EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN AND WORK
I am obsessed with placemaking and have a passion for storytelling through authentic design that resonates with the audience, enhancing their sense of place. I love to surround myself with beauty and connect with people in thoughtfully designed spaces.
Throughout my career, I’ve emphasized and executed experiential work from brand activations to campaign extensions.
I’m driven by the desire to create spaces where the environment itself becomes a destination—mutualistic of the space’s intention.
It has long been a dream of mine to design urban oasis parks—spaces that go beyond the traditional park by providing a multi-purpose public realm design as a transformative space.
Recently, I arranged a layover in Singapore, allowing me to check off two more places on my bucket list. In just six hours, I managed to visit the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Jewel Changi Airport, both designed by architect Moshe Safdie. These architectural masterpieces are unforgettable experiences. They engage all your senses and completely immerse you in beauty. Their energy is palpable, and this is the kind of work I dream of being part of creating.
CASE STUDY OF SHINOLA 6-MONTH POP-UP STORE:
While not on the same scale as what I experienced in Singapore, one of my favorite examples of experiential work I've led or been part of was managing a six-month pop-up store on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. When I heard Shinola was coming to KC, I immediately wanted to get involved. The opportunity to work directly with their Executive Creative Director, Daniel Caudill, was something I couldn’t pass up.
Our pop-up was Shinola’s second retail space after opening their flagship store in Detroit just a few months earlier. As a luxury brand new to the KC market, we faced the challenge of earning consumer trust and confidence. This meant that the build-out, visual merchandising, and any marketing or PR events needed to be perfectly executed. This was the first time I fully embraced the "create a moment" concept, ensuring every aspect of the space was cohesive and impactful.
One memorable moment was a PR event we organized at Weinberger fine art during First Fridays in KC, a week before our store's grand opening. Armed with a Shinola bicycle and a case of our stunning watches, we handed out Shinola-branded cola and bottle openers to gallery-goers. This gave us a 30-second window to tell our story and promote the store's opening the following week.
OTHER EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN IDEAS AND DESIGN EXECUTIONS FROM MY CAREER:
SILVER CUP STUDIOS: Occasional freelance production art for various TV sets.
CODY CRITCHELOE AND SSION, JAIMIE WARREN AND WHOOP DEE DOO, PEGGY NOLAND: Assisted in building immersive installation art for gallery shows, a TV show, a retail store, and a runway show in NYC during NY Fashion Week.
FOXTAIL PRESS: Designed, art-directed, and built trade show booths and photoshoot sets, including all collateral marketing materials.
FOOT TRAFFIC: Designed, art-directed, and built holiday market booths and photoshoot sets, including all collateral marketing materials.
MILTON: Planned, designed, and art-directed our product launch party, orchestrated, and art-directed photoshoots, including all collateral marketing materials.
HALLMARK: Pitched the idea of partnering with a hotel chain to build a collection of Hallmark movie-themed boutique hotels to Darren Abbot, the President of Creative at Hallmark, Inc.
DESTINATION ANN ARBOR: Art-directed, designed, and created animated ads for display on EV charging stations, promoting an upcoming Plastic Bag Store art installation in Ann Arbor.
ESSENTIAL COSTA RICA: Pitched a brand activation event for our Canadian market: "World Cup of Coffee" – a barista coffee-making competition sponsored by Essential Costa Rica and featuring Costa Rican coffee. This event would coincide with the World Cup to promote Costa Rica as a travel destination and highlight the new non-stop flights from Canada to Costa Rica.
VISIT KC: Pitched several brand activation events, including:
A fleet of heart-shaped hot air balloons adorned with Charlie Hustle’s KC heart logo to give rides over KC during the Chief’s Super Bowl parade, offering spectacular views of downtown.
Peloton tours of KC.
Marching Cobra parades in target cities, culminating in a pop-up summer block party series called ‘Little Kansas City’ to raise awareness of KC as a travel destination.