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As Graphic Design and Multimedia Specialist of the Corporate Affairs and HR Team, my duties revolved around the production, management and scheduling of all Design Projects for the Internal Communications Design Studio.

I had the opportunity of working on a multitude of different projects and campaigns, cross collaborating with colleagues and business units across the company.

These are some of the key projects that I worked on from designing a heritage book to revamping a podcast, developing a quarterly consumer report to building a brand new internal communications platform and producing event assets to creating a litany of logos.

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Irish Ferries – Epic Sale Campaign 2016

[Created Concept x Artwork Design x ART Direction x Finished Art]

Irish Ferries requested a new idea for their ‘Epic Sale’ campaign where they offered up to 50% on selected routes. They wanted something loud that was going to amplify the scale of the offer so it was crucial that the visual was striking. I produced the initial idea of personifying the word ‘sale’ as a ship coming in to dock to make the offer the forefront of the overall design and this eventually graduated into a visualisation of the offer instead in the same manner. A key part to the design concept was to create space when it came to finished art by combining both the offer and the product image into one piece. A rather hasty turnover was required so I oversaw all additional repurposing of the design and artwork from press, to print and even to digital display. The idea was very successful generating great sales boosts during that particular summer and creating a strong online presence. To read further about the concept development of this project.

Collaborating with a copywriter in Javelin, I developed the Student Campaign for KBC Bank titled ‘The Bank You Choose’ in 2017. KBC were searching for a new way to make their brand accessible to young college students, so our primary task develop a tone and visual that resonated with them. We concluded that for students, college is a time when a world of possibilities stretches out ahead; where they are free to carve their own path and not make the same embarrassing mistakes as their parents. It was imperative to choose the ideal decade style for visual reference and the 1980’s was the perfect match. I tackled the art direction by taking an old-school graphic and photographic approach, showing the errors in judgement our parents made when they were of student age- haircuts, fashion, movie taste and music taste etc, suggesting perhaps you shouldn’t follow in their footsteps in every way.

KBC approved the idea out of five that we presented and it went into production across all social and online platforms. It was rolled out through a carefully considered social strategy and an array of digital display ads. The content generated high levels of engagement on Facebook and with website click throughs from banner ads. Above all, the annual campaign saw an increase of 17% in subscriptions for KBC versus the previous year.

Bacardi – Casa Bacardi Live 2017

[storyboarded x directed x edited]

Bacardi presented us with a brief to create a social strategy and huge batch of social content to go along with it, all to enhance the online presence of the Casa Bacardi festival campaign. The campaign provided me with an opportunity to do something different as they were putting a lot into what they wanted as a unique online presence with innovative ideas. With host Kelly Anne Byrne, we invited a plethora of guests from DJs, to promoters and world renowned bartenders for interviews, live DJ sets and cocktail demonstrations. I worked on the concept development stage of this project and directed all the shoots and live set recordings, aswell as editing the final videos and overseeing the live streaming of each finished piece. Each of the videos were release with an interactive parallel by hiding answers within videos and posting competition questions during live streams of the videos which hugely boosted engagement, reach and overall performance.

Casillero Del Diablo – ‘2020 Digital Campaign’

*Awarded ‘facebook brand by agency’ at 2020 sockies

[Concept X Art Direction X Production]

‘#Legendarynightin With James Kavanagh’

As people socially distance, usual treats like restaurant dining and the fun atmosphere it brings are some of the luxuries people will begin to miss. As a result, we want people to bring the vibrancy of the restaurant into their own kitchens and create a nice meal for themselves with their friends over video chat, all enjoyed with a glass of Casillero del Diablo. The idea was to encourage people to be creative with their time as they socially distance, as well as remember that it’s not only important to look after yourself, but also try and find positivity and enjoyment amidst global anxiety.

James Kavanagh will walk the viewers through a step by step guide on how to create some that’s easy to cook, with easy ingredients to source all the while feeling like a fancy restaurant dinner. He will also offer a call to action to encourage people to stay home, enjoy time with friends over video chat with a glass of wine, as well as explain the competition mechanic to win a prize.

We encouraged people to create their own restaurant meals, cook along and eat dinner with their friends over video chatting. Then simply like, follow @casillerodeldiablo_ire and share to be in with the chance of winning a hamper for them and their friends when they no longer have to practise social distancing.

Toyota – ‘Better Toyota Club’ App

[Concept X Design X Strategy]

Toyota strive to be number one for innovation in their industry, always trying to stay one step ahead. They back numerous innovation projects every year using their products in an attempt to assist those people in difficult situations. Everything from Wifi hub Land Cruisers in the Outback of Australia where there is no signal to developing a device to help the vision impaired walk. Toyota wanted us to channel our creativity and produce an innovation project in 2018 as they looked for a different angle. I was presented with the opportunity of working on the concept that Javelin pitched.

Working alongside another art director, we created the ‘Better Toyota Club’. An app powered by Toyota that would assist the elderly and disadvantaged individuals in need of transport. Toyota would generate a database of volunteer drivers and user profiles. People in need of a lift, whether it be to the hospital, back to nursing home or even a spin down to post office, could request assistance to nearby registered drivers via the app. I helped develop the concept and then worked on the design of the app for mobile. Above is a mockup of the interface I designed for the application. The key to the design, and considering the average demographic of users, was simplicity. A large tiled button format of your regular destinations, simple branding, and an easy to navigate structure. Unfortunately the project never reached production stages as Toyota were already involved in seven innovation projects that year, but they have signalled intentions of revisiting the idea later in 2019.

Barbiere Barbers & Frank Keane Mini – ‘The Italian Job’ PR Stunt Launch Video 2017

[Concepted X Storyboarded x Shot x Edited]

Six hours, three minis, one barbers. This was the launch video for a huge campaign I co-concepted and co-produced with a talented colleague and friend Joe Roche. On a budget of €1000, we shot a launch video, branded up 3 minis, dressed and prepped 3 drivers and created a litany of sponsored social content and PR releases. The mechanic was simple; Need a haircut? Post a photo of your dodgy do on social media and tag Barbiere & Frank Keane. Customers who engaged would be collected by one of our branded Mini fleet and whizzed over to the Barbers for a master haircut and full treatment. They would then be whisked back to work via the Mini’s, looking fresh and ready for the day. We generated enormous digital attention, which drove up both clients online presence significantly. Barbiere’s Twitter & Facebook followings increased by over 700% collectively and furthermore, Frank Keane’s social post engagement increased by 31%.

I produced this video piece posted below for the launch of the ‘Italian Job’ campaign for Barbiere and Frank Keane Mini. We idealised visions of old Mini Coopers driving through the countryside to Quincy Jones soundtrack for the original Italian Job movie, on route to get a cut. Through various storyboards, moodboards and rationales that I created, my partner Joe and I agreed on a concept with the client for the video. We executed a video with the style and character of our initial vision, whilst executing the brief at hand and informing potential customers of the upcoming event/PR stunt. I shot and edited the video alongside the help of Director Paul Campbell who came on board for the video aspect of the project. When finished and released, the work got incredible reach and was shared multiple times across various platforms with several online press coverage pieces written.

Fosters – Tasty Videos – The Perfect Cocktail

[Art Direction X Production]

Fosters is a brand i’ve worked on and off with throughout 2018, assisting in ideas and production of video content for their social calendar. Video production is the more prominent role when it came to this brand, where I provided everything from camera operating to editing and sound design. I also brought ideas to the table when required, including the piece shown above. This was one of a few concepts I developed for Fosters as further content for their social calendar. From the initial brief, Fosters were keen to generate fresh content that steered away from the stereotypes of their brand. Whilst still emulating their no nonsense mantra, I delivered humour through a different avenue. I was able to establish a more visually engaging style by exploring new ways of harnessing the angle comedy they strived for.

Through some research I discovered that ‘Tasty’ style videos as they are known, are the most watched videos on the internet, period. They are the most engaging, simple, visually attractive and informative pieces out there and I wanted to play on that visual appeal. I created a batch of Tasty vids for Fosters that lured the viewer into a false sense of satisfaction, only to immediately interrupt the ritual with the product and that familiar Fosters humour. I devised this idea, shot it, edited the final cuts and storyboarded them for motion graphics post production.

Brand concept and logo for International Symposium on Equine Reproduction 2024.

[Concept X Illustration X Branding X Product Design]

The talent committee representing Ireland’s bid to host the International Symposium for Equestrian Reproduction presented me with challenge to create a brand identity for their campaign. Their main request was to incorporate some homage to the subject at hand, whilst rooting the design in Irish heritage and culture.

I took an approach with the bio-equestrian graphic of drawing in long interlacing celtic curves with the lines meandering to common point. The arching bends throughout are to provide a sense of motion that frames the topic of reproduction.The line weight in the illustration made thick, so as to play off the bold ISER text.

The colour palette and font were a careful consideration to lend itself to the overall brand identity. The white for the purity and excellence. Golden shade for heritage and a tip of the hat to best in class. Green, for the Emerald Isle and equestrian pastures. The font, Neuton, is a Dutch-inspired serif font designed only this year, was something I found held many Celtic qualities about it. The delicate flicks to it’s serif style were reflected in the horse illustration.

Here you’ll see a the final brand identity agreed with the client along with a full website home page mock up.

Now it’s fingers crossed they win! Stay tuned.

Young Lions 2020 – ‘Falling on Deaf ears’

Nominated in Final 3 Submissions

[Concept X Art Direction X Production]

‘Falling On Deaf Ears’ is a project created, written, shot and produced by myself and my colleague and copywriter Ben Razey of Javelin for the Cannes Young Lions 2020 competition in the ‘Film’ category. We were nominated and shortlisted in the final three, but unfortunately came up short to some fantastic opposition entries. However, Lust for Life, the charity selected as this years brand for category, we were excited for the opportunity to work with and get inside the mind of a Brand at the focus of such an important cause.

Wellbeing is one of the luxury commodities of today. It’s become a cultural cachet, and the current narrative around mental health is encouraging people to come forward and talk about their issues. This is a great and necessary movement towards normalising the stigma around the subject, but all of this conversation is creating white noise.

It begs the question– is anybody really listening? And therefore, is anybody truly acting to create change? Our ‘Falling on Deaf Ears’ campaign highlights how, despite the evergreen talk around mental health, nobody is truly being heard - not by the system, nor by the government. We want to incite young people to actively use their voice to create systemic change.

In the 45 second film, we see someone receiving therapy. We purposefully made the experience look positive, but created a sense of pace and frustration – much like how people feel accessing the current service. As we move through the video, we used pointed audio-visual motifs to highlight some of the issues that currently reflect what can be found within the Mental Health Service in Ireland. We overlaid a jarring ‘white noise’ to not only arrestingly cut through other tv adverts, but moreover represent how people who seek out mental health services feel like they aren’t being heard – and even when they try, there aren’t always resources available. We incorporated absurd satirical visuals through props to add humour to such a serious topic, but also highlight some of the true, relatable and incredulous things people face when dealing with mental health, as well as when seeking out help from mental health services. This advert should feel gritty and provocative - good intentions don’t make for real change. Our call to action highlights how the power for change will only happen when we proactively speak up.

Desperados – Bottle Drop 2018

[Concept X Art Direction X Production]

This piece is one of several assets of social content I have created for Desperados working alongside another art director in 2018. Initially I assisted in the development of ideas for a social calendar for the year which was signed off by the client in January. The client above all stressed for short duration with the content for high engagement and completion rates, so it was important to create concepts that could executed in under 5 seconds. I storyboarded several of the ideas, adapting them to become more practical in the video production stage. I directed and shot any original footage that we produced in house, sometimes getting very creative with our resources and assisted in the editing of each project. For example with ‘Bottle Drop’, I built an ice box, complete with internal lighting for the backdrop and setting of the video and structured the external lighting of the shoot. Sound design was another important feature for the client in that in reflected the urban remix nature of their brand. I selected various tracks for content including this piece shown above and assisted in the sound editing. Engagement and interaction with the content was beyond our expectations and it the set the bar for future content we created across a host of alcohol brand digital accounts.

Follow The Sun

[Concepted X Storyboarded x Edited]

Having produced a new brand TV commercial for Irish Ferries the previous year in 2016, I was provided with a challenge to create a new TVC for their Ireland to France route on an extremely tight budget. I created a narrative storyboard of French landscapes, travelling action shots and summer activities from stock video. These shots were all linked together by the recurring image of sunshine and this is where the choice of song, ‘Follow the Sun by Xavier Rudd’ and the campaign name (Follow the Sun) stemmed from. Incorporating previously shot onboard footage, I was able to synonymously contextualise the journey with Irish Ferries.

‘Put Your Name on it’ - FAI Junior Cup Launch

[Concepted X Storyboarded x Shot x Edited]

Aviva are the annual sponsor for the FAI Junior Cup, the biggest semi professional football tournament in Ireland. ‘Put Your Name on it’ was the concept I developed along with an art director in Javelin for the online launch of the campaign in 2016. The brief outlined that Aviva wanted to celebrate the clubs that make the competition what it is every year. With a strong community fanbase for every team, we created a passionate idea exploring the one aspects of each club that they wear with pride the most, their name. The wide variation in names provided a great niche to engage with so many participants. I created a list of over forty different club names and along with a copywriter in Javelin we produced a script that featured almost twenty. A name features in each shot in the ad labelled on everything from jerseys to pitch banners and club houses. Using footage I had dug up from several clubs I storyboarded the final concept that was signed off by the client and went to production.

The video consisted of footage that featured team names in the script that I sourced and a two day shoot to capture the additional club names we required. As well as ticking names off the list, the shoot provided the opportunity of some extra cutaways for opening and closing sequences that I could direct. I directed the shoot travelling around Ireland from one clubhouse to the next, studying each location to identify our best opportunity for shots. Some examples of these are shown below. The video received exceptional engagement on Facebook, a huge opportunity for clubs to share content they were featured. The composition of a genuine visual style, gritty VO and the courageous tone in the script created great excitement and hype around the competition that year, and discreetly warranted a tip of the hat the all those involved.