ESSIE

TO THE RESCUE, GEL COUTURE, BOHO RODEO & READY PREP GO CAMPAIGNS

CONCEPTING | CREATIVE TREATMENT | LIVE ACTION PRODUCTION | POST-PRODUCTION

Each Essie seasonal collection became its own expressive world. My goal was to take high-level campaign names and turn them into a cohesive visual language that elevated the brand, told a story, and performed seamlessly across social and digital platforms.

THE CHALLENGE
Essie is known for playful, fashion-forward nail color, but seasonal collections can often feel fragmented online, with product stories lost in a sea of content. The brief provided only the campaign name or theme — like Boho Rodeo — so the challenge was to develop the concept, story, and visual world that would bring each collection to life while staying true to Essie’s signature personality.

Key considerations included:

  • Translating abstract seasonal themes into engaging visual narratives that resonated with Essie’s audience

  • Ensuring each collection felt distinct and memorable, yet cohesive within the overall brand identity

  • Designing content that would perform natively across social platforms, capturing attention in the feed and telling a story quickly

  • Building a repeatable, scalable system so future collections could maintain visual impact without reinventing the approach

The goal was to elevate Essie’s seasonal campaigns from static product launches into immersive, story-driven experiences that felt editorial, playful, and shareable.

MY ROLE
ART DIRECTOR
Developed campaign concepts and full visual stories from the brief

  • Directed product and model shoots for still and video content

  • Crafted social-first video concepts and motion direction

  • Defined color, lighting, textures, composition, and shot pacing

  • Built a scalable visual system for multi-platform campaigns

EXECUTION & IMPACT

Starting from the campaign name/theme, I developed the concept and story, creating a full visual world for each collection. I led the art direction across product and model shoots, shaping color, lighting, textures, composition, and pacing to bring each story to life.

I also developed social-first video content, designed to immediately capture attention, convey narrative rhythm, and highlight product storytelling on Instagram and TikTok. Every asset, still or motion, was crafted to be both engaging and scalable, forming a cohesive ecosystem that elevated Essie’s digital presence.

The result: campaigns that didn’t just show color—they told the story of each collection, delivered visually engaging social-first content, and provided the team with a repeatable, story-driven system for future launches.



CREATIVE DIRECTOR: SIDNEY HUANG
ART DIRECTOR: KAMIL SZCZEPANIAK
DIRECTOR OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT: RITA HORVATH
PRODUCER: KATYA VARZAR
PHOTOGRAPHERS: LUCAS ZAREBINSKI, KEVIN CREMENS & ADAM FRIEDLANDER
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: NICK KOROMPILAS & HAI NGO
PROP STYLIST: KOUNTHEAR KUCH

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