Licensing style guides
Company Cartoon Network
Role Direction / Design
Early in my career, I helped create Cartoon Network’s new licensing program. Being one of the first in-house creatives to design assets for now-classic shows was an incredible opportunity to sharpen my skills by spearheading dozens of licensing guides. These pioneering projects not only showcased my versatility in managing and creating direction but also allowed me to collaborate with a highly diverse team of mega-talented creatives who went on to have amazing careers.
One significant measure of success was the impressive financial results achieved by the program, with revenues skyrocketing to a staggering $1 billion at its peak. As the responsibility for these guides fell on my shoulders, I oversaw their creation and design, entrusted the task to other team members, led external agencies under my direction, and contributed my unique design ideas to others’ projects. This multifaceted experience not only solidified my expertise in style guides and design but also added invaluable depth to my professional experience.
The Powerpuff Girls Movie
In this section, I focus on one specific guide, although it could have been any of the many I worked on. The Powerpuff Girls Movie was highly anticipated and created during the peak of PPG popularity. The Powerpuff Girls is one of my favorite properties to have worked on. I loved the character design, storylines, humor, and all the small details. I still see PPG products in the wild, and I’m so proud to have been part of it since the beginning and through many successes. Working with show creator Craig McCracken, Lauren Faust, and production artists and writers was a career highlight with an energy that I often try to recapture.
While the animation was taken care of by Cartoon Network Studios, our team collaborated closely with Craig McCracken and his team to create marketing and licensing materials as the production progressed. The first thing we did was redesign the logo, which I was responsible for. This logo was then used on various items, including the movie poster, comic books, and CDs.
Warner Brothers Studio Store, NYC
These window displays, created by myself and the licensing team, earned an award from Communication Arts magazine.
Guide content included elements such as packaging, character line-up, background, patterns, graphics, typography, and product concepts.
A peek behind the process: meeting notes, word association, sketches, color palette exploration, character art, graphic generation, and the printed guide for PPG seasonal supplement.
