Macy’s Holiday events. The holidays at Macy’s are filled with magic, from the home of the real Santa, to a host of experiences in Macy's metropolitan flagship locations across the US. Branding for these properties required a careful balance of tradition and newness and the aesthetic and voice our team developed was a unique brand of modern nostalgia.
Illustrations in collaboration with Tad Carpenter/Carpenter Collective.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cue the confetti. Strike up the bands. For one Thursday morning each and every year, we are all connected. By tradition and families. The comfort of the familiar. The warmth of togetherness and celebration. We all look to a bright sky filled with larger than life characters and pure joy.  And New York streets brimming with rosy cheeks and red noses. A collective special moment of bucket lists and big dreams. Pop stars and hometown heroes. The wink of Tom turkey and the arrival of the big man in red. Spectacle that is at once personal and shared. Always looking up. Forever marching forward. Nearing 100 parades. A million memories. A billions smiles and counting. And four words that will forever fill our hearts. Let’s have a parade.

Branding and creating elements and IP for this iconic national event was a tour de force that called upon all of my years of design and creative leadership. I am incredibly proud to have been just one of the privileged few stewards to have evolved this event.

Macy’s Brand Guide Handbook. Typically, when a corporate giant establishes brand guidelines, they would turn to their agency of record. In this case — and countless cases before and after it — Macy’s relied on Special Ops (my team) to develop, articulate and package the entire vision into a singular, user-friendly guide to be shared in and outside the company. This is just one example and snapshot in time of an example that continued to evolve with new teams.

Macy’s Corporate Branding. In my years with the company, I was constantly called upon to develop graphics, logo identities and collateral for programs in virtually every area of the enterprise. From institutional branding to rewards and loyalty programs, gift card designs, services, product and more, consistency was the foundation — but a wink and a smile were always my filters.

Macy’s Backstage. When Macy’s decided to launch an off-price brand extension, my team was called upon to develop a comprehensive look and feel distinct but complementary to the masterbrand. Enter Macy’s Backstage, a fresh and savvy younger sister to the core brand. Branding would connect to the optimism and joy of the Macy’s brand, with a free spirit and smart sense of humor. Voice was particularly important in launching this brand.