IBM

Turning complex tech into compelling stories

Scope

Brand Strategy

Content Strategy

UI/UX

Website Development

Campaign & Video Production

Experiential Marketing & Production

3D Design

Our multi-year partnership with IBM has been a true example of creative collaboration. As a retainer client for over five years, IBM has consistently demonstrated what it means to be a forward-thinking, collaborative partner. Together, I’ve brought to life more than 15 projects across a wide spectrum of disciplines, from digital platforms and branding to immersive motion work, live activations, and content production. Each engagement has been an opportunity to help tell IBM’s story in a more dynamic and human way while simplifying complex tech into digestible stories.

What has made this relationship especially rewarding is IBM’s shared belief in the power of design to solve real business challenges. It’s rare to find a client that brings such a deep level of trust and collaboration to the table and it's that foundation that has allowed me to lead team to deliver consistently impactful work, year after year.

The future, fully optimized

Making the promise of AI investments a reality

  • Today’s businesses encounter barriers when it comes time to grow and scale. Fragmented digital channels create security vulnerabilities, increasing costs and complexity that block the adoption of new technologies, including AI.

    IBM recognized this challenge and developed Hybrid Cloud, a platform that simplifies and unifies complex business ecosystems to provide a secure, open and consistent platform for AI implementation.

    Leading a talented multi-disccpline team we created a compelling visual vocabulary that translates these complex business processes into simplified 3D components. Each represents part of a business ecosystem and spotlights how Hybrid Cloud brings harmony and cohesion to previously disconnected systems. This comprehensive design toolkit integrates seamlessly into IBM’s existing visual language, enabling the production of a diverse range of stories in the future.

    This campaign demonstrates the transformative power of IBM’s Hybrid Cloud to solve widespread AI challenges in a clear, captivating and visually powerful way providing IBM AI relevancy.

Where science meets story

Revealing the future of computing - from the inside out

  • The IBM Research team mission has always looked to invent what’s next in computing. IBM reopened their Think Lab to bring scientists from different computing platforms together into one space; conducting their research together.

    Tasked with developing a campaign to highlight the cutting edge work on computing at the Think Lab, I led a team in ideation and production of a series of videos that instill a sense of intrigue to visitors who are not physically able to enter IBM Research Lab. They demonstrate IBM’s ongoing development in quantum & computing technologies.

    While the videos fit well when positioned side by side, each video feels unique and captivating. Focusing on instilling a visual and aesthetic sense of science, curiosity and storytelling we leveraged the lab for some visually captivating components showing the work in action.

Across three years and 15+ projects, I’ve partnered with IBM to shape the stories behind their most advanced technologies, distilling complexity into clarity and translating innovation into experiences that drive engagement. From digital experiences to physical activations, each project demonstrates the value of strategic collaboration and creativity.

Breaking open the black box

Making the invisible, visible

  • Despite the prevalence of AI in the business world, there is still ambiguity around how the outputs of models are generated, which leads to inaccurate data that ultimately puts a company’s reputation at risk. IBM created a comprehensive solution to break open this AI black box but needed an effective way to showcase the benefits the platform can provide.

    My team created an activation centered around podiums that evoked the black box that faces companies without properly maintained AI models. The structures brought to life the phenomenon of cymatics, the study of sound and vibration made visible to represent AI modelling.

    Using a vibrating plate and table salt, visitors were guided through three real-life use cases of AI issues that industries face. As visitors selected, built, and deployed their models, the salt on the cymatic plate vibrated in a symmetrical pattern to indicate the AI model was working correctly.

    The activation coincided with the launch of watsonx, leading to rich and engaging conversations with prospective clients about how the platform could benefit their business. People who engaged with the activation spent an average of over six minutes on each use case, exceeding the pre-event goal by threefold. In addition, we built a digital version of the experience to simulate the cymatics experience for use at other conferences worldwide.

A best-in-class recruitment portal

A modernized careers site for the new age of flexible work

  • The global IBM Careers site is #1 the most trafficked area on ibm.com and the primary source of IBM job applications. IBM had a hiring goal to meet of 90,000 people per year.

    However, the site struggled from being outdated; it underperformed on mobile and lacked search optimization, among other challenges.

    Leading a multi-discplinary team of up to 35 individuals, we redesigned the site with SEO, content strategy, UX, and visual design, and tech standards that ensure improved performance of the IBM Careers site.

    The designs leveraged existing IBM components as well as new UX/UI patterns that were designed and developed according to the user and site needs.  

    We built the site using the Contentful to enable ease of content updates and localization. The site is currently translated into 6 languages: German, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and French.

    Since launch the improved portal has

    • +15% visits (321K/mo)

    • +10% applications (15K/mo)

    • +52% engagement rate