New Money
The narrative around what is good or bad credit is primarily driven by traditional banking institutions threatened by market disruption. Afterpay was suffering from negative misperceptions fuelled by these institutions - the classic old guard don’t like the new guard.
Embracing this competitive dynamic, I co-directed and co-wrote across the Old Money Doesn’t Like The Way New Money Works campaign. We showed the hypocrisy of incumbent “fat cats” and their reasons for fearing Afterpay.
Summer Daze
Anyone who's lived through a London winter understands the transformative power of that first perfect summer day. After months of relentless grey, the sun finally breaks through and anything feels possible.
This moment became the creative foundation for Clearpay's first custom campaign. I developed the copy and co-directed the creative execution, holding on to the belief that at every touch point, even a trade message can be charming.
Climate Positivity
I am not an optimist but when I see some of the research at University of Technology Sydney, I feel a glimmer of hope. There are people here finding novel ways to meaningfully reduce landfill, to avoid the use of petrochemicals, and pull research out of the isolation of laboratories into industry.
For the University of Technology Sydney I spent time getting to know the complex detail of research projects, then turned their technicalities into compelling narratives for the City of Sydney and the Australian Government for funding and advocacy.
Public Places
Truly public places are endangered species; libraries may be the only remaining version of them.
The Alexander Library Building in Perth is a stunningly beautiful though tired home for The State Library of Western Australia, the State Records Office, and more. Its requests for funding had been denied until it could offer up a compelling vision for what its funding would be used for.
I wrote the vision for the building, ideating on its commercial viability, its context within a competitive cultural precinct, and the relevance of public infrastructure.
Theory and Practice
Molonglo is arguably Australia’s most creatively ambitious property developer. It’s interested in genuinely leaving places better than they’re found, and in understanding development not only in terms of buildings but also communities, stories, and ideas.
As Head of Communications I articulated complex visions for new buildings and neighbourhoods, gave Molonglo a public identity, helped secure the world’s best architects, and built credibility within an industry where it is hard to earn trust.
Make A Good Hood
Most public consultation is lip service. Admirably, Molonglo (an Australian property developer) were keen to be more genuine.
Make Good Neighbourhood became the public exhibition and series of events on neighbourhood building generally, but also a forum for community input into the future of a new neighbourhood in Canberra named Dairy Road. It sought to better understand the wants and needs of all Canberrans by having as many conversations as possible.
I co-designed the exhibition, managed its execution, and documented its learnings.
Permanent Vacation
PHH is a 29-room hotel inserted into a historic distribution centre in Sydney. Its owners wanted a brand that permeated everything - from its fit out to how we would offer room service, to staff uniforms and reinventing the booking process.
As Brand Lead I launched this project into the world and, being a niche team, touched everything, from staff induction to executing photography that secured coverage in Vogue, Dezeen, and the New York Times.
First Dance
In early 2018, Australia had just legalised same sex marriage and Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras was celebrating its 40th anniversary. Apple’s iconic Taylor Square billboards were primed for something more poignant than another global Shot on iPhone campaign.
Mardi Gras is a party and the creative reflected that. iPhone became the wedding photographer at the first same sex wedding celebrations post-legalisation. As lead Creative Strategist I wrote the articulation of the opportunity, guided creative, and co-ran stakeholder management.
Close Your Rings
I collaborated on the strategic positioning for Apple Watch as part of Media Arts Lab's global special projects team. We shifted it from a broad market positioning to a focus on health and wellbeing.
My work involved uncovering authentic product insights, global testing, distilling features to their most compelling elements, copywriting, and developing a differentiated strategy for entering a competitive and cynical health technology market.
Read More. Live Better.
Monocle Magazine has been an enduring publication on business and culture. Though I assumed its lifestyle angle made it “soft”, when I joined as a contributor it was impressive to see how it pulled off some rather serious journalism all the while remaining committed to rare high-quality production, fact checking, and design.
I covered stories in London and back home in Australia ranging from sports to media and hospitality.