When Kmart rebranded, my creative team was tasked with designing the 90+ page Kmart Brand Style Guide. As the ACD on the project, I served as the primary client contact and lead our team in developing new brand elements, exploring typography, voice, color palette, photo direction, and fleshing out how the new brand would translate to print, digital, and in-store applications. I presented regularly to the Kmart Integrated Marketing (IM) team, which included the Kmart CMO while also designing various deliverables. What you see here is just a sample of the work my team and I created during this comprehensive transition to the new look and feel.
One of my favorite responsibilities during the rebranding process was leading the development of two custom Kmart Pantone colors: Kmart Red and Bluelight Blue. I presented the new brand positioning, personality, look, and feel to Pantone staff, met with them regularly to determine our approach and options, and was the conduit between Pantone and the Kmart IM team. I reviewed and weighed in on color formulations throughout the process and once finalized, distributed custom chips and usage to various departments within the organization.
Photography style was one of the most important elements of the new Kmart look and feel. To make sure the photo studio really understood the direction and style, I developed and delivered a presentation of the new style guide, brand philosophy, and photo direction to the entire photo studio staff of 70. The audience included everyone from the DVP of the studio to the creative staff, producers, and retouching team.
During the rebranding effort, Kmart also brought their weekly circular design and production in-house. We needed to build the circular team from scratch, adding over 30 positions to the existing production team within our extended department. The production team did not have senior-level creative leadership, so I was tasked with interviewing, training, and leading the Kmart production team as acting Creative Director. I worked with not only the production team, but the photo studio, business units, and the Kmart IM team to successfully transition the creative work, implement the new brand standards, provide guidance to the production team, and launch the first few months of circulars. This was in addition to continuing to lead my creative design team and fostering their growth and development.
