Creativity Explored
I established the online presence, directed marketing and community-building initiatives, and developed products and programs for San Francisco’s beloved Creativity Explored arts collective during its growth from a local art studio to a paragon in the field of art and disability. For almost 40 years, Creativity Explored has offered life-changing programs championing the human right of creative expression.
As it grew from a local treasure to a more well-known presence, I developed a colorful brand and visual language that conveyed Creativity Explored’s big heart and joyful spirit, highlighting its exuberant, multidisciplinary artwork and its diverse studio artists and staff.
Over a period of 10 years, guided by in-depth user research and testing, I directed the expansion of the Creativity Explored website into an online destination that inspired the community and became a backbone of support for the organization.
I developed the architecture, interface, and design of the website and crafted its written and visual content. In addition to providing easy-to-understand organization and navigation, the site invited exploration and discovery by allowing visitors to click on any visual element to learn more. This mirrored the experience of an in-person visit to the gallery and studio, where well-presented programs and exhibits mix with with a ‘what treasures will you find?’ feeling of adventure.
An online gallery and artist directory allowed fans and collectors to get to know the unique artists working at CE, artist blogs enabled them to stay on top of the latest news from the studio, and event calendars made it easy to attend in-person events.
I produced content for the website, social media, and email marketing initiatives to keep the community informed and involved whether they lived down the street or on the other side of the world.
These initiatives expanded CE’s network into a devoted worldwide community of art lovers, collectors, patrons, and partners, inspired and magnetized by the love and joyful expression of the artists and organization.
I helped Creativity Explored develop its successful artwork licensing program, which enables product designers, fashion designers, architects, and others to license CE artwork for their products and projects.
Bringing together an online directory of licensable artwork and a gallery of sample uses with an expert professional art services team, the licensing program has become a key element of the long-term sustainability of the organization.
Through its licensing program, Creativity Explored has worked with partners including CB2, COMME des GARÇONS, Cisco Home, Recchiuti Confections, REAL Skateboards, Google, David Baker Architects, Mercy Housing, and more.
Using the artist’s hand-drawn artwork and text, I created the layout and design of Michael Bernard Loggins’ Fears of Your Life hardcover book, which was featured on NPR’s This American Life, excerpted in Harper’s Magazine and The Oprah Magazine, and adapted for the stage at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
