Agency: Momentum Worldwide
Client: American Express
Role: Design Director
This was a cocktail hour and dinner done to tell the story of the relaunch of the American Express Business Platinum card and how it can help your business and reward you. There were two American Express Business Platinum events. One in Pasadena and one in New York. New York took place at Blue Hill Farm and Pasadena was at The Huntington Mansion. My main focus was Pasadena. Even though I ran both for a week and a half while the other design director was out of the office. This event was a high end dinner prepared by celebrity chef David Chang, a cocktail hour, a wine tasting by Indeed, and a headshot activation powered by Adobe.
As the design director my roles and responsibilities on this event were to collaborate with the creative team to bring their conceptual ideas to life, present to the clients multiple times per week, manage my team of 3D designers, technical designers and 2D designers, work with production, fabrication, and lighting to design a beautiful event space for the attendees to enjoy their evening of drinks and a dinner cooked by Celebrity Chef David Chang. I oversaw every piece of the design of this space from lighting, to furniture, to location, to attendee flow, and even how we were going to keep everyone warm outside in November.
My team and I designed this space from the bottom up. Granted it is a beautiful location my team and I took it to the next level. As soon as the attendees arrived they knew this was a special event. We used branding and lighting to tie the valet area and path to the mansion to tie it all together with the event. Furniture and decor were modern but hinted back to the early 19th century when the mansion was built. All of the fabrication was done by Tractor Vision in LA. My team and I provided a cohesive experience from start to finish that exuded the high end look and feel of the American Express Business Platinum card.
Agency: Momentum Worldwide
Client: Walmart
Role: Design Director
Walmart Homecoming was a cross platform event that took famous musicians, Imagine Dragons, Chance The Rapper, and Kane Brown, and brought them back to their high schools. There they interviewed the teachers who made an impact on their lives and put on a concert for the students. All three concerts were put together in a one hour live streaming special hosted by Madison Bailey(Outer Banks) and Noah Schnapp(Stranger Things) complete with back to school shopable moments throughout the broadcast. Pre event we utilized Instagram and TikTok to get the word out.
My role as the Design Director on this projected ranged across the overall brand development as well as bringing that brand to life in the actual experience. I worked hand in hand with the Creative Director and the clients in order to develop a brand that was unique to the concert series but also was 100% Walmart. Once we had the brand locked down it was my job to lead our team to design the stages as well as all the on site elements that brought Walmart Homecoming to life. This involved presenting to the clients multiple times per week and working with production and the artists teams to make sure all parties were happy and on the same page.
Given the COVID-19 climate at the time we were required to adjust on the fly based on local and national regulations. In Chicago for Chance the Rapper we ended up using The House of Blues and had to design a whole other stage. The live portion of the show featuring Kane Brown, Madison, and Noah we had to cancel the crowd portion last minute due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in the area.
This was a complex project across live streaming and social media that came together beautifully and showcased how our educators truly impact us when we are young in the most positive ways.
It’s said a picture is worth a thousand words. I’m pretty sure I could write an entire book on each photo here, but I will spare you and be brief. I was the Creative Director on Dreamforce Campground 2019 for George P. Johnson. It was my job to own many parts of the show floor as well as manage, designers, art directors and 3D design. I was client facing and had to build decks, run the room in presentations, and sold ideas to the client. We didn’t just create a convention space. We created an immersive environment where attendees could come learn, network, relax, have fun and experience all Salesforce has to offer. This show is like none other. We literally create a forest with cabins and other structures. We want attendees to feel outdoors while they are indoors.
This zone requires a very diverse skill set to pull together. You have to manage a team, be the face of the agency to the client, draw in 2D and 3d, be an interior designer, graphic designer as well as think of things from a production and fabrication point of view. That is what it takes to manage 250,000sq./ft. of this project. This was the most challenging thing I have ever done. It was also the most rewarding.
Salesforce Connections 2019 took place on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago. We wanted to keep the outdoor National Park aesthetic that is Salesforce’s brand, but localize it for Chicago. The theme of Lake Life was born.
On this project I was the associate creative director in campground. I drew inspiration from anything and everything lake life related. Sailing, motor boating, fishing, paddle boarding, canoeing. campfires, National Park signs, trail markers, boardwalks, rocks, and trees. All of this was combined with the Salesforce brand to create an elegant immersive environment for attendees to network, learn, and above all enjoy themselves. I managed our team of 2D and 3D designers to achieve the goals of the client. This including putting decks together to present multiple times per week. In the end we had created a vibrant space where technology and nature met to offer an amazing experience for all attendees.
This event took place in at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January of 2019. I worked with my Executive Creative Director to come up with a unique immersive experience to this party. The event was ocean themed and as the night moved along the lights got darker and darker as if the attendees were diving deeper and deeper into the sea.
My main responsibilities on this event were as follows.
Come up with the outfits for the servers. We created a style that played off of old sailors with striped shirts.
I designed port holes in SketchUp that held photos throughout the space. It was my job to draw them and present to the client. Then once approved I worked with fabrication to figure out how to build them and light them.
All of the print work for the large format prints in the space were set up and laid out by me. We had to enlarge some lower resolution images so they would look clear and crips. How do I do it? That’s a trade secret. Again all of the placement was on me. I presented to the client and they approved.
Brainstorm and bounce ideas around with our ECD to make the experience fun and unique.
The musical guests for this were Sting and Lucas Nelson.
On this project I was the associate creative director over the entire Trailhead Zone. My boss, the creative director, and I oversaw every aspect of the space from a creative standpoint. We picked everything from the trees to the rocks, to the carpet and everything in between. We shared responsibilities of creating the floor plans, and I worked with our 3D designer for the renderings. It was my job to own my own parts of the show, put together decks that I then presented to the clients where I ran the room and sold our ideas.
The unique thing about Trailhead is that this is where the current entire look and feel of Salesforce started. We strive to create an environment that is authentic, beautiful, and conducive to learning. Attendees come to trailhead to learn and and be inspired. We used over 450 live trees, 5 running waterfalls and dozens of rocks to create an atmosphere that was true to the Salesforce brand. We did not want to just rely on digital for activations. We have trees that you can walk through and write on, trees you can hang ornaments that state what you are grateful for on, and even a Jeep to play a driving game in.
In the end Trailhead was an immersive spaces that took you to the outdoors while still being indoors. It facilitated learning, fun, and a positive experience for any attendee that entered.
My role on this show was Associate Creative Director. The CD an I collaborated across the entire experience. This was a client facing role where I presented multiple times per week.
I helped create an experience that would facilitate the clients goals of elevating customer success. We came up with ways to showcase different paths based on what the attendees needed so that it would be easily navigable and they could get all of the information they needed. Not only did I create beautiful experiences but also did the floor planning and layouts for the expo space, registration, and all of the lobby activations. I managed a team of designers, art directors, and 3D designers while interfacing with production and fabrication to bring ServiceNow Knowledge to life in 2018
In the summer of 2017 we created a beautiful immersive environment for Salesforce TrailheaDX where attendees could learn, create, and network. This event had the look and feel of a redwood national park right here in California. We used rocks and foliage from set design places in LA to tie the place together. Furnishings were modern rustic to give a vibe of a comfortable mid-century cabin in the woods.
I was the associate creative director and it was my job to manage the 3D designers, 2D designers, present weekly to the clients, put decks together, write copy, interface with production and account, as well as work hand in hand with fabrication to get things built. This was a fully client facing role where I would work hand in hand with the clients to achieve their goals.
My role for this event was onsite decorator. Given my previous experience with the Rodan + Fields brand the Sr. Creative Director wanted me to play an onsite role for this event.
I worked with the Director of Packaging at R+F on all of the displays to make sure they were up to her brand standards. In addition to merchandising and decor I created print graphics and collaborated with the team on activations such as a runway photo op that can be seen in the photos here.
Overall this event was a success the client was extremely happy and the attendees were beyond happy.
While working for Box they utilized my experience in working on conventions. They needed someone to Art Direct BoxWorks as well as the afterparty.
My first order of business was coming up with a color story for the event that would distinguish each floor from the pervious. The main pillar for this story was the BoxWorks multi color logo. From this we created a social media presence, emails, landing pages, and finally the event. This color story gave a strong narrative that attendees were able to understand because even before they got to the convention they had been experiencing it.
Once the convention was over, it was time to party. The look and feel I created for the afterparty came from two places. First it came from the BoxWorks branding. Second, since Beck was the musical act, I pulled elements of his branding. What came out was an experience that still held the looks and feel of BoxWorks, but also had an injection of fun. People new they were in for something more than just another keynote speech.
The Fog Creative worked as an art director for George P. Johnson on the Rodan + Fields (R+F) 2015 Spark Convention. This was a full environmental design job where over 9,000 consultants attended the convention. R+F wanted to engage their consultants in new and exciting ways. They also wanted to show off their new men's product line. For this new men's line, we created a barber shop in the convention center where Consultants could see the products being used after individuals had received a shave from the barbers. This was just one of many activations you can see in the photos.
It was our goal to assist Rodan + Fields in energizing their consultants to further their expertise in the products and inspire them to achieve success. Seeing the emotional reactions from the Consultants as they interacted with everything we had created was the best take away from this project.
All Photos shot by Jacqueline Huang, www.jlinestudios.com