James Acaster | HBO Original

Role
Creative Director

In his first HBO special, comedian James Acaster explores his love-hate relationship with stand-up by relinquishing control of his set and accepting a healthy dose of heckling.

This project began with a pitch for the open title design but turned into the trailer design. For the trailer, we used the boards labeled to inspire the design and animation of the trailer. These boards closely aligned with the design of the final key art. The process of developing this design was truly a collaboration. My role was to ensure the project aligned across both KA and A/V. Visualizing the needs of this trailer, I sketched out ideas for the animator to bring to life and gave visual feedback and animation direction. Ultimately, this came out well-timed and playful to the trailer cut.

Designers
Joey Salim
Bobby Ushiro
Kiana Cowdery
Dauly Cuello

Animator
Bobby Ushiro

Logo Design
In-House Key Art Team

Tokyo Vice S2 | Max Original

Role
Creative Director

A Western journalist working for a publication in Tokyo takes on one of the city's most powerful crime bosses. The approach for Tokyo Vice Season 2 Trailer Graphics was to step away from the neon vibes from Season 1. 

While working with the internal business partners, we determined that the showrunners responded well to the blue and white inkblot approaches from some of the initial key art designs being produced through an outside agency. From there, the designs evolved to bring in some ink visuals into scenes from the show, and some custom designs were made for additional content that connected with the detective aesthetic. My role was to pull out dynamic imagery and visuals from my motion team. We iterated through several approaches, which got narrowed down to what you see on this page. I researched visual styles, provided mood boards, reviewed design approaches, provided feedback, and with a vision in mind, found new ways to create solutions within the varied work across my team to finalize a cohesive deliverable.


Designers
Max Richardson
June Bang
Shuyi Li

Animators
Max Richardson
June Bang
Shuyi Li

Logo Design
External Production Company

An American Bombing | HBO Original

Role
Creative Director

An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th looks at the current surge in political violence through the story of the Oklahoma City bombing. It is a big-picture statement film that retells the highlights of the case in the larger context of what was driving anti-government sentiment from the 1980’s to the present. Today’s division and polarization were in play at the time of the bombing, but it seems to have spread, deepened, and gone mainstream. The film takes us back to see what we can learn that might help prevent more civil unrest and domestic terrorism.

After briefing my motion team, they worked with me to develop various ideas for the pitch deck. My role included pulling together a mood board to give the team a look and feel, and to establish a starting point for the quality of the visual development I was looking for them to execute. The business partner and I continued communication throughout the project to ensure we hit the touch points of what the series trailer needed to perform. I review work continuously to further develop and influence the design and animation's composition, style, and cinematography. The key art creative director and I collaborated in parallel to share ideas to align the design for the cohesive branding of the series. Ultimately, our business partner took slightly different approaches.

Designers
Dauly Cuello
Shuyi Li

Animator
Shuyi Li

Logo Design
Internal Key Art Team

Role
Art Director
Designer 

Three separate motion design boards compositing multiple elements to tell a story in a creative way for show openings.  

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

The Synanon Fix | HBO Original

Role
Creative Director

Spanning three decades until the early 1990s, Synanon originated as a scrappy LA-based storefront rehab. Celebrated as a breakthrough treatment center and a culturally-forward organization that had attempted communal living for over a decade, Synanon was a darling of the recovery community (and the celebrity and political elite). Led by the charismatic Chuck Dederich, Synanon evolved from a church into what many consider a cult. This documentary explores the rise and fall of the organization through the members who lived it. Forgoing any top-to-bottom skewering, the series hopes to capture what was, in fact, a tragic fall from grace, as Synanon’s healing potential was spun into a profoundly destructive force.

While leading the team on this project, we explored various approaches. Some of the explored directions are shown below. In this documentary, I was able to align with the key art team to align our visions for the art with our prospective business partner's needs. Once the design was finalized, we honed in on animation, and I pushed the team to add polishing details that gave the animated graphic a dynamic and cinematic look.

Designers
Katherine Jimenez
Dauly Cuello

Animator
Katherine Jimenez

Logo Design
Internal Key Art Team

Velma S2 | Max Original

Role:
Creative Director

Velma Season 1 was disliked heavily by critics and audiences because everyone was assuming that Velma would be closely related to Scooby Doo. With this in mind, we explored two different approaches, one that tied the show directly into the old Scooby Doo look and feel, while the second direction focused on being a distant cousin to the previous art. We focused on connecting to season 2 key art, color explorations, and the series' school vibes.

As the director, I collaborated with the business partner to learn the needs of this season 2 trailer. To support my designers, I provided mood board directions and reviewed work to improve the quality of the craft and conceptual ideas. I also worked across the team to ensure that assets were shared with other internal animators for consistency across our team.

Designers
Dauly Cuello
Katherine Jimenez

Animator
Katherine Jimenez

Logo Design
External Production Company

Food Network Obsessed Podcast

Role
Creative Director
Designer
Animator

Food Network Obsessed is the podcast for all Food Network superfans and every superfan of food who loves to cook and eat. You can listen to Jaymee chat with your favorite chefs about making their shows and their secrets for kitchen success.

As the Creative Director/Designer on this project, I worked across teams to develop the branding for this podcast, from working with an outside agency, to bringing the design in-house to create the branding for House Ads, Sizzle, and Waveform Social Post. I managed a team of designers to continue to execute the identity of FN Obsessed and strategized with video producers and social to continue to evolve content and production pipelines. I gave feedback and direction to the agency working on the logo design, created the layouts for all the boards for the podcast ad, started the base animation to be passed off to my motion animators for production, and did the last pass-on timing for the animation. 

Designers
Kiana Cowdery
Katherine Jimenez
Maria Habib

Animators
Kiana Cowdery
Katherine Jimenez
Maria Habib

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project | HBO Original

Role
Creative Director

A look at the life of poet Nikki Giovanni and the revolutionary historical periods through which she lived, from the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter.

My role was to build a team to create a pitch deck to showcase various directions for the project's internal business partners and showrunner. Directing the team based on research, I provided them with a mood board that gave them visual cues to the look and feel to explore. The original direction was to pull visual imagery from her poetry to depict Black Women and the experiences of the world and how they influence the Black home, how she equates Mars with space travel, and how Black Americans were transported and treated in the new world. It's an analogy for the experience of Black people being captured and forced to do everything in white culture. Ultimately, the pitch boards were selected as final, and we refined them before final delivery; however, at the last minute, the business partner changed directions to use the title animation only over the footage.

Designers
Max Richardson
Dauly Cuello
Katherine Jimenez
Shuyi Li
June Bang

Animators
Max Richardson
Katherine Jimenez
Shuyi Li
June Bang

Logo Design
Internal Key Art Team

Sam Jay Comedy Special | HBO Original

Role
Creative Director
Designer

In her first HBO stand-up special, comedian and writer Sam Jay takes the stage for a hilariously frank discussion on embracing our differences, the stresses of long-term relationships, and the power of empathy. Deftly showcasing her conversational style, Sam Jay: Salute Me or Shoot Me is a witty and raw examination of life's challenges and society at large.

My role was working on various logo designs for this series. This is another instance where the key art creative director and I wanted to align. However, our business partners had different needs, so you will see that the key art logo is different from the trailer logo. We created several options for the business partner pitch deck, and I reviewed them to improve the quality of the design and animation deliverables.

Design
Max Richardson
Shuyi Li

Animation
Shuyi Li

Tracy Morgan Comedy Special | HBO Original

Role
Creative Director

Leaving it all on the stage
To emphasize Tracy Morgan’s no-holding-back comedy, we played stylistically with the phrases NO BOUNDARIES and NO LIMITS. This package includes repetitive text and film roll animations with dynamic movement to match the comedy legend’s energy.

When meeting with the business partner to learn about the objectives, we learned they were looking for a simplistic design. With any project, we pitch several approaches to showcase to our business partners. Before going to the video team for review, I narrowed down the best approaches that hit the creative brief and direction of the series. Knowing we will make more simplistic approaches, we want to ensure craft and animation are connected with the series' cinematography to bring out the same energy of the talent.

Designer + Animator
Katherine Jimenez

Logo Design
Internal Key Art Team

Donyale Luna | HBO Original

Role:
Creative Director


Explores the amazing life and career of Donyale Luna, one of the first black models to appear on the cover of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar in Europe.

My role was creative director for leading boards for the pitch deck for this series. The client ended up going in another direction, but the design and animation that our team came up with showed meaning and connection to the Donyale Luna story.

Designer
Dauly Cuello

Animators
Max Richardson
Shuyi Li

Logo Design
Internal Key Art Team

Last Stop Larrimah | HBO Original

Role
Creative Director

As the creative director of this project, I oversaw the design and animation from beginning to end. The business partner who requested these graphics gave insight into the background of this series, which was about a small outback town in Australia, home to 11 residents. A man and his dog vanished after leaving a local pub, and the series highlights the "frenemies" dynamic of these residents, creating a comedic portrait of how this investigation unfolds.

My goal is to bring the best directions to the business partners while pushing the exploration of each designer's exploration. For this series, we pushed ideas that were a little quirky, comedic, eerie, and mysterious while still capturing the Austrian vibes of this small town.

My team pitched additional logo ideas, which you will see in the explorations section. My role with the designers and animators was developing, collaborating with the key art team, pushing existing ideas, giving notes, designing, and refining design/animation.

Designers
Dauly Cuello
Katherine Jimenez
Shuyi Li

Animators
Shuyi Li
Sam Dunn

Logo Design
Internal Key Art Team

Food Network Taste Test

Role
Art Director
Designer

Food Network’s Snapchat re-launched an in-house original series featuring staffers experimenting with tasting different foods and food trends. This project aimed to create a look and feel for the series’s graphics that connected to the tone. The idea was to stay on brand with a young and vibrant-like tone for our Snapchat content and engage with other social platforms. My role involved conceptualizing the logo design, researching, mood-boarding, and directing the overall approach of the visuals and animation.


Designer
Paul Read

Animator
Aaron Cowdery

Barry Social Promos | HBO Original

Role
Creative Director

The Emmy-winning dark comedy series returned for a fourth season. It's all been leading up to an explosive and hilarious final chapter of Barry.

I worked with our business partners on three approaches for specific social promo asks to drum up anticipation for the series' pre-launch on Max for Season 4. This project had a very tight turnaround, so I utilized several motion designers to execute different posts while still keeping the package of the promo series cohesive and connected.

Design
Kiana Cowdery
Katherine Jimenez
Shuyi Li

Animation
Kiana Cowdery
Katherine Jimenez
Shuyi Li
Max Richardson

Black Voices Hub Branding | Discovery Plus

Role
Creative Director
Designer

As the Creative Director/Designer on this project, I worked with the senior creative director to gather the internal client needs for this campaign. This project had a fast turnaround, and although I wish there had been more time, I pitched three concepts that I presented to the department's EVP. From there, I created the final HUB branding and toolkit, including the logo, colors, patterns, and texture. I handed off the toolkit for designers to follow for ongoing requests of additional deliverables.

Role
Creative Director
Designer

Townsizing | HGTV
On HGTV's Townsizing, author, and writer Anne Helen Petersen takes you to small towns across the U.S. Townsizing to speak to the people creating community, building legacies, and shattering stereotypes about small-town life. If you're thinking about making the jump from the big city to a quieter pace of life, Townsizing will help you figure out if the mystique and allure of the small town are for you.

Design + Illustration
Dauly Cuello

My role was to fuel the designer with creative direction while helping them fine-tune their craftsmanship on pitches by connecting meaning into the imagery created. I reviewed all deliverables for approval and connected with the business partner on the series' needs.

Obsessed | HGTV
Each week, HTV Obsessed dives into conversations with HGTV hosts, interior designers, gardeners, home decorators, and HGTV editors to share conversations, tips, and advice to help you transform your space into your dream home. www.discoveryplus.com/hgtvobsessed

We came into this brand with assets already started by an outside agency. My role was to extend the branding to social media and improve the brand design's consistency. I created some initial designs that the business partner approved, and from there, my design team continued to expand when additional requests came in. I reviewed, gave feedback, and approved deliverables. 

Design
Kiana Cowdery
Maria Habib

Shark Rumble | Discovery Plus (Original Series)

Role
Creative Director

Shark Rumble is a Discovery Plus Original about a marine biologist and Shark expert, Luke Tipple, who takes WWE Wrestler, Drew McIntyre to the world-renowned Georgia Aquarium for a shark dive never to be forgotten.

My role was to lead and refine this project from concept to production of final assets while working with a designer and internal client to strategize a look and feel for this show.

Designer + Animator
Katherine Jimenez

Barbie Social YouTube Video | MAX

Role
Creative Director

The Barbie cast sits down to play This or That, a round of rapid-fire questions in which we learn what the actors love and hate in real life. Get to know the cast of Barbie as they discuss behind-the-scenes moments, being cast in their roles, and more.

My role was to connect with the business partner on the project details and ensure the team found design solutions that effectively addressed the layout needs of these two videos. We also aligned with the existing Barbie branding and connected with internal resources to utilize some of the existing animation toolkits. I reviewed, gave feedback for consistency, and approved the design and animation before publishing.

Designer
Dauly Cuello

Animator
Shuyi Li

Black Lady Sketch Show Social Post | HBO Original

Role
Creative Director

This hair appreciation motion flip book was created for Season 4 of HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch show.

The key art was used as a base for this design. To maintain consistency for Season 4's brand, the designer pitched me different directions influenced by the existing key art. The dark stroke patterns represent the variety of hair textures and styles showcased across the series while adding contrast. Lastly, the live organic shapes integrate a vibrant visual element and serve as an abstract symbol of the hair products essential to our haircare routines.

My role was selecting the best pitches and refining details for consistency. I worked with the business partner to understand the needs of this social campaign and provided direction to the designer and animators to make dynamic posts for social.

Designer
Dauly Cuello

Animators
Max Richardson
Maria Habib

Logo Design
Internal Key Art Team

Food Network Digital Redesign of Brand

Role
Creative Director
Designer

The brand for Food Network Digital had zero consistency. When I managed all of Food Network's digital creative, I revamped the digital brand while aligning with the linear Food Network look and feel. I collaborated with the linear Creative Director to discuss how we could align while maintaining some differences for the social platforms. The goals here were to have consistency for Food Network digital and to differentiate from Food Network Kitchen, have the primary color connect to the website and linear for foundational connection, and upgrade and re-design the FN video general package to solve pain points with how the design interacts with the video and along with many of other needs.

I created this side project internally to improve the brand, which has been used since 2020. We made a 100+ page style guide, animated a mogrt toolkit, and assets for social, newsletters, sites, etc.

Designers
Kiana Cowdery
Katherine Jimenez
Maria Habib

Animators
Shuyi Li
Katherine Jimenez

Taste of | Food Network

Role
Art Director
Designer

Our food-loving Snapchat Discover audience is hungry to learn about food cultures from around the world but doesn’t necessarily have the budget to do so.

Taste of ___ is an exploration of foods from around the world. Part cooking demo, part crash course in international cuisines — this series teaches us everything we need to know about foods from different cultures.

A year later... We were tasked with creating a new version of the opening title for a spin-off series called Taste of Holiday Edition.

My role for both of these projects was the art direction and design of the graphics package of all elements. I was on the ground creating boards for both opening title designs. It also included working alongside the producer to strategize graphics needs, directing and providing visual direction to the animator on motion and visual styles, and overseeing graphics to completion for consistency across all social platforms.

Craft & Cocktails with Cameron | HGTV

Role
Creative Director
Designer
Animator

This is a mid-form series with HGTV Design Star winner Carmen Hamilton. Each episode will feature Carmeon showing us how to make a delicious cocktail, followed by a fun "craft" or project that can be done while drinking that cocktail.

My role was designer, animator, and creative director on this project. This was my designers' first project before starting their new roles. I worked with them to establish a composition for the design that would fit stylistically with the set design from the photos given to the client. We also honed in on creative animation and consistency in package design for the brand and animation.

Design + Animation
Shuyi Li

HGTV Digital Re-Brand

Role
Creative Director

After my team, and I finished the Food Network Digital rebrand, it was so well received that HGTV Digital requested a rebrand. Due to the time constraints, I worked with my manager to secure an outside agency to help produce this style guide. To establish a thread between brands, I promoted the triangle shapes to parallel the circle theme with Food Network. Following this consistency in how the brand was developed, the two brands were intentionally connected since they are both owned by WBD. From there, I brought this brand in-house for my team to continue to refine and expand the style guide while also having our internal motion production team create mogrts.

Designers
Hieronymus (Agency)
Maria Habib

Animators
Maria Habib
Katherine Jimenez

Food Network Haute Plate

Role
Art Director
Designer

This original series focuses on high-end plating techniques and parallel low-end junk foods. The strategy was to create a style that connected to the series' tone, which was clean, modern, and scientific.

My role here was to guide all phases of creative work from ideation to final builds, including inspiring through mood boards and other creative feedback.

Designer
Kiana Cowdery
Paul Read

Animator
Lindsey Kelly

The Celebration Menu | Food Network

Role
Creative Director
Designer

The Celebration Menu is a franchise series that highlights different ethnic celebrations worldwide. As the creative director, I wanted to create a base design that could be applied to other franchise series. The goal was to have a cohesive thread in style, while having a unique look and feel for each ethnic celebration. For the Juneteenth Menu, the boards and vision for animation were created by me. In the program, Michiel Perry explores some of the history, stories, and culinary traditions surrounding the Juneteenth Holiday. On her front porch in South Carolina, she interviews some of her favorite Chefs - all Black Southern Belles- to swap stories and learn how to prepare their favorite Juneteenth dishes. From cocktails to cobblers, these recipes are celebratory and rooted in various African American community traditions.

The Lunar New Year features Restaurateur and Bravo TV’s Top Chef, Mei Lin who invites over some of her favorite chefs to celebrate. They’ll share their family traditions while highlighting the key differences between neighboring East Asian countries’ celebrations.

Keli Rosa Cabunoc Romero explores some of the history, stories, and culinary traditions surrounding the Dia De Los Muertos Holiday. At her local community center in San Antonio Texas, she interviews some of her favorite Chefs to swap stories and learn how to prepare their favorite Dia De Los Muertos dishes. From tamales to churros, these recipes are celebratory and rooted in various Indigenous and Mexican community traditions.

Designers
Kiana Cowdery
Maria Habib
Shuyi Li
Katherine Jimenez
Dauly Cuello

Animators
Kiana Cowdery
Maria Habib
Shuyi Li
Katherine Jimenez

Hot List | Food Network

Role
Creative Director

Food Networks' Hot List is an inaugural event that will happen yearly, rounding up Food Network's social top picks for food stars to watch next year. The talent will be rolling out each day from December 22 to December 31. They will reveal a new skill daily across social media, extending to the site, newsletters, Apple News, and potentially linear.

Connected with the social team to learn the team’s objectives for the project.I ideated the look of the logo design and provided visual inspiration for the look and feel to the designer so that the brand could be executed further by mocking up directions and providing mood boards. I reviewed all assets for brand consistency and delivery.

Designers
Dauly Cuello
Maria Habib

Hate it or Plate It | Food Network

Role
Art Director
Sr. Motion Graphic Designer

This series tries to get to the bottom of some people’s hardcore food hang ups. Chef Rashad Frazier cooks up a dish for someone with an extreme food aversion in hopes of making it a part of their regular diet. Will they hate it? Or will they plate it?

My role in this project was the art direction and design of the graphics package of all elements. It also included working alongside the producer to strategize graphics needs and collaborating with the production companies’ visual needs. Directed the animator on motion, visual styles and oversaw the application of graphics for consistency across all social platforms.

Animator
Lindsey Kelly

Role
Creative Director

Having sex while skydiving? Falling in a grave after having sex in a cemetery? These are just some of the true stories of sexcapades gone wrong that have landed real people in the ER. On Sex Sent Me To the ER, you'll hear direct audio from the hit TLC television show and uncover the craziest sex stories that have landed people in the ER-all told by the actual couples who, in the heat of the moment, got themselves into a fix and needed a doctor to get them out. Episodes also include insight from emergency room physicians and reenactments from professional actors.

My role as the creative director was gathering a team of designers to pitch ideas. I created a mood board for direction to get them started and stir up ideas. I worked directly with the designers to conceptualize and develop ideas further for various approaches. Once the final was selected, the designer applied notes and feedback to improve the craft and quality of the final product for delivery.

Design + Illustration
Dauly Cuello

Cutting Edge | Food Network

Role
Art Director
Sr. Motion Graphic Designer

Food Network Digital launched a series with Feast of Fiction stars Jimmy and Ashley as they explore the cutting edge of technology in the kitchen.

My role in this project was the art direction, design and animation of all elements. It also included working alongside the producer to strategize graphics needs.

Must Love Food | Food Network

Role
Art Director
Sr. Motion Graphic Designer

The way to someone’s heart is through their stomachs, right? Targeting our millennial audience, our team put together the perfect series mashup of food and dating. Two cooks compete for the chance to go on a date with a single food lover who’s looking for the tastiest plate.

My role in this project was the art direction and design of the graphics package of all elements. It also included working alongside the producer to strategize graphics needs and collaborating with the production companies’ visual needs. Directed the animator on motion, visual styles and oversaw the application of graphics for consistency across all social platforms.

Comfort Nation | Food Network

Role
Art Director

Lazarus Lynch travels to the south to uncover the most delicious food traditions. The visual tone is southern and vintage with a hint of modern touch.

My role was to determine how best to represent a concept visually and guide the designer on best practices. I provided a visual mood board and design direction throughout the color, layout, craftsmanship, and visual aesthetic process. For final delivery, the animation was reviewed and delivered to the internal partner.


Designer
Nisha Dent

Animator
Aaron Cowdery

Viv’s Tips

Role
Art Director
Sr. Designer

Hang out in the Food Network Kitchen with Vivian Chang as she shows us fun hacks and easy recipes to do for your friends. This series reaches several online platforms, including Facebook Shows and YouTube. The visual strategy is meant to appeal to millennial audiences and poke fun at the talent’s personality to develop a more personal relationship with the viewer. 

My role was to develop a visual strategy for the series’s goals.  I worked along with a producer to strategize and direct a photography shoot for graphics; we created some interesting moments of Viv’s personality to showcase. Also, worked with an animator to apply hand-drawn movement and with a video editor to maintain consistency across all episodes and their platforms.

Animator
Aaron Cowdery

Animator
Aaron Cowdery

Food Network Kitchen App

Role
Art Director
Sr. Designer

As the Art Director of Food Network Kitchen starting September 2020, I oversaw Discovery's second-most-priority brand. I managed a team of four designers, creating social media campaigns, in-app ads, newsletters, sites, paid ads, and partnerships with QVC, Amazon, and Target. When taking on this project, I was tasked with pushing the brand. My role when taking on this existing brand is to find ways to bring consistency to the illustration design and develop the infographics for social media.

Designers
Emerson Frase
Katherine Jimenez
Maria Habib

Food Network | Snapchat Discover Channel

Role
Art Director
Sr. Motion Graphic Designer

Art Directs and Designs for An Award-Winning Food Focused, Daily Edition Driven Food Network Snapchat Discover Channel

Re-developed the visual design for Food Network’s daily edition on Snapchat Discover in 2017 to bring more consistency to the channel. The goal was to bring in a visual connection from our Food Network Magazine branding by creating a Snapchat Food Network brand that relates to a younger audience. 

As the Art Director, I established the aesthetic, motion, and sound direction for this platform. I designed the base templates for visual consistency and the style guide for the platform, which includes fonts, colors, visual elements, etc to utilize towards creating daily publishing editions. I also built, trained and directed a small design team. In addition, I oversaw the visual design strategy and production of graphics for designs of 14+ pieces of content, 7 days a week, 365 days a year while collaborating with editorial and video teams. 

Snapchat Illustrations

Role
Art Director

CELEBRITY ILLUSTRATIONS
I art-directed Illustrators to create a library of assets for our Snapchat Discover Channel. This included using pop culture icons relevant to food news and trends for our celebrity visuals. The design was crafted to align with existing art elements while still maintaining an original style. In my role, I maintained quality assurance as each illustration was developed, providing notes and direction for the illustrator to achieve the necessary livelihood.

HOROSCOPE ILLUSTRATIONS
In addition, for the Food Network Snapchat Discover Channel, I worked with an illustrator to create 12 Zodiac sign characters for use on our Top Snap stories and long-form. My role in this project was to fine-tune the visuals, make them visually consistent, and maintain brand strategy. This included color, style, concept development, layout, and collaboration with the illustrator. These illustrations were crafted to fit into our Food Network Snapchat Branding while bringing life to each zodiac sign.

Illustrators
Victoria Lau
Sam Meledez