Role: Creative Direction

The client came to us with a product and a problem. Athletes and their trainers spend copious amounts of time and money in attempts to improve their performance, but they’ve been limited to training the body from the neck down.

Their product, something I liken to eyeglasses that provide resistance training for the eyes and brain, solved a part of the problem—but we saw an even bigger opportunity. We helped them to address the consumer need to constantly redefine the limits of their performance.

Partnering closely with the founders, we engaged in an in-depth discovery process, tapping insights to develop consumer personas and examining challenges and opportunities in this growing market. From the research, we concluded that our client needed a brand strategy that treats eyewear as the starting point (but not the end), positioning, naming system, visual identity and go-to-market solutions.

Once we delivered on the foundational needs, I led a team of designers and animators to develop a design system that supports all aspects of product design, including packaging, hardware design and user experience. This involved cross functional leadership and collaboration with industrial designers, UX designers and software engineers.

Through focused explorations across disciplines and validation from current and ex-athletes, trainers and coaches—we brought this brand, and it’s flagship product to market.

Done for: Tether
Engineering: Ply

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
Recognition: 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 next door. He also came to us with a few problems felt by business leaders in search of premium office space and real estate brokers who wanted to represent these leaders.

The problem for brokers was that, while they were accustomed to being invited to developer parties and lavished with over-the-top gifts, rarely did any of these things reflect true solutions for the needs of business leaders. Principally, these business leaders need office space that complements and empowers their work as visionaries.

Armed with industry and consumer research, we developed a brand strategy, new name, identity and design system for the property as well as go-to-market solutions to bring it all to life. We renamed the property “The Mark” as a dedication to all those who were—and are—thirsty to make their mark on the world.

Another problem 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 leveraged our design system to bring the most successful aspects of the sales center experience to any phone or tablet.

Our insights led us to build mixed reality app, 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 it branched into a flexible platform that other brands, beyond real estate, could use.

Done for: Tether
Engineering: Vuframe

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: 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: Design, animation, compositing

Tech companies like Microsoft sometimes have to use a crystal ball to cast vision for future products. Projects like these often began with their team blowing our minds with some of their future plans. Then we would come up with a screenplay that tells an entertaining story featuring empowering new paradigms of user experience. Another way of saying this is that all of the characters would be able to achieve more—in their lives and their work.

Done for: Digital Kitchen

Role: Creative direction
Parent Campaign Results: BMW reached a new set of consumers, and increased sales by 14%

To document the engineering legacy of the 3 Series, we partnered up with BMW and GSD&M—distilling 34 years of history into a 30-second ad. The big idea here is that thoughtful engineering is more than an end unto itself. It’s a catalyst for astounding courage on the racetrack, inspiration for the arts and a distinct culture for generations of gutsy drivers.

When planning our execution, I led the team through everything from a live action shoot—mimicking cinematography of the 70’s and 80’s—to scrappy stop-motion animations of vintage owners manuals.

Done for: Digital Kitchen

Other creative contributors:
Mark Bashore, Matt Mulder, Brian Cole, Ryan Gagnier, Ashley Nieves, Josh Hayward, Sarah Shipley

Role: Creative Direction, Color
Results for Digital Media Buy: Interaction at nearly 20%

In the middle of the last great recession, we partnered with New Balance and Almighty to create an ad that tells the story of a shoe-makin’ town with the desire and resolve to keep America running.

After three days of shooting live action in Maine, we came back with a bigger story than we needed for a short digital ad. So we turned out an even longer impressionistic film about the people we met.

During the same year, New Balance reported a revenue increase of almost 50%—in the midst of global recession.

Done for: Digital Kitchen  

Other creative contributors:
Mark Bashore, Matt Mulder, Shawn Fedorchuk, Trevor Fife, Ryan Gagnier, Morgan Henry, Chezik Walker Tsunoda

Role: Creative direction, design, compositing

This product demo project started with a simple idea. What if the people of the ’50s and ’70s were given the chance to enhance their lives with technology that exists today? Why not go back in time and give them something to take it up a notch?

We went out to LA for a week of production. We stayed on our toes, since each day featured a different cast and script. We also worked closely with art department, ensuring consistency and functionality of the design system throughout the films.

This project was canceled in the middle of post-production due to unforeseen challenges on the client side. Since I enjoyed working on these little films, I removed branding and cleared it with said client so others could see them.

Done for: Digital Kitchen  

Other creative contributors:
Matt Mulder, Nick Moceri, Jance Allen, David Holm, David Molloy, Carrine Fisher, Russell Harper

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
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, 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, 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

Role: Creative Direction, Design, Animation

Nike asked us to make a looping video for them to install in Hong Kong. The brief was as simple as this: “create animated wallpaper that’s engaging without being too distracting.” Other than that, we were given a bunch of old photos from their archive.

Looking through the archive, a thought occurred to us: athletes don’t just appear out of nowhere, destined for greatness. They’re formed by their training and experiences. Admittedly, this idea came to us by thinking and exploring with animation.

I led the team to dive into this idea about the formation of athletes—piece-by-piece—almost as if they were a part of a giant wheat paste poster. To that end, we came up with unique ways to track motion in order to make the elements look like they’re being assembled by hand. 

Done for: Digital Kitchen 

Other creative contributors:
Morgan Henry, Lee Grambush, Tim Howe, David Molloy, Karolina Sobecka, Jayne Vidheecharoen, Carrine Fisher

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: Design, animation, compositing
Recognition: 2006 Telly Award

By the time we completed this 30-second ad project, we had the team at BioWare wishing the game looked more like the ad. The idea was to solidify the story of the game in myth. This led us to imagine a combative and magical world made of Sumi ink.

Even though the technology at the time was advanced enough to do all of the ink effects in CG, I opted to film the majority of them in live action. This way, we could transcend the look of standard in-game renderings. As a result, I had to come up a unique way to animate and composite everything together with the renders coming from our CG team.

Done for: Digital Kitchen

Other creative contributors:
Josh Bodnar, Brian Demong, Ryan Gagnier, Sevrin Daniels, Matt LaVoy, Dade Orgeron, Drew Bourneuf

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