Role: Creative Direction
The client came to us with a simple ask: a logo and a video for a new eyewear product for athletes and competitive shooters—something I liken to resistance training for the eyes and brain.
In my experience, there’s always a need to draw up a gameplan for growth—and that would take some research. Partnering closely with their founders, we engaged in an in-depth discovery process, tapping insights to develop personas and examining challenges and opportunities in this growing market. From the research, we concluded that our client needs a brand strategy that incites them to transcend eyewear.
More than a logo and a video, they needed to build a masterbrand that would include glasses and other products they would develop in the future. Along with our strategy team, I contributed to the clients’ new brand positioning—including their brand promise of “More moments of greatness.” A lofty promise, yes, but our research gave us the hope that we could build a brand with the same limitless potential as their product.
We named the masterbrand “Vima,” the Greek word for “step.” The product, we named “Rev”—a reference to the strobe lenses, but with an elevated promise to athletes and shooters.
With brandnames in place, I led a team of designers and animators to develop a visual identity with an emphasis on the opportunities Vima had in product design and UX. I then led the hands-on cross functional collaboration with industrial designers, UX designers and software engineers to bring the product, app, packaging and marketing website to life.
Done for: Tether
Other creative contributors:
James Halada, Jay Ostby, Dylan Moss, Greg Kauffman, Leslie Wang, Kari Strand, Emily Cushman, Bill Allen, Neil Palmer, Jordan Steranka, Renee Perry
Role: Creative Direction
Results: Product featured on Holiday gift guides for The Ellen Show, Sports Illustrated, HuffPost, Runners World and more. Increased audience reach and revenue during peak gift-buying season in North America.
Under Armour had a category-breaker on their hands. A piece of wearable technology transcending age, gender and sport. It was up to us to help them change the active wear game. Again.
Athlete consumers had a problem they didn’t know could possibly have a solution. Across demographics, we found the sentiment that the time they put in—on the field, in the gym—was the only time for them to make athletic progress. But, they hadn’t considered the progress that could be made while they sleep.
Athlete Recovery Sleepwear uses bioceramic technology to decrease soreness and promote muscle regeneration. But to an athlete, that doesn’t always translate to something of value to them. So we repositioned this previously misunderstood product around the outcome of being more empowered to wake up and hustle.
Our go-to-market work centered around this consumer benefit. And our research/insights showed us that the primary consumer needed to hear about these benefits directly from the mouths of other athletes. So we brought the words of real athletes and bonafide pajama wearers to the forefront.
Killer consumer reviews. Fresh and candid photography. Peer reviewed research papers. All of this went into the product—upgrading the packaging, out-of-box experience—as well as marketing in the UA app and on their website.
Done for: Tether
Other creative contributors:
Summer Karaskova, Ramon Vasquez, Leslie Wang, Saedi Hitner, Alex Warren, Emily Cushman, Stanley Hainsworth, Jeremy Hoders, Wade Atkinson, James Michelfelder, Rachel Link
Role: Creative Direction
Results: 516,000 square feet of office space leased for $359.5 million over 14 years. Called a "trophy" building by NYTimes. Won a Silver Addy award for mixed reality app.
Developer Kevin Daniels came to us with a story and a dream—the tale of one of Seattle’s oldest churches and the vision of adding an iconic skyscraper to our horizon. So, we came up with a singular vision for the property and set about bringing it to life.
This skyscraper, initially named "5th & Columbia," was going to be built on one of the most densely populated city blocks on the west coast. The problem? Well, the neighborhood practically shut down at 5pm every weekday. It was a place where people worked, but they didn't typically play or live there. So, in order to breathe new life into this neighborhood, we knew we had to create a brand story and identity as multifaceted as the tower itself.
Our story needed to pay homage to the 100-year-old church next door (saved from demolition by the developer) and tout the ultra-hip SLS Seattle hotel inside. On top of that, we had to grab the attention of brokers—a sought-after audience accustomed to being wowed with incredible stories and lavished with over-the-top gifts.
Seattle owes its growth and vitality to a long history of hardworking people striving to make their contribution to the world. We translated that verve into a brand story and encouraged a broad audience to add their own chapter.
Adding an icon to the skyline meant making an impact right from the start. We renamed the property The Mark as a dedication to all those who were—and are—thirsty to make their mark on the world. With a new name, came a new visual identity: a design system that nodded to the neighboring church’s history and embraced the new status as premier destination.
From there, we set out to create marketing experiences for the new brand, including a website and support for events and on-site activations. Then, we created a mixed reality app to give brokers and prospective tenants the chance to experience the building (and its breathtaking views) before construction was complete. Everything was used to position The Mark as the epicenter of new life and community in Midtown Seattle.
Done for: Tether
Other creative contributors:
Leslie Wang, James Halada, Kari Strand, Madison Schneider, Neil Palmer, Bjorn Soneson, Kevin Smith, Dodi Monahan, Julia Neumann Fiorito
Role: Creative Direction
Results: Won a Silver Addy. 516,000 square feet of office space leased for $359.5 million over 14 years. Called a "trophy" building by NYTimes.
After building the brand from strategy through visual identity, we set out to create new digital experiences to persuade brokers and potential leasees to secure office space in the building. Armed with ample research into the behaviors and mindsets of these personas, we began concepting an experience that evolved—through insights and feedback—into a mixed reality app.
What we discovered is that brokers often hit the bottleneck of taking their clients to a physical sales center. Schedule coordination and proximity to the location, among other things, got in the way of giving potential leasees an experience of the building. So we endeavored to bring the most successful aspects of the sales center experience to any phone or tablet.
Our insights led us to use mixed reality, allowing the consumer to view and interact with a scale model of the building as if it were sitting on their desk. And since one of the most salient selling points of this building is the view, we also built a way for them to get an immersive experience of what it would be like from select floors—or even from neighborhood level, looking up at the new building.
The app we designed was so compelling to users that our engineering partners went the next step and evolved it into a flexible platform that other brands could use.
Done for: Tether
Engineering: Vuframe
Other creative contributors:
Leslie Wang, James Halada, Kari Strand, Neil Palmer, Kevin Smith, Dodi Monahan, Julia Neumann Fiorito
Role: Creative Direction
We built the Vima brand from ground up—including positioning, strategy, naming, visual identity, and go-to-market tools. Their flagship product, the Rev, is eyewear for athletes and competitive shooters that I liken to resistance training for the eyes and brain. Revs’ strobe lenses remove visual information to train the brain to anticipate where to catch, hit or throw.
During my collaboration with our industrial designers to enhance the product design, we started the process of designing an app that would take the functionality of the product to a new level. Without the app, consumers can only set or change the rate of of blinking once the action stops. With the app, we enable coaches and trainers to control the Revs remotely.
Armed with the persona strategy that we developed, I led the UX team through a thorough process—including feature roadmap, wireframes, rapid prototypes and motion studies to inform and collaborate with a team of software engineers.
This first-of-its-kind app shipped simultaneously when the product hit the marketplace.
Done for: Tether
Engineering: Ply
Other creative contributors:
Jay Ostby, Dylan Moss, Greg Kauffman, Kari Strand, Emily Cushman, Bill Allen, Neil Palmer, Jordan Steranka, Renee Perry
Role: Creative Direction
Results: Strategic reinvention of Microsoft's employment mission and cultural attributes. Global distribution of a suite of tools for recruiters from North America to India and beyond.
The challenge? Everybody thinks they know Microsoft. The previous CEO. A reputation for being less-than-open to change. The perception of being less innovative than their competitors. There was all of that. But everybody loves a good comeback story.
When cultivating cred, you just can’t tell nobody nothing no more. So we wanted to show candidates that the new, more open-minded culture is not just something we talk about, it’s something that can be seen in the actions of current employees. The best and brightest build on the work of others. They celebrate their successes, but never stop there. In this recruitment campaign, we invited candidates to do exactly that at Microsoft.
In order to attract the best and brightest, we had to address several needs and provide recruiters as well as hiring managers with tools to get the word out. We strategized and designed everything from a new story hub that allows recruiters to begin a steady rhythm of published content that exemplifies the mission and culture of Microsoft—to materials that engage students at job fairs, and even a concierge app for candidates during interview day.
Done for: Tether
Other creative contributors:
Dennis O'Reilly, Jenny Lee, Joseph Kohlhas, Peter Duong, Susanna Johnson, Jennifer Bell, Stanley Hainsworth, Neil Webster, Dodi Monahan
Role: Creative Direction
Results: 4 Addy awards, FWA Site of the Day, AWWWARD, national media coverage including a mention on Saturday Night Live
Hidden away in Redmond at one of the many buildings on the Microsoft campus is a place where model makers, hardware engineers, inventors, and acoustic wizards merge passion with precision.
Plenty of companies have secret R&D labs where they dream up the future, but even in the high-pressure world of technology, Building 87 is unique. Our goal? Give the world a sneak peak at the toys, tools, and brains creating the future, in a mind-bending WebGL microsite experience.
Working closely with the featured teams—each area received its own room anchored by long-form video—shot, edited and produced by our studio. Interactive widgets on the walls call out the most interesting human-machine interactions being investigated in Building 87, giving the audience an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse at the technology of tomorrow.
Done for: Tether
Other creative contributors:
Leslie Wang, Bill Allen, Neil Palmer, Peter Duong, Scotty Maclaughlin, Adam Bale, David Drori, Christine Cossu, Julia Neumann, Thomas Kohnstamm, Steve Wiens
Role: Creative Direction
Results: Increased consumer engagement through news media and social coverage. Numerous industry awards from "Best Branded Content of 2014" to National Addy Awards.
Before beginning work on these projects, we had enjoyed nearly a decade of partnership with Microsoft, and we had seen their mission evolve from simplicity to complexity and back again. An evolution that’s kept us busy—rallying thought leaders, instigating dangerous ideas and telling stories for consumers and employment candidates alike.
When it was time to take these stories public—with digital properties devoted to innovation labs, design rebels and more—we once again brought pen and pixel to the table. This time for an external audience of curious consumers and news media. We partnered with brand content engine Microsoft Story Labs, exploring the most groundbreaking work through interactive experiences and immersive microsites.
Done for: Tether
Other creative contributors:
Leslie Wang, Neil Palmer, Dylan Moss, Greg Kauffman, Wa Vong, Kevin Smith, Bill Allen, Scotty Maclaughlin, Kelley Peterson, Julia Neumann, Christine Cossu, Steve Wiens, Thomas Kohnstamm, Brian Smale
Role: Concept, Design
USA relaunched their brand years ago with a fresh, character-driven attitude. While the rebrand was highly successful, it was completed in a time before social media played a huge role in the network's strategy.
It was about time a TV network looked like it belonged online. Setting out to pitch a new look for the brand, I took cues from interface design and brought them together with clean cinematography. The graphics needed to feel like they're just another character in a scene–directing the eye but never getting in the way of the stories.
Each show needed it's own short promo that focused on the characters. I completed the pitch by including a toolkit of graphics including end pages, critics quotes, now/next, character snipes, and sniped promos.
Done for: Imaginary Forces
Other creative contributors:
Lauren Hartstone
Role: Creative direction, compositing
Results: Engaged over 48,000 festival-goers
I led a team to create one of four festival bumpers that appeared before each film at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The theme of the festival that year was “fire.” We were given a strategic brief from AdamsMorioka and instructions to engage the audience and remind them of something important about filmmaking.
For this piece, we envisioned the heart as a fiery furnace—the place where creativity comes from. Our inspiration came from personal photo journeys through abandoned factories and the bio-mechanical illustrations of Fritz Kahn. With a small team, we built an immersive-yet-efficient environment in CG and filled that factory with workers—a role performed by only one actor.
Done for: Digital Kitchen
Other creative contributors:
Cody Cobb, Ryan Gagnier, Ben Grube, Tim Howe, David Molloy, Ajit Menon, Mike Compobasso, Carrine Fisher
Role: Creative Direction
Resurgence is one of the forerunning websites serving Christian leaders with close to 7 million visits annually. They needed branding for their first national conference and it needed to attract leaders across the various tribes of Christianity.
The central thing that we pursued is the thought that ministry is done throughout all of life, not just within the walls of church buildings. We took one conviction that is consistent across all Christendom, and called leaders to live and work out of that conviction. I kicked the project off with a creative brief and led two designers responsible for the numerous deliverables used to advertise and hold the event. Neither of them had experience directing photo shoots or branding an entire conference. I got to lead them in directing the photographer, honoring the story of the conference the whole way.
Other creative contributors:
Willy Bravenec, Matt Naylor, Jenny Linquist, Jesse Bryan, Jake Johnson, Joel Fariss
Role: Concept, Design
As a kid, I was a fan of the Baltimore Orioles. Ripkin was my hero, and Eddie Murray had an afro that wouldn’t quit. For this project, I poured my childhood love for the game into branding baseball’s first television network.
More than scoreboards and stats, the MLB Network brand is all about fanaticism. The fanaticism of the crowd. The enduring fanatics who train tirelessly before taking to the field. Being a fan myself, I wanted to trace the mystical path of the perfect pitch, burn the logo onto the bats, and sear the brand into the collective conscience of the American people.
Since the brand would span broadcast and digital—I decided that the on-air and online design system should be one and the same, with a color pallete that changes to reflect day or night games.
Done for: Digital Kitchen
Role: Creative Direction
At the epicenter of the Christmas story, there's a family. The parents are refugees with a scandalous background and the child is a king. The branding for this series of sermons is the viewpoint that the Christian church is like a family (including the occasional scandal). It's comprised of friends, refugees, neighbors, and ex-enemies.
To illustrate this, we filmed a series of stories including a military family that was rescued from the throes of divorce, and a survivor of the Killing Fields in Cambodia. In addition to the video stories, we produced numerous pieces of marketing material, environmental design, CD packaging, and a landing page on the website.
Other creative contributors:
Patrick Mahoney, Matt Naylor, Grant Rowles, Andy Maier, Jeremy Mashburn, John Raines, Sam Stewart, Gabe Martinez, Joel Cummings, Joel Fariss, Holly Sonneland
Role: Creative Direction, Animation
It was news to me that so much of the OR Lotto's money went back into public projects. It made me want to show people a collaborative Oregon–one that's larger than life. To get the idea approved, I created a mood edit using footage of large scale stop motion animations. We pitched it to the ad agency as the tip of the iceberg. The mood edit wasn't much, but it was enough to get them excited about the concept.
Once the idea was approved, I led a designer in creating sketches of what the sets would look like and how we would transition from one scene to the next. Then, our heroic art-department built the set and we captured the process in time-lapse over the course of 2 days.
Done for: Digital Kitchen
Other creative contributors:
Sean Dekkers, Slavka Kuehn, Matt Mulder, Jason Puccinelli, Chezik Walker Tsunoda
Role: Creative direction
Parent Campaign Results: The bank added over 80,000 new members over the course of the campaign
A series of six ads I directed for a credit union that was willing to take a slightly different approach to bank marketing. We partnered with BECU and DNA to capture the distinct culture of the Puget Sound region, charm and blemishes included—along with BECU’s promise at the time, to “turn the financial world right side up.”
The people of the region include software engineers, bike messengers, anarchists, nuns, and school principals. Our idea was to show how different sorts of people come together to make a place that is magical. BECU cares about it all, so we showed it all.
Done for: Digital Kitchen
Other creative contributors:
Shawn Fedorchuk, Brian Cole, Trevor Fife, Ryan Gagnier, Morgan Henry, Chezik Walker Tsunoda
Role: Creative direction, design, compositing
Results: 2007 Primetime Emmy Award nomination
Living on the East Coast in 2001, I remember the morning of 9/11 being utterly surreal. The weather was ideal; it was the type of morning that made me feel good about starting an “ordinary” day. For this sequence, we wanted to linger on that feeling, but disrupt it with a growing awareness of the types of surveillance and intelligence gathering that went into the 9/11 commission report.
We shot this on a shoestring budget, and I directed some of the scenes while shooting B-roll footage on an old Bolex 16mm camera. This project was like a full contact sport: we took a documentary approach to filming and then I directed a team of animators and a VFX artist to finish it up.
Done for: Digital Kitchen
Other creative contributors:
Cody Cobb, Lindsay Daniels, Tim Howe, David Molloy, Matt Mulder, Drew Bourneuf, Mason Nicoll
Role: Design, Animation, Compositing
Recognition: 2004 Emmy Award Nomination + 2004 Communication Arts Design Annual
My involvement in this project was heavily influenced by a proclivity for exploring abandoned hospitals as a teenager. I've always been curious about the way plant life seemed to invade the buildings when they had been left alone for years. The walls would be infiltrated by the outside world, and I imagined that it transformed the buildings into a new sort of residence–where only stories could survive.
We were given permission from Jerry Uelsmann to use his photomontages as a starting point for some of the scenes.
Done for: DIGITALKITCHEN
Other creative contributors:
Paul Matthaeus, Josh Bodnar, Jason Faulkner, Scott Hudziak, Chris Markos, Matt Mulder, Thai Tran, Tracy Chandler