Role: Creative Director, Curatorial Direction & Production Lead
Scope: Visual Identity · Print & Digital Design · Systems Thinking · Campaign Infrastructure · Environmental Design
Impact
• Unified visual system supporting 300+ artists across print and digital
• Delivered 90+ assets under tight timelines via scalable templates and workflows
• Streamlined intake and delivery systems
• Positioned Marin Open Studios for sustainable, repeatable campaign success in future seasons
Overview
Marin Open Studios is a nonprofit arts organization that produces an annual open studios event showcasing the work of 300+ Bay Area artists.
In 2025, I led a comprehensive brand refresh and campaign redesign—including the 40+ page Tour Guide, 30+ campaign materials, and 20+ assets for a new fundraising event. As Creative Director and Production Lead, I introduced modular systems and scalable workflows that enabled a small team to deliver a consistent, high-quality experience across all public-facing touchpoints.
Challenge
Marin Open Studios relied on legacy materials and manual systems that made production inefficient and time-consuming.
With a high volume of artwork, artist bios, and event details to manage—under tight deadlines—the team needed a modernized brand system and tools that would scale with future campaigns.
The challenge: Refresh the visual identity while introducing scalable production systems to streamline design, improve accuracy, and increase speed.
Solution
A cohesive design system and workflow overhaul turned a fragmented process into a repeatable model for seasonal campaigns.
Brand Identity Refresh
→ Developed an editorial layout system and updated typographic standards rooted in the organization’s legacy color palette and community tone.
→ Developed an editorial layout system and updated typographic standards rooted in the organization’s legacy color palette and community tone.
Design Systems
→ Built scalable templates for layout, proofing, and delivery—enabling faster production across signage, guides, web, and social.
→ Built scalable templates for layout, proofing, and delivery—enabling faster production across signage, guides, web, and social.
Workflow Optimization
→ Shifted artist intake to digital forms and implemented a shared asset tracker to reduce crunch cycles and improve content accuracy.
→ Shifted artist intake to digital forms and implemented a shared asset tracker to reduce crunch cycles and improve content accuracy.
Creative Execution
→ Led hands-on design from concept to press, aligning all visual decisions with board input and legacy brand guidelines.
→ Led hands-on design from concept to press, aligning all visual decisions with board input and legacy brand guidelines.
Community Engagement
→ Collaborated with staff and board to ensure accessible, inclusive storytelling that resonated across venues and audiences.
→ Collaborated with staff and board to ensure accessible, inclusive storytelling that resonated across venues and audiences.
Deliverables
40+ page Tour Guide (print and digital)
Designed, laid out, and produced for both print and digital formats to serve as the campaign’s primary artifact.
Signage, ads, maps, and web banners
Created a comprehensive set of campaign materials to promote the event across digital and physical channels.
90+ visual assets for campaign and event promotion
Developed and delivered creative for social media, email, and venue-based promotions under tight seasonal timelines.
Artist intake forms and shared asset tracking system
Introduced Google Forms-based submission and a centralized tracker to streamline content collection and reduce production friction.
Visual templates for future seasons
Built a reusable design system with editorial and layout standards to enable future teams to scale with consistency and efficiency.
Benefit for Art: Immersive Gala Design
Conceived and directed a fully immersive visual identity and spatial storytelling experience for the 2025 Benefit for Art Gala—a fundraising event for Marin Open Studios. Centered around the theme “Local Treasures,” the event transformed a historic former bank—now operated by the Sausalito Center for the Arts—into a multi-room, exhibit-style experience using environmental graphics, game-based installations, and custom artwork.
I developed the event’s core narrative and visual language, then led design and production of over 30 touchpoints, including:
• Custom-illustrated signage, menus, and bar collateral
• Interactive game stations such as Pick-a-Treasure and Wine Pull with branded signage and theming
• Large-format entrance banners and room-specific visual cues
• Invitations, projection visuals, and sponsor recognition assets
• Custom-illustrated signage, menus, and bar collateral
• Interactive game stations such as Pick-a-Treasure and Wine Pull with branded signage and theming
• Large-format entrance banners and room-specific visual cues
• Invitations, projection visuals, and sponsor recognition assets
The design system unified every element—from printed materials to spatial layout—into a cohesive guest experience that blended storytelling, community engagement, and celebration of local arts. The result was a brand-driven environment that functioned as a temporary exhibition, guiding 200+ guests through a curated and mission-aligned journey.
Results
Systematized Design for a Grassroots Art Movement
• Elevated the public-facing identity and strengthened MOS’s brand consistency
• Reduced manual coordination through digital systems and modular templates
• Enabled rapid production of assets with improved quality and consistency
• Increased operational efficiency for staff, board, and volunteers
• Positioned Marin Open Studios for scalable, strategic campaigns in 2026 and beyond
Let’s build what’s next
I partner with brands, cultural organizations, and creative teams to bring bold ideas to life—through thoughtful identity systems that scale, content that connects, and campaigns people remember.
