Here’s the short version of what I do: 1. I’m well-rounded so I can make stuff happen, alone or on a team; 2. I love PowerPoint (and know you probably hate it); 3. I’m a fast, fun, hands-on, low-ego leader.
And the long one: A writer-strategist-marketer-storyteller-designer with over 20 years of experience on the client and agency sides, I’ve been both a creative director and brand strategist who can work well and fit in with teams of writers, designers, developers, strategists, and more, working with clients ranging from big names like Discover, HP, Samsung, and IHG Hotels to small startups. My focus on B2B integrated campaigns and branding has given me valuable insights into vertical markets, sales channels, digital media, and more. But my love of all things analog keeps me grounded (and constantly looking for ways to combine digital with IRL).
But to live up to my well-roundedness, I’m always expanding my horizons beyond B2B to include a wider net of brands and media. And I’ve been trending closer and closer to data-driven creativity, even developing and implementing my own process for naming clients’ products and services. And my always-improving design skills (and printer parents) have grown into a fun side hustle.
I’m known for my love of lists & infographics, my extensive trivia knowledge, and my thick Wisconsin accent (even though I haven’t lived there since 2003).
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Diners Club, a brand built over 70 years as a luxury travel and dining payments brand - the first charge card in the world, in fact, was losing relevancy in a world full of newer, more tech-forward payment methods. And as the onset of COVID brought both travel and dining to a screeching halt, the brand was under threat like never before. Not to mention, it operates in a franchise model, with different campaigns going on simultaneously around the world at any given time.
We took this opportunity to step back and reevaluate the brand purpose, putting Diners Club at the center of belonging and togetherness, whether our Clubmembers were close to home or far away. Working together with key franchise partners from every region, we developed, socialized, and brought to life Diners Club’s new platform: Together Belong.
When I was with FCB, our key role as Discover’s digital AOR covered a lot of ground. From building toolkits and UI guidelines to executing direct-to-consumer emails campaigns for both the credit card side of the business and the lesser-known bank side, we ran the gamut. And we tested a lot of different methods: email type and frequency, campaign landing page elements, social media platforms, in-app cross-selling, and more.
Using social as an acquisition tool for the breadth of the Discover Bank offering opened the door to a wide variety of creative concepts. We spoofed dating apps to target a younger, not-as-savvy Cashback Debit audience. We explored FOMO to attract new Online Savings Account customers. And we used graphs (in a fun way!) to highlight the no-brainer benefits of Discover CDs.
A group of former (and current) professional basketball players approached TinyWins with a vision: to revolutionize athlete representation through a player-run agency that prioritizes athlete development over (just) big checks. Our challenge was to craft a brand identity that could resonate with a new generation of athletes while embodying the founders’ passion and authentic approach to representation.
We began by developing a brand strategy that positioned FreeGame as a disruptive force in athlete representation—one that emphasizes authenticity, transparency, and athlete autonomy. This foundation informed every aspect of our creative approach, from visual design to messaging.
The visual identity system we created centered on three core principles:
Raw Authenticity: We introduced hand-scanned textures and torn paper elements to bring a tactile, human quality to the brand. These imperfect elements serve as a deliberate contrast to the typically polished, corporate world of sports agencies, reinforcing FreeGame’s commitment to genuine relationships and real human connections. We also brought in the line “own your own game” as both a philosophy for athletes and as a literal mandate: each new athlete FreeGame signs will sign their name and the word “Game,” adding each athlete’s “Game” to the brand identity.
Dynamic Identity System: The primary logotype and logomark were designed with strength and clarity to reflect FreeGame’s mission to provide direction and guidance. This included a clean, adaptable primary logo, personalized game signatures, and a logomark that translates across applications.
Visual Movement: Understanding that athletes live in a world of motion (especially now when social media, NIL, and the transfer portal make the sports industry immensely complicated and always moving), we incorporated dynamic elements throughout the brand system. We included motion design principles, energetic photo and video direction, and versatile design elements that work across digital and analog touchpoints.
Finally, we brought everything together into a sleek, dynamic, and player-centered website — the final step in positioning FreeGame as a revolutionary force in athlete representation with a brand experience as personal and genuine as the service itself.
A leader in executive search, Diversified Search Group expanded the breadth and depth of their services through several large acquisitions. As they approached their 50 year anniversary, they knew it was time to embrace their acquired offerings as one entity with a consistent name and an updated digital experience. Our challenge was to modernize the DSG brand, from name to website, without alienating their legacy.
After creating a brand strategy they could rally around, we helped further forge their identity by leading with the DSG acronym and adding “Global” to accentuate their broad reach. While each service dropped their legacy logo, we color coded them to maintain their differentiation.
We also updated the logo, with the most distinctive feature being the arrow hidden within the “G”. This arrow symbolizes progress, direction, and the pursuit of excellence, which are central to DSG Global’s philosophy. Paired with new vertical line and gradient elements, this strengthens trajectory of growth and success that DSG offers to its clients by harnessing the innate talent and capabilities of the individuals they place and acts as a visual representation of the journey towards excellence.
Finally, with strategy, messaging, and brand guidelines locked in, we built, developed, enhanced, and launched the DSG | Global web experience. All in time for their big 5-0. In the end we were able to create a strong cohesive brand with a clear purpose to find leaders fit for the future.
United Technologies had just completed a $30 billion acquisition of Rockwell Collins, resulting in the largest aerospace supplier ever: Collins Aerospace. The two merging parties worked with Iris to build their new brand. Having recently launched another United Technologies brand (Otis Elevator Company), we were poised to give Collins a strong identity that, like Otis’ brand, honored a long legacy but embraced a promising future.
In an industry where blue skies, distorted angles and over-designed renderings reigned, Collins opted for the opposite: minimalism. Almost all of what Collins produces is complicated – they make nearly everything that goes inside a plane, after all – so a sleek, stark brand helped eschew the complexity and instead show the massive emotional impact of aerospace on the world.
Directing creative projects for Aon was exciting and challenging, bringing trending tactics like VR and interactive online content to a large corporation and making waves with bold creative that’s integrated across multiple touchpoints. Our BMA B2 award-winning “Navigate Your World” campaign ran throughout the years and continued to the next. Here, you’ll see how our engaging virtual reality experience and how it brought our mountain-based journey concept to life and was supported by more traditional tactics.
Otis, the company that brought us the elevator back in the 1850s, came to us to help us take their iconic legacy brand into the 21st century (while smartly paying homage to their historical significance and presence in some of the world’s most important buildings).
We strategically focused first on digging into Otis’ true north (what we call the Passionate Purpose), which then led to branding concepts, guidelines, and, ultimately, a new Otis. My role in this exercise was strategic and creative at once, helping to bridge the gap and direct initial concepts while finding ways that each concept’s strengths ended up in the final look & feel.
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