Client: Kyndryl (former IBM)

Role: Senior Designer and Art Director

Objective: Create a branding campaign for a new internally and externally facing award show The Heart of Kyndryl.

Solution: I came up with two different solutions:
one that celebrates the locations where the Awards could be hosted (ended up being the favorite), drawing culturally from the local colors, textures, patterns and motifs.

The other solution focused on celebrating the culture, technical expertise and professional prowess of Kyndryl employees. It honors the Kyndryl brand graphically: it’s simple, utilizes the Kyndryl Warm Red, with strong linear accents.

Client: Gensler

Role: Art direction and design

At Gensler, I was actively inolved in the art and design scene and co-led and Art Show Comimittee. For every quarterly exhibit, I created an accompanying poster announcing the event and introducing the artist.

This was a very fun project to work on, as one of the few requirements was to draw inspiration from the artist’s work, which proved to be an endless source of creativity.

Each poster leverages and highlights the artist’s work, but is not a literal representation of the work—each artist got a special twist.

Client: Kyndryl (former IBM)

Role: Senior Designer and Art Director

Kyndryl as a company is committed to embedding diversity into every aspect of its business and workforce. This campaign is a reminder of its one of its cores values of empathy and allyship to disadvantaged groups.

According to Kyndryl, supporting diversity, inclusion and equity contributes to creating and environment where everyone can succeed.

The campaign is both internally and externally facing, and comprises of web and mobile presence, social media, animation, print and physical merchandise.

Client: Rubrik

Role: Visual and brand designer

A two pronged approach to the company’s design system needs was implemented in this project. As the scope of the digital product grows, so do the needs for regular brand updates and tightening of the brand guidelines. The first objective was to update the current design system and visual expression of the existing product.

The second objective was to develop a future design system and explore new, effective yet visually delightful ways of displaying extremely complex information., and concurrently developing a new design approach to be used in the near future, for a complete product overhaul.

The current design overhaul included everything from an updated color palette, use of typography, new 150+ icon set, new buttons and an entire family of components.

Client: Kyndryl (former IBM)

Role: Lead designer and art director

Objective: Communicate Kyndryl’s ESG strategy and accomplishments, leveraging scale and color to communicate some complex data sets that audiences might otherwise avoid reading.

It was equally important to share our Corporate Citizenship Report with our stakeholders and employees, and provide an assurance that Kyndryl is fully dedicated to sustainability goals.

The direction is a proof of concept, and while the leadership selected another direction in the end, the concept highlights how to successfully communicate complex data sets.

The concept consisted of print, mobile and web as well as animations for social media.

Client: Edelman Financial Engines

Role: Senior Art Director, Senior Designer

Objective: Brand Redesign / Refresh

I was approached with the task of redesigning the Edelman Financial Engines brand while in the role of a Senior Art Director. Obviously, for a mid-sized financial institution, this was a large effort. Together with the Creative Director and a Junior Designer as well as the marketing team, we approached this task from several angles:

-We conducted interviews with our clients
-We created multiple client personas that we wanted to target
-We developed an analysis involving the client personas
-We developed a Tone & Voice Brand packet
-We we developed a Visual Look & Feel packet

The rebrand consisted of:

-Figma design system
-Website redesign
-Mobile redesign
-Iconography redesign
-New typography
-New graphic language

Client: Edelman Financial Engines

Role: Senior Art Director

Awards: FCS Gold: Visual Identity System; Webby : Best New Podcast Honoree

Objective: To create an identity system for a brand new financial podcast show, hosted by award-winning journalists and authors Soledad O’Brien and Jean Chatzky.

The assignment was shopped around to creative agencies as well, but in the end the solution I developed won the hearts of the executive stakeholders.

I created the identity, identity guidelines, designed and collaborated with the marketing team on making the website a reality. I also art directed the mobile site, oversaw the social media toolkit, and sonic ID animations. I flew to New York to art direct the photo shoot with Soledad O’Brien and Jean Chatzky, as well as several of the financial planners who feature as guests on the podcast.

It was a huge (and fun) effort and a wonderful collaboration with many people who touched the project in one way or another.

Client: Gensler

Role: Art direction, design: Digital, print, video, social media, environmental design

As a large, 5,000+ company, Gensler has successfully positioned itself as an industry thought leader.

Design Forecast is a representation of that intellectual output—both online and in print.

The campaign is a massive multi month effort during which print, web, mobile and social features are all released.

As a designer, I was involved in all segments of this campaign, though this was a true team effort.

The campaign was also a great opportunity to collaborate across disciplines (writers, web developers, marketers, executives, etc.)

Client: Journi

Role: Art direction and design

The client approached me with an idea for a mobile application + website that curates experiences, rather than locations or places to stay.

The tagline “what will you experience today” became essential to the premise of the concept, as it encourages the user to find the experience that fits their soul.

Branding and identity package for a client whose mission was to create a social site and mobile application to curate adventurous experiences.

Client: Gensler

Role: Designer

The world is changing fast, and so must brands. Gensler brand had been intact for nearly a decade, which in lifetime of a brand is a long time. With the help of a seasoned marketing and editorial teams, this brand refresh effort was launched in 2018. A brand system website was one of the deliverables, as was a brand new icon and vector graphic library, a new color palette, typography, photography, tone of voice and layout guidelines.

Client: Gensler + others

Role: Art direction and design

For a variety of TED-like talks, panels, exhibits and other events, I created event and venue appropriate posters and email communications.

Each event and client were in themselves inspiration for the event.

Client: Kyndryl (former IBM)

Role: Senior Designer and Art Director

Objective: How do you wish an entire world of clients, business partners and employees Happy Hoiidays when you’re a global corporation of 90,000 people spread all over the world?

You focus on the brand principles. By honoring the basic elements of the brand (lines), I created a suite of holiday cards that are secular, tech-centric, yet heartwarming and universally appealing.

Client: Edelman Financial Engines

Role: Senior art director

Objective: Create an engaging online and print experience for clients of Edelman Financial Engines. Attract new clients and retain old ones.

Client: Gensler

Role: Digital + print (and social) design

As a large, 5,000+ company, Gensler has successfully positioned itself as an industry thought leader.

Dialogue is one of the representations of that intellectual output—online, in print and in social media.

The marketing campaign is a large multi month effort during which print, web, mobile and social features are all released.

As a designer, I was involved in all segments of this campaign, though this was a true team effort.

It was also a great opportunity to collaborate across disciplines (writers, web developers, marketers, executives, etc.)

Client: Gensler Oakland

Role: Designer

A GDEA Winner, this local branded workplace gives a nod and honors Oakland’s architectural past, present and future, and acts as a catalyst for the local maker community.

The space was inspired by the local maker community, as well as the rich architectural heritage of Oakland and wider East Bay area.

The design has been featured in Office Snapshots, Inc.com, Bizjournals.com and other print and online publications.

I am currently exploring the world of 3D design, and learning to master the Adobe Dimension platform in my spare time. The possibilities are limitless, and I am just getting going!

A fictitious rebranding effort, inspired by travels to Japan, where 7/11 sells good quality, fresh food. Why not here?

The brief was to create a landing page to direct and encourage Catalant’s clients and users to download an eBook published by Catalant about building a flexible workforce.

The project was a unique opportunity to explore and reexamine Catalant’s brand, and propose new ways of looking at it, and expanding upon it.

Client: Habitot Museum

Role: Art direction and design

The client is a cherished local (Berkeley, CA) children’s museum who requested a set of posters for their temporary space.

The posters became popular, and they ended up adopting them in their permanent space as well.

The concept revolves around play, what play means to children, and how it supports their growth.

A part of my creative concept was transforming the words and expressions “healthy”, “make friends”, “joy”, etc. into visual expressions of play.

A mock Monocle publication designed in honor of a senior editor’s 70th birthday.

Client: Various

Role: Art direction, design

A collection of logos for a variety of clients I have had the pleasure to collaborate with.

A set of branded internal and external email communications.

Client: Placepost

Role: Art direction, design

The client’s vision was to create a mobile application that would use geo tagging as a way to “place post-it notes” in a variety of locations and at different times for other users to pick up as reminders, notes and other forms of communications.

The physical form and shape of a post-it note served as inspiration for the logo and graphic components of the visual system.

Client: Kyndryl

Role: Senior Designer and Art Director

Objective: Create an extensive suite of investment and financial icons for the Kyndryl Investment Group.

A branded facade of a building for a confidential client. The striped pattern gives a nod to the scientific method of spectral chemistry, in company’s brand colors. The lines represent wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation.

Client: Donau Design Studio

Role: Creative Director, Designer and Copywriter

I am the author of a children’s book that is scheduled to be published next year (2025). The book is intended for the European market.

It’s educational at its core, and intended to promote engaging conversations between parents and children on topics of the world around them, from history to geography to civics.

Client: Satori Stage

Role: Art direction, design

This co-working, gaming and performance space approached me with a request for branding and identity services.

I produced several art directions, but we ultimately settled on “plug and play”, as a nod to the business’ dual functionality of being a co-working and gaming space.

The company has utilized the deliverables both on site and online.

Client: SPUR

Role: Art direction, design

The client wished to develop an animated video explaining and promoting the need for a second transbay tunnel.

My role was to create all the graphic assets for the production of the video, and some of the animations. I also wrote the script and edited sound and music.

A fictitious film festival celebrating the work an life of Jean Pierre Jeunet.

With a lofty goal of connecting the 5,000+ people, this digital newsletter became a popular thing to read first thing in the morning. Design + copywriting.

Design Your City is a multi-channel campaign with the mission to educate and enable civic-minded residents to get actively involved in governing and designing their cities.

Client: AXIS Dance Company

Role: Art direction, design

A series of posters, email communications and environmental design for a local, Oakland based non-profit dance company employing dancers with disabilities. The diagonal line work was inspired by the name and beautiful , dynamic art of the talented dance group.

A handmade book inspired by travels to Japan.

A branded workplace for a confidential client in San Francisco.

Client: Gensler

Role: Designer

An experimental print publication. The objective was to celebrate and emphasize the beauty of the craft and materiality of design.

Experimental layouts and typography.

The client wished to evolve their brand in their new Oakland workplace. The environmental graphics leverage the organization’s history, mission and proudest achievements.

Client: Self

Role: Art direction and design

An experimental poster inspired by the song Postcards from Italy, by the artist Beirut.

Lucini Olive Oil packaging rebrand. The work was inspired by Italian farmers, agriculture and beautiful, fertile landscape.

Client: Chewing the Cud

Role: Designer

A set of seasonal letterpressed stationery pieces for a San Francisco based Chewing the Cud studio.

A book inspired by my travels. Each place I visited evoked specific emotions.

Client: Master’s Program

Role: Designer

Setting type in motion, inspired by the lyrics of Postcards from Italy by Beirut.

Client: Yana Benjamin Photography

Role: Art direction, design

A young, talented photographer approached me to create and identity system for her budding wedding photography business. The beautiful wedding shots were the inspiration for this set.

I love creating with my hands, and printing letterpressed invitations or business cards is always a pleasant break from the digital domain.