photo credit: Anthony Delanoix via Unsplash
DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS & CREATIVE STRATEGY
THE BRIEF
The hellscape of 2020.
THE SOLUTION
Though they’re not solutions to the systemic injustice, inequities, and disparities brought to the forefront by the pandemic, I worked to bring my own brand of positivity and creativity to further the mission of grassroots campaigns and spotlight the goodness of organizations, small businesses, and individuals striving to make a positive social impact in the world.
Asian Street Food - Chefs Collab Series
The rise in xenophobic and racist rhetoric has been sharp and made explicit during the pandemic. I worked with local Asian-owned small businesses to unite and show solidarity for the AAPI community in a fun, future-forward, limited pop-up collaboration series. I named, co-conceived, and designed a digital campaign to promote the series, highlighting the diversity and distinctions of different Asian cultures through food.
NY Hospitality Coalition
Part of a national coalition of independently owned hospitality small businesses, NY Hospitality Coalition needed a unified and focused voice and platform to share useful information on loans, direct links to government programs, and highlighted relief efforts for furloughed employees and their families. I created branded social media templates and guidelines for this grassroots coalition of hospitality industry employees, owners, and operators advocating for government aid and sharing resources.
#eggtoomelette
Commissioned for a national coalition of hospitality industry leaders, I worked with a small team of passionate humans providing graphic assets for a video campaign outlining the dire economic impact of the shutdown and what a continued lack of government funding would mean for the landscape of independent restaurants and the American economy.
“16,000,000. That's how many service jobs and supplier jobs it cumulatively takes to get from an egg to an omelette at independent restaurants nationwide. Independent restaurants don't just feed America. They also support a vast network of small businesses and jobs. Across America they are closing at a rapid rate. We must continue to take-out but also take action. Support the #RestaurantsActNow! Visit www.saverestaurants.com/take-action to help save restaurants.”
motion designer: Caleb Payne @caleb.aep
graphic designer: Krys Ha @krys_ha
project manager & copywriter: Christoph Grosse @christoph.grosse
Good Hood Deal
In a time of unprecedented crisis for the restaurant industry, I worked with 5 local independently owned restaurants to create a deal for the community that also drove revenue and interest for the businesses. The main mission for this project was to provide a sense of levity, community, and immediate funds to pay employees.
I designed a punch card system that was easy and fun for the community to pick up deals from each business, allowing them to easily share visibility for new prospective customers and profits/resources. “That’s one of the most grateful experiences we could take away from everything. It’s such a great sense of community.” -Helen Nguyen, Saigon Social
Read more about it here!
Happy Meals
In the same vein as the Good Hood Deal, I collaborated with Golden Diner to co-create“Happy Meals” – a program of rotating daily specials with a focus of providing nutritious, affordable, delicious daily specials. The restaurant’s location of Two Bridges, a neighborhood situated amongst public housing buildings and residents in housing situations without access to kitchens, made it a food beacon and culinary oasis for a community dependent on access to cheap food in the neighborhood. COVID-19 shut down many of the restaurants in the area for months, leaving Golden Diner one of just a handful that stayed open throughout the pandemic.
Read more about it here!
(opening photo) photo credit: Alex Lau via Heart of Dinner
Heart of Dinner
During the peak of COVID-19 amongst the rising xenophobia towards the Asian community, this non-profit was created as a response to the lack of city funding, aid, and care for the elderly Asian community. As a resident of Chinatown and someone who grew up deeply entrenched in Asian culture, I facilitated strategic partnerships for hospitality clients and volunteered time to illustrate bags for distribution.
Read more about them (and donate your dollars) here!
cover image photo credit: Alex Lau @yungbludlau
#skipseamless
You’ve probably gathered by now, I have a soft spot for the restaurant industry. Good food and restaurants make up a huge chunk of joy percentage in my life and play a big role in keeping me tethered to the whirlpool of insanity that is NYC. Seeing them face a storm of peril during the pandemic and being taken advantage of by their only lifeline was… infuriating, to put it mildly. I made an informative carousel post to be shared by the industry to educate customers on misleading marketing by third-party delivery platforms.
