavor/variety naming, brand/product visual (i.e. Illustration, photography, colors) – Arranged in a fixed way, from product to product, nothing changes except what’s necessary for the consumer to navigate the category.

It’s simple... But, not easy.

Overall, at Mommy's Bliss, I was responsible for the creative vision of the Mommy’s Bliss brand refresh (identity design, CPG packaging line evolution, website UI/UX, social media, and brand & product videos). I led the conceptualization and realization of all immersive experiences, and elevated the quality of the marketing campaigns and all communication resulting in unparalleled growth for the organization.

• Identity refresh & brand styleguide

• CPG packaging line evolution

• Disruptive marketing & social media campaigns

• Brand and product MGX/videos

• Website UI/UX redesign

24 Hour Fitness

I worked collaboratively with the marketing team to concept and develop integrated brand campaigns spanning print, video, OOH, digital, and social media. Envisioned a simplified lifestyle fitness brand with the design of a new website & app UI/UX (24HF, 24Go, and 24Life); including innovative new HIIT concepts PASE Factor and 9Round.

• Brand campaigns - print, digital, OOH, social, videos

• Club posters & banners

• Innovative HIIT concepts (PASE Factor & 9Round) - Launch campaigns & videos, social media, and email marketing

• Website UI/UX design for 24HF and PASE Factor

Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery

I established the visual brand identity of Specialty’s and was responsible for all print, digital, and MGX/video creative, including an engaging and award-winning cross-platform website UX & app. Developed advertising and promotional campaigns, and was responsible for all copywriting, photo & videography, email marketing, CPG packaging, and digital signage.

• Identity refresh & brand styleguide

• Product campaigns and in-store digital motion graphics (MGX)

• Peet’s Coffee & Tea digital campaign extensions

• Redesign of CPG Cookie Mix packaging