ROLES: PHOTO ART DIRECTION, EDITORIAL CONCEPT, TYPOGRAPHY, LAYOUT AND DESIGN
Situation:
Bloomingdale's brought me in to create digital first, photo directed story telling for their home and registry categories. They wanted a fresh eye on how to support the digital guidance features around key themes like Table Setting 101, The Cookware Guide and Getting Started with Registry. The seasonal features needed to shift more toward imaginative yet relatable points of engagement.
Photographer David Prince, Stylist Marcus Hay, Food Stylist Jaimie Kim
Task:
One key differentiator for this guidance content would be life cycle. Product in registry had a longer run. These features would live with references in print books as well as online though they would serve as digital first content and they would need to feel fresh in spite of longevity.
Starting with the photography the images would need to be conceived to inhabit many channels naturally with a strong leaning toward digital click paths and thoughtful potential animation and motion design.
Action:
All features were conceptualized with the core customer at the center. Thinking of what would make this registry approachable and easier was also a key focus point.
A year of parties was the first inspiration point. This series positioned table setting and kitchenware from the perspective of seasonal events like dinner parties, the Superbowl, Thanksgiving and summer picnics.
"Dreaming, after all is a form of planning" - Gloria Steinhem
Putting the customer at the center meant re-imaging relatable moments and taking the complexity out of the range of things they might need to envision their fantasy lifestyle moments were within reach.
Introducing a fresh take on photography also meant more high contrast and graphic framing to allow for eye catching adaptions with animation.
Wider shots were made with center weighted framing to allow for broader cropping ranges.
Rhythm and pattern was also a key aspect that was thoughtfully framed and considered as the image from each group with live together.
Upscale Burger tablescape (traditional shot)
Poshing up Take Out (geometric, graphic composition)
Photographer David Prince, Stylist Marcus Hay, Food Stylist Jaimie Kim
Personalized Thanksgiving with stenciled place settings
Chalkboard Wine and Cheese Tastings
Multitasking superheros
Classic whites on high contrast flats for feed friendly attention.
Results:
This digital first approach set the ground work for authentic OMNI channel practices for The Registry. The new registry content opened up the how vender marketing was positioned to brands and this drove growth in sponsored campaigns.
The partnership team used the growth in traffic from these new features as benchmarks to support broadening partnership marketing with an emphasis on the digital funnel.
Executive Creative Director Sophia Tang, Copy Director Karen Newman