Agency work
Where I’m at now: Writing brands and helping organizations shine
CDPH’s Healthy Chicago
The challenge: For years, the Chicago Department of Public Health has worked to improve livelihoods and close our city’s racial life expectancy gap through the Healthy Chicago movement. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, CDPH was ready to refresh the Healthy Chicago brand, messaging and educational toolkit to better support CDPH and its community partners, and to reach audiences of all backgrounds.
My role: CDPH lacked a common verbal strategy for Healthy Chicago, so refreshing this portion of the brand meant starting from scratch. The work needed to meet audiences where they are, consider lived experiences and empower direct action.
As creative director and copy lead, my work included:
Interviews with internal stakeholders and research on the communication needs of both internal and external audiences
Verbal concepting, development + execution, working closely with the client on key messaging for two distinct audiences and brand guidelines
Stakeholder materials, including a PowerPoint template, brand flipbook, educational one-sheet
Wireframing and writing the relaunched healthychicago.org website
American Medical Association
The challenge: In 2023, the AMA successfully piloted a screening toolkit for HIV, STIs, viral hepatitis and latent TB. As they prepared for a nationwide launch, the organization needed awareness and onboarding tools to ease adoption for clinicians, healthcare leadership and public health workers.
My role: The AMA’s launch materials needed repeatable brand language that reflected accurate medical terminology in a professional, conversational tone. My work needed to reach healthcare professionals where they are while reducing barriers to adoption. My work included:
Industry research and stakeholder interviews
Verbal identity concept development and execution, including campaign theme, tagline and key messaging.
Campaign launch assets, including campaign guidelines; ad copy; clinician one-sheet and collateral; social media toolkit; promotional materials; and web landing page content.
Hub Group
The challenge: Intermodal shipping company Hub Group was ready to move into the future as a tech-forward, holistic supply chain solutions provider. At the same time, the company
wanted its new brand to remain true to its historic focus
on integrity and service.
My role: As Walker Sands’ lead branding writer, I was responsible for end-to-end verbal creative development for the new Hub Group brand, including:
Industry + competitive research
Verbal identity concept development + execution, including tagline, brand manifesto, mission, vision, personality traits, voice + tone characteristics and audience-specific messaging.
Launch assets, including brand guidelines, a case study template, an investor PowerPoint deck, business cards, PowerPoint/Google Slides templates, lobby slides, posters and more.
I also provided copy guidance and editing for the relaunched HubGroup.com website.
Bigmouth Creative
The challenge: Bigmouth is a small agency—really small. Less than 10 full- and part-timers make the magic happen. As a one-woman copy team, I own our internal brand, social media, business development and new client acquisition from a verbal perspective. Over the past two years, the agency leaned further into our values, requiring a refresh of our verbal identity, website and social strategy.
My role: Bigmouth defines itself as a human-centric agency; I approach my strategy and creative through this lens. Wireframing and copy for pages like Services and Process considered the user journey for organizations with both limited and extensive experience working with an agency. I built our brand voice to be trustworthy, vulnerable and conversational; this informs my work as detailed below.
As creative director and copy lead, my work includes:
Wireframing and re-writing every page of bigmouthcreative.com
Leading brand-building projects, including our DEI page, 2024 impact report and agency manifesto
Owning strategy and copy for Bigmouth’s Instagram and LinkedIn accounts, and our internal blog and newsletter
‘Journey Toward Zero’
The challenge: The Chicago Dept. of Public Health and Tessa films needed help promoting their three-part “HIV and the Journey Toward Zero” documentary. The films capture the experience of Chicago advocates and medical professionals in the face of “the end” of the HIV epidemic. The CDPH team launch the documentary’s first installment with a premiere event that sparked conversation and celebrated the movement; subsequent films also received the premiere treatment.
My role: As creative director of copy for the small-but-mighty Bigmouth team, I was tasked with researching and developing creative concepts and copy. My work needed to honor the film’s subjects and show sensitivity toward the HIV community. My work included:
Playbills and discussion guides for each film
Emails, social media, film posters and screening signage
On-set creative support and direction