29 ROOMS
Creative Director // refinery29
29Rooms is one of the most popular experiential sensations of all time, at one point reaching half the users on Instagram with its digital halo. Originally conceived as a festival for cause, culture and creativity, 29Rooms celebrated the best of Refinery29’s editorial content, in collaboration with artists and brand partners. Between 2018-2020, we hosted over 100K guests in multiple cities, taking the brand international for the first time in 2019. Working closely with leadership, I helped to develop and evolve the experience - from blue-sky thinking to crafting decks for internal and external buy-in.
Additionally, I led creative for featured rooms and experiences within the event including an interactive Artists in Residence studio and brand activations for Stella , Lola, Prudential and Van der Pop among others.
PRUDENTIAL
Crack the Code to Financial Wellness
Did I ever think I’d be tasked with creating an original escape room experience - coming up with puzzles, writing clues, figuring out the logistics? Probably not… Did I think this escape room would be customized for a financial institution? Definitely not. But I did it! Throughout every touch point of this playful gamified 29Rooms experience - from pre-room briefing materials, to hidden surprise and delight moments, and the puzzles themselves - we integrated key Financial Wellness messages associated with various stages of life, all while building awareness and interest in the wide range of services that Prudential provides.
Video by Asia Giles (Prudential)
stella artois sensorium
Déjà FOOD: ELEVATING THE EVERYDAY
What does it mean to experience Déjà Food? Well the idea was to present guests with familiar “everyday” dining experiences - but reimagined with a twist that elevated the experience into something that felt a little bit surreal. At our drive-thru, rather than encountering a muffled urban noise filled rushed experience, our speaker played delightful European pop remixes and after receiving their order of elevated burgers and fries at the window, rather than driving away guests went through a curtain and were transported to a European-style “brand world,” based on a typical town in Stella’s home country, Belgium. A place they could sit, relax and enjoy. Similarly, our vending machine offered hand crafted, made to order confections - including a live torched creme brulee; and at our Village Market guests were doing double takes with scenic elements that felt a little otherworldly and an offering of unexpected savory macarons.
LOLA
TAX FREE. period.
In 2019, when LOLA came to us with an interest in activating at 29Rooms, 33 states taxed feminine-care products by deeming them as "non-essential", while items such as gun-club memberships, donuts and Viagra were not taxed.
In conjunction with LOLA & Period Equity, we wanted to give our audience the opportunity to experience the Tax Free. Period. campaign in person. The hope? To inspire, to evoke a response, and ultimately, to take action by joining the fight to destroy the Period Tax.
