Creative direction and campaign strategy for Netflix's first music reality series

Nine struggling LA musicians must collaborate on a live show that could change their lives. For Netflix’s Westside, I led creative direction (working with several agencies) and 360° campaign strategy, which included key art (including a photoshoot production), AV assets, D/OOH, music videos and a soundtrack partnership with Warner Bros. Records.

The creative direction reflects the often dark journeys of these aspiring artists as they pursue the limelight in the unforgiving world of Hollywood.

Other credits:

Graphic design/creative production by Size Matters Agency

Photography by Matthias Clamer

Photoshoot production by Cassia Hoffman (Birds + Stone)

Trailer design by Rogue Planet Agency

Creative marketing strategy for Netflix's first original auto series

Led a cross-functional agency and internal taskforce to determine creative marketing strategy for Netflix’s first unscripted auto series, which pits exotic supercars against modified “sleeper cars” in an epic drag race.

Creative direction focused on the dichotomy between the monied supercar drivers and the self-described “gearheads” behind the sleepers, touching on emotional and economic undertones.

Other credits:

Graphic design/creative production by Concept Arts Agency

Trailer design by Buddha Jones Agency

Creative direction and marketing strategy for Netflix docu-series

Rapture is a multi-part docu-series that provides an intimate look at eight hip-hop artists in various stages of their careers from Nas to 2 Chainz to Logic.

Our campaign featured a mix of broad tactics directed at the larger music and hip-hop community (i.e. SXSW activations and a brief teaser coinciding with the Grammys) along with tactics tailored for each artists’ distinct fan base (the unconventional use of eight trailers in place of one singular preview).

Additionally, we collaborated with rising graphic artist Sam Spratt on a unique key art concept inspired by his previous work with Logic and G-Eazy. The campaign also included an original soundtrack on Def Jam records and an Italy-based video series and activation featuring a roster of eight artists from Milan’s hip-hop scene.

Other credits:

Graphic design by Sam Spratt

Partnership & Content Development Strategy

Co-led partnership and content development strategy for “Origins”, a Digiday Award-nominated collaboration between Great Big Story and Genesis (Hyundai’s luxury brand). The partnership included the creation of a new storytelling vertical looking at the surprising history behind various aspects of culture. Many of the short films related to Korean tradition, craftsmanship and design excellence, core principles of the Genesis brand.

Brand Partnerships & Content Development

Built the international brand partnership arm of Great Big Story, a global storytelling platform founded by CNN. For each brand partner, I’d develop the overall partnership approach, ideating on original series and film concepts and securing talent and media partners.

I collaborated with the international CNN sales team to develop a template and strategy for selling Great Big Story to brand partners. CNN Clients include Intel, Toyota, Canadian Tourism, Land Rover, Dubai Tourism and Toronto International Film Festival.

Content Strategy & Campaign Execution

Led content and video strategy (linear, 360° and VR) for a multi-year, multi-brand collaboration between VICE (Broadly) and Unilever that included a series of documentaries exploring the experiences of women across the world, from the villages to boardrooms. One of those experiences included using 360° and VR (through the Vrse app) to immerse viewers in the world of Vodou priestess in post-earthquake Haiti who summons healing spirits to assist those still reeling from the catastrophe.

Launch, Content Strategy & User Experience

Co-managed ideation, user experience design, testing and implementation of VICE's channel for Snapchat's Discover platform. Discover consists of daily "editions," an ephemeral selection of stories in the form of images, videos and animations. Following launch, responsibilities included content selection, performance analysis and special executions.

Please note: The 2nd image is what the Discover platform currently looks like.

Campaign & Content Marketing Strategy

Campaign management, media planning and content strategy for Intel’s global competition and content series aimed at fueling innovation in the wearables space. The competition received thousands of applicants worldwide while the video series received more than 17M views with widespread media coverage. The final judge panel included Uri Minkhoff and Venus Williams.

Content Development & Campaign Strategy

Co-led strategic development, execution and measurement for IBM’s most successful online video campaign to date, which won a 2013 Gold Cannes Lion in Branded Entertainment and Content. The short film, created through the animation of atoms, received more than 1 million views in 24 hours, breaking a record for B2B videos at the time. Additionally, the film holds the Guinness World Records™ record for the World's Smallest Stop-Motion Film.

Since childhood, I’ve been an illustrator who’s worked across a range of mediums, from sketches to apparel (I co-founded a hand-painted apparel company with my brother in 2001) to graphic design. I started formally painting in 2014, focusing on figurative portraits. Below are several select works include (in order):

“The Blood That Unites” series, featured in the February 2019 “Art on My Mind” Exhibit at Visual Artist Group in Los Angeles, CA

The Blood That Unites #1 (Garvey), 2019: Acrylic on Canvas

The Blood That Unites #2 (Wells), 2020: Acrylic on Canvas

The Blood That Unites #3 (Sankara), 2020: Acrylic on Canvas

Saint Shakur, 2017: Acrylic on Canvas

My Hero, Nino, 2016: Acrylic on Artboard

Art for Brother’s Wedding, 2015: Chalk

Leather Jacket, 2014: Acrylic on Canvas

Alexandre Dumas, 2014: Mixed Media

Excellence, 2013: Acrylic on Canvas

Saint Ermias of South Central, 2020 (Unfinished)

I started producing digital graphic work my freshman year of college, primarily using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Many of the projects were for small clients (i.e. logos), while others were for my former graphic apparel line, Dynastee, which I owned with my brother. Below are some examples of designs from over the years.