Insidesource
Brand Marketing Director
August 2018 - Present
San Francisco, CA
As the brand lead, I shape Insidesource’s voice and presence in the workplace design market.
Key areas of focus:
Produce and design 360º original content campaigns across platforms — video, print, social, advertising.
Develop brand positioning and GTM strategy - voice/messaging, look and feel, key differentiators.
Champion a digital first mindset in the approach to sales products, content distribution and promotion, that positions the company as an industry thought leader.
Build an in-house marketing team and recruit talent.
Consulting
Consulting Creative Director
February 2015 - Present
I work with lifestyle-oriented companies on visual storytelling, using digital platforms to create compelling brand experiences. Among the services I provide are brand strategy and design for digital and print, data-driven digital product development, original content creation, 360º marketing and social media campaigns.
Today Show
Today Show Digital | NBC News/NBC Universal | Seattle/NYC
Creative Director, Today Show Digital - July 2011 - February 2015
Manager, msnbc.com design group - February 2010 - July 2011
I led the UX team in demonstrating the power of digital strategy to attract a younger audience to Today Show properties. Collaborating with the VP of Product, we launched a mobile-first website that offered a more relevant face of the Today brand to viewers and non-viewers alike. We increased engagement with stories, advertising and, most importantly, video streams.
We rebuilt the foundation of our most popular digital assets (story pages, video), inaugurated a new platform for sponsored lifestyle channels, and promoted community via social and third-party programs. The continuous-scroll experience we introduced nearly tripled engagement, from 1 story per unique user to 2.8.
The NBC News devices team and editorial department joined us in developing a new Today app (the first since smartphones debuted). This second-screen platform scored 600k downloads in its first 30 days. We’d conducted focus groups in New York, Chicago and Phoenix, then used an updated API to craft a vibrant, online-only video experience.
Recognizing the potential of food features, we orchestrated the formation of the Today Food Club. We first built out foodie communities on Facebook and Pinterest, then tested content and display, which allowed us to craft the most engaging content possible. The data also drove the reconstruction of our recipe database and the creation of a more appealing, user-centered web interface. Food Club powered 100k page views per month. Referrals to stories from social media grew by 30%.
I recruited and led a bicoastal team of designers, developers and a program manager. When the joint venture between Microsoft and NBC (msnbc.com) produced layoffs and deep uncertainty, I listened closely to my team members to address their concerns and continued to invest in them through training and events that kept their curiosity alive. Our team dynamic became a model for other business units in the company.
IE Design
Interactive Art Director, 2008-2009
Hermosa Beach, CA
Developed 360º digital marketing campaigns and websites for major brands, including Transamerica, Dole, the UCLA Foundation and UNC Law School.
As creative lead for Transamerica, I crafted the digital ad campaign for the company-sponsored Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which received heavy exposure on ESPN.com and SI.com. Our success paved the way for production of the Transamerica Insurance & Investment Group website.
I designed an intuitive experience for the MyDole section of the Dole website, engaging female users with a simple interface that featured an archive of saved articles, recipes and widgets like a BMI calculator. The result was more precisely targeted newsletter content.
AVW Design
Consulting Creative Director, 2006-2008
While overseeing project development, I lent expertise in marketing campaigns, web/interactive design and publication design during graduate school.
Poynter Institute for Media Studies
Design Editor/Art Director, 1997-2006
St. Petersburg, Florida
Devised the visual GTM strategy, oversaw production, and managed designers, graphic artists, copy editors and vendors in the development of Poynter’s website, 360º marketing campaigns, e-learning modules, exhibition design and fundraising products.
Authored the first weekly column on design for Poynter Online called “The Design Desk.”
As an adjunct faculty member, I taught visual journalism. My curriculum ranged from visual storytelling and its impact on engagement to design, typography and color theory.
The EyeTrack research I supported, investigating how users consume information on digital platforms, continues to inform the work of designers in such areas as page architecture, visual hierarchy, images and color.
Launched Poynter’s first interactive learning module, which was key in the development of News University, Poynter’s online learning initiative.