ESTABLISHING THE LOOK AND FEEL OF ANY PROJECT, BE IT A RETAIL SPACE, AN AD, A BOOK, A MAGAZINE STORY, OR A PHOTO SHOOT, COMES DOWN TO CAPTURING THE RIGHT FEELING. IN ORDER TO DRAW IN AN AUDIENCE OR CLIENTELE AND KEEP THEM CAPTIVATED, ONE NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THE MEDIUM, AND MASTER A VISION.

CHALLENGE
When Juliska, the go-to source for high-end entertaining, decided to move its headquarters from Stamford, CT, to South Carolina during the pandemic, they needed to complete a large number of product shoots for their catalogs, website, and social media, while much of their normal set-up was in flux. In the absence of their usual team of art directors and food stylists, they needed someone who could take over all those roles. They found her (spoiler alert: it was me)!

STRATEGY
With a tight schedule and multiple product lines, I organized multiple shoots in a few locations, creating a make-shift kitchen and making much of the food myself to save time. The shoots were extremely varied in type, but we stayed on task and pushed through, often with waning light (enter photographer extraordinaire, and light magician Kyle Norton) to get the job done.

SOLUTION
A huge variety of dynamic and beautiful images that flawlessly illustrate Juliska’s ‘perfectly imperfect’ aesthetic, that are still being used on their website and instagram accounts.

CHALLENGE
Fine Cooking magazine was looking to spice up their advertorials. They needed someone who could style and direct the photo shoots (with gorgeous food created by Heather Meldrom), and be responsible for the graphic design as well.

STRATEGY
For each of the examples below (Microplane and Oatly), I created an aesthetic that went with each brand, stood apart from the editorial content in the magazine, and also became an easy-to-follow recipe page as a tear out.

SOLUTION
Both Fine Cooking and the brands were really happy with these successful advertorial campaigns.

CHALLENGE
This yearly feature is full of unique ideas for things to do in the area. But how to spice it up and make it more unique?

STRATEGY
In an effort to change a predictable format, I brought in illustrator Kathleen Godbold to inject new life, and established active categories for the ideas to fall into.

SOLUTION
An eye-catching cover which broke from the norm, and an easy-to-digest feature with fun illustrations to lead the reader through each category.

CHALLENGE
One of the best parts of being the art director of a luxury lifestyle magazine is the wide variety of photo shoots to art direct. With so much variety, the challenge is to keep creating ideas that are fresh and inviting.

STRATEGY
Lifestyle, homes, gardens, people or restaurants — creating a vision for the shoot and then working with the right photographer to establish the best mood and lighting concept, while keeping in mind the finished printed product and how the photos will be used, all must be considered.

SOLUTION
Here are a few different styles of photo shoots that I have art directed.