SITUATION
TrueBlue had grown to become a global leader in industrial staffing through hard work and smart acquisitions. However, their business model had developed problematic redundancies in both IT systems and communication channels. After 25 years of this, it was time to streamline the brand.

CONTRIBUTION
As Creative Director, I worked with Vivaldi Partners and internal marketing executives to take their newly minted brand architecture and create a visual language for the once eight – now three – TrueBlue subsidiary brands. Working with internal and external creative partners, I mapped out the new Brand Guidelines and delivered a series of presentations to TrueBlue executives for final approval. I focused on identifying the common values and unique characteristics shared by all brands and created a system that held those principles in proper tension.

RESULTS
TrueBlue continues to grow into new channels with this design language.

SITUATION
Cascade Designs was a leading innovator in the outdoor equipment industry. However, their branding had been inspired and often led by company founding engineers. In order to maintain social relevance and better communicate their innovative offerings, it was time to take their brand language to the next level.

CONTRIBUTION
As their Creative Services Manager, I built the internal team, created workflow and project management processes, and repaired communication gaps that existed between the engineers and the creatives. In concert with the marketing director and brand management teams, designers, writers, and photographers, I led the development of this new generation of branding for Cascade and its collection of five subsidiary brands.

RESULTS
The company’s branding became some of the best in the industry. Cascade remains one of the outdoor industry’s most innovative and well-loved companies in this era of quick knock-off, and OEM “me-too” products.

SITUATION
Smartwool was known for amazing merino wool products. But it also needed to be a relevant lifestyle brand. Their branding was not adequately leveraging the aspirational potential of their mountain lifestyle and culture, nor were they successfully paying-off how wool enhances performance.  

CONTRIBUTION
I worked as a brand consultant on the development of their updated brand guidelines. After co-leading a Brand Gravity workshop for Smartwool, we identified new brand attributes that focused on balancing performance with comfort, developed new storytelling language and created their tagline: GO FAR. FEEL GOOD.

RESULTS
Smartwool has moved into a market leadership role in the technical-comfort space.

SITUATION
ATT Wireless employed Ogilvy Mather to develop a new messaging campaign for the next generation of smart phones. It was called mLife. ATT needed new cell phone packaging to convey this inspiring manifesto.

CONTRIBUTION
I was one of the Art Directors on the months-long concepting project to create a breakthrough presentation for smartphone packaging. Apple had just set the stage for minimalist white product packaging. Along with a team of designers, we developed this blue-stripe package solution. I presented it to the client and it was accepted. My job then shifted to co-creating packaging guidelines based on this design, traveling to packaging press checks across the country, and as art director for the photoshoots of their jewel-like smart phones.

RESULTS
ATT Wireless had great market success with their collection of smartphones until the debut of the iPhone!