digital + store campaigns
CASE STUDY No. 4
Michaels Stores — national campaigns, seasonal photography, FMA signage systems
retail signage
retail pitch
campaign photography
art direction
Role
Art director
Shot at
Paradigm studios, Dallas
05 - in-store signage — fall + halloween
process
A Michaels seasonal campaign isn't a single deliverable — it's a coordinated rollout that has to read as one voice across a 40,000-square-foot store and a fully-merchandised digital storefront.
Client
MICHAELS
04 - photo results
The same five-stage arc ran a second time for Holiday + Christmas, with a different palette, a different set of aesthetic lanes (traditional, modern minimalist, glam metallic), and a different category mix. The proof point isn't a single season — it's that the system was repeatable across both major resets of the year.
the holiday + christmas counterpart
The in-store program shipped to every Michaels location nationwide. Below are 18 of the distinct pieces from the Fall + Halloween 2022 reset, organized by sign type. Photography here is from in-aisle, post-rollout — the signs as shoppers actually saw them. These are some examples below.
physical production
example of aisle assortment
Campaigns
Seasonal CaMpaigns
01 - Strategy & merch alignment
pre-concept
Every season started with merchandising. Before any creative, the program priorities were locked: which categories were getting the biggest counter footprint, which SKUs were strategic to push, what last season's data said about what shoppers actually responded to. My focus was our seasonal floral and greenery side-counters.
• Aligned on commercial priorities with merch leads across Floral, Halloween, and DIY Surfaces
• Mapped category goals to creative moments — what gets a hero banner vs. what gets an endcap callout
• Set the success metrics for the season before any concept work began
02 - The creative room — sampling & build
Once concepts were locked, the creative room got to work — actually making every wreath, arrangement, tablescape, and centerpiece that would appear in the final campaign. I worked with the makers, checking in weekly, art-directing the pieces in-progress so what landed on the photo set was already on-brand and on-palette.
• Reviewed sample crafts weekly, redirecting when palette or composition drifted
• Selected the final pieces from each maker that would go to photography
• Coordinated prop sourcing alongside the build — chairs, fabrics, surfaces, vessels
03 - On set
On shoot days, I worked with the photographer and stylists to translate the concept boards into the actual photography. Every hero shot you see in a sign below started here — composed, lit, and styled in real time against the season's mood references.
• Art-directed live on set with photographer + stylist team
• Approved every hero frame against concept boards before moving on
• Captured both the wide hero shots and the round-cropped detail shots used in callouts
art directed images
