Durand Bernarr
Creative Direction, styling, photography, EP booklet design, UX/UI design, front end dev, and a custom Wordpress theme for singer/songwriter and Erykah Badu background vocalist Durand Bernarr.
Press:
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NEXTpittsburgh --
Where to shop local and boost the Burgh with your dollars this holiday season -
Pittsburgh City Paper --
Holiday Guide 2017
Credits:
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PCA Shop Manager:
Maxine Plotkin
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Marketing Assistant:
Tess Allard
Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (PF/PCA) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to support artists and advance excellence in the visual arts by offering courses, equipment rental, studio space, and a robust screening and exhibitions program. Originally two separate organizations, Filmmakers (founded in 1971) and Center for the Arts (founded in 1945) merged in 2006 to form PF/PCA under one CEO and administrative team. I was hired in August of 2017 as Director of Marketing & Communications, primarily to: lead creative agency c-leveled on the website redesign effort; improve the organization's relationship and reach with the media and local art and cinema lovers; increase enrollment numbers and artist-membership; and greatly expand the already-existing style guide to establish a united look and tone for all visual promo materials. None a small task, especially given the org's recent, public financial difficulties, a vastly reduced staff, and the lack of cohesion—branding and operation-wise—between the two different wings of the organization (PF & PCA which were also housed in two different buildings).
The work I performed at PF/PCA is categorized four ways: Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Shop (you're here), PF/PCA Exhibitions, Pittsburgh Filmmakers Cinema, and PF/PCA Education.
The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Shop, colloquially known as "The Shop @ PCA", is a gift shop located in the lobby of Pittsburgh Center for the Arts that sells the work of over 200 local artists. The for-sale work ranges from fibers and print to ceramics and glassware and highlights staff, artists, and featured projects in one of PF/PCA's most popular newsletters: Shop Talk. The Shop Manager, Maxine Plotkin, is a longtime staple and beloved advocate of the arts community in Pittsburgh and beyond, and I worked closely with her on product shots and elevated marketing for the newsletter, particularly around the 2017 holidays; various in-store artist talks and features; launching a new Instagram account for the shop specifically; the 12 Days of the Holiday Shop list; ads, posters, and postcards promoting the Holiday Shop; and Museum Store Sunday. I also chimed in on the glassworks from the shop that were ultimately chosen as engraved awards for the Artist and Emerging Artist of the Year (see: PF/PCA Exhibitions).
PCA Holiday Shop: yard banners
During the holiday season, the promotional staple items extended to The Shop always include yard banners advertising The Holiday Shop. In 2017, for the first time, The Holiday Shop launched on the same evening as the Artist and Emerging Artist of the Year exhibitions. The primary Holiday Shop banner, at over 5' x 8', was located at the parking lot entrance of PCA and the smaller 36" x 24" yard banners were dispersed throughout the property for maximum visibility along Fifth Avenue in Shadyside.
Holiday Shop promo also included print ads in Squirrel Hill Magazine and Pittsburgh City Paper's Holiday Gift Guide and postcards that were dispersed throughout Pittsburgh and made available for artists with work included in the shop that wanted to hand them out in their own communities and to their supporters.
PCA Holiday Shop: Squirrel Hill Magazine
PCA Holiday Shop: Pittsburgh City Paper's Holiday Gift Guide
PCA Holiday Shop: social media promo assets
In the 12 days leading up to the launch of The Holiday Shop, we began a countdown on social media (PF/PCA's Instagram and Facebook as well as The Shop @ PCA's new Instagram) called 12 Days of the Holiday Shop (in the spirit of the 12 Days of Christmas, naturally). Featuring products available in the store, I initiated the list to ramp up excitement for the shop's debut and feature some of its most beloved makers.
Museum Store Sunday
Product photography
More Projects
1839 Mag
Creative direction, photography & photo editing, social media management, UX/UI design & dev, identity, branding, and custom WordPress theme for a Pittsburgh-based Black arts and culture magazine.
PF/PCA Exhibitions
Marketing, public relations, copywriting, social media content creation, graphic design, photography, and videography for an non-profit arts organization's exhibitions program.
Pittsburgh Filmmakers Cinema
Marketing, public relations, copywriting, social media content creation, graphic design, photography, and videography for an non-profit arts organization's cinema program.