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Strategically minded, award-winning creative director, designer and team lead with a diverse portfolio across brand identity, digital marketing, campaign identity, product design, experiential hospitality and interiors. Proven success leading high performing teams, driving innovation and delivering highly impactful results for industry-leading creative studios and brands, including a decade with Google and YouTube.
I help brands, agencies, startups, entrepreneurs and local businesses I admire.
I have been working with Google for many years independently and collaboratively as Team Lead, during my time at Toaster, the agency I co-founded and led to global growth over the course of ten years. Delivering a kaleidoscope of modern brand and product marketing campaigns, videos, websites, visual identities and events across EMEA, APAC and USA. Projects spanned many audience segments and cultures including B2B, B2C, art, science, music, film, education, politics, entrepreneurship, gaming and content creation. Entertaining, inspiring, and energising behavioural change. The adoption of new technologies, software and hardware, across various spheres of society.
Ultimately reminding the world what they love about Google, in the pursuit of a better web - better world.
Google Ads EMEA Campaign Roll out
Recently I’ve been helping Google on a freelance basis rolling out an EMEA campaign for it’s ad platform across social channels. Pushing the creative further, writing copy and working on the design through to final execution. Blending strategy, creative and design is what I enjoy and what clients come back time and time again for.
YouTube Gaming Creator Comms*
How do we engage and best support the creator community on YouTube. Working with the YouTube Creator Comms team we produced a comprehensive content strategy which included a series of short videos using supplied illustration guidelines. We wrote scripts storyboarded a range of videos including tips and tricks video and a short animated celebration of the year in gaming content all aimed at recognising, inspiring and rewarding the community. Shout out to Cub Studio for realising our animated vision.
#Creative Direction #Copywriting #Art Direction #Content Strategy
Google - The Legends Family Adventure*
How do we educate children how to navigate the internet safely? We produced a range of creative routes across differing budgets ultimately gaining approval to invest in the strongest idea. Enabling us to appoint Aardman Animations (of Wallace and Gromit fame). The Legends Family Adventure is a three-part animated series from Google that follows a family of Internauts on an epic online safety adventure. Join them on their search for a missing teddy bear – and learn how to dodge phishers, cyberbullies, and hackers along the way!
Help Google hire the best graduates
How do we inspire the next generation of innovators, engineers, problem solvers in Tech? With a clever creative wrapper, inspiring, challenging copywriting that stirs curiosity and a visual approach that made Google stand out in the crowded graduate recruitment marketplace. Roll out across recruitment marketing microsite, exhibition materials, digital and printed materials.
ZOMA for Eight Inc
Can we reinvent the airport terminal retail, food and beverage model and create a more memorable experience in a world of mundane airport lounges? Reflecting the key cultural experiences of Zanzibar working alongside the amazing team at Eight Inc we produced ZOMA. An award winning experiential interior, naming, brand identity, marketing proposition, signage for a mixed use lifestyle destination in Zanzibar Airport’s departure lounge.
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Awards
Cannes Lions x3
D&AD x2
Creative Review Annual - Best in Book
FWA Site of the Day x3
Tomorrow Awards Winner
Revolution Marketing Awards
Webby Awards Nominated
See if Ai can learn basic principles of design*
A number of years before the rise of Ai image generators. Together with some clever technologists at Toaster we explored the possibilities of building a platform to train a machine learning app the basic principles of design (symmetry, contrast, balance, rhythm, pattern, white space etc). In an early attempt to share some of what we’re taught in Art College with the dumb ass bots.
Read more about it here.
How do we challenge the best software engineers in the world to work for Google?
“bar” and “foo” are terms used by software engineers as a placeholder for a value that can change, depending on conditions. These formed the name and identity for a special lab project for Google’s recruitment marketing team aimed at engaging with engineers in their language - code. A series of hidden easter eggs built into Google Search queries for complex coding challenges which awarded those curious enough with an interview with Google.
Read more about it here.
YouTube Space Lab*
Creative Ideation, design and roll out of a global digital campaign aimed at inspiring the next generation of space scientists through a global competition ultimately launching kids science experiments into space aboard the international space station.
Crowdsource a global cinematic
experiment for YouTube & Ridley Scott
Life in a Day celebrated the ability of the internet and specifically YouTube to capture the events of one day from millions of people from around the world. During my time in Google Creative Lab I helped gain stakeholder approval, developed the campaign concept and treatment, a global digital campaign across the GDN, YouTube and PR activations, overseeing an interactive YouTube channel produced by RehabStudio. Winning a Cannes Lion for our efforts.
Help launch a film festival for the rest of us
Global digital campaign aimed at indie film makers and raising the profile of YouTube. Shifting he perception towards YouTube as a premier destination for quality film content, supporting breakthrough directors providing them with an entry into the film industry.
Next Director Award for D&AD*
D&AD represents global creative, design and advertising communities and celebrates brilliance in commercial creativity. To help launch a specific award for emerging talent we produced this identity, idents and social media campaign assets.
Google Careers Website*
How can we demystify life behind the scenes at Google and attract the right candidates. With carefully curated stories and photography that captures the people behind the magic showcased within the journey of the application process from the very beginning. This comprehensive refresh of Google’s front face of their recruitment process involving multiple senior stakeholders. UX, UI, visual redesign and art direction.
Your Everyday Drive for Toyota*
“How can we use the latest digital technology on the web to help alleviate range anxiety associated with electric cars” this experiential website dynamically generated a hyperlapse of ‘your everyday drive’ by harvesting Google StreetView imagery whilst simultaneously calculating the fuel economy, co2 emissions and cost savings in a Toyota Prius Plug-In.
Roundhouse for Google*
Naming and identity for a corporate hospitality space which hosts digital transformation seminars within Google’s Singapore office.
Google Adsense Social Media Campaign Toolkit*
Campaign toolkit for the Google AdSense team to deploy across their social media accounts over a 12 week period. We called it ‘Draw The Crowds’.
Reopen the Rock Pool
How can we help save a ninety year old swimming pool from closure? A place where countless generations have learned to swim. Our response was to get the next generation involved. A personal project in progress for a place close to my heart and under threat of permanent closure. For nearly ninety years the people of Newcastle have benefitted from a fresh seawater swimming pool. A truly iconic destination enabling a safe place to swim during the summer months be the tide in or out. Part awareness campaign - part art project. This work aims to drum up support for a cherished local gem for generations to come! @reopentherockpool
Archived selected works…
*Archive Works as Toaster, Produced by the Toaster team, alongside
valued external partners during my role as Executive Creative Director & Designer
Toaster is a independent digital creative agency initially embedded within Google Creative Lab. Trusted and tasked by Google and YouTube to innovate and influence the digital marketing industry landscape through pioneering work for their entire ecosystem of brands, products and services. Produced highly effective, award winning work often used as benchmarks in the digital marketing industry. Ultimately driving behavioural change and the adoption of new technologies - for everyone. Expanding its client base beyond Google to include Grab, D&AD Awards, Ridley Scott Associates, Toyota, Unilever, Pringles, Amnesty International, Lenovo, Emirates, Nasa, Android, Novartis Red Bull and many more.
Accomplishments, as part of the Toaster team, include company formation, naming, ethos, vision and strategy, identity, design, marketing, leading award winning creative output, hiring, talent management, business development, client partnerships, innovation and lab projects and responding to the need for the Toaster offering in overseas markets, building teams and driving their growth in each region. Ultimately building one of the most innovative digital creative agencies comprised of 100 awesome individuals. Helping Google, YouTube and it's ecosystem of brands since 2010.
Brand Identity
Art Direction
Digital Design
User Experience
User Interface
Creative Direction
Ad Campaigns
Social Media Content Creation
Tech driven Ads
Experiential Websites
Experiential Interior Design
Brand Guardianship
Way-finding & Signage
Architectural Graphics
The Rock Shop
In response to many people asking for prints of The Rock Pool I’ve set up a simple shop. Orders are fulfilled by a commercial printer who produce stunning, colour-perfect giclée prints, using the very latest technology - Click here to buy now
Awards:
Cannes Lions x3
D&AD x2
Creative Review Annual - Best in Book
FWA Site of the Day x3
Tomorrow Awards Winner
Revolution Marketing Awards
Webby Awards Nominated