U.S. Navy Recruitment Campaigns
Creative Direction & Design Contributions Across Digital, Print, OOH, and Emerging Media.
CLIENT
US NAVY (via VML Agency)
ROLE
Art Director
SCOPE
VR Truck Branding, Snapchat Filters, Print Ads, Banner Ads
TIMELINE
2023-2024
The U.S. Navy's recruitment initiative aimed to connect with the next generation of potential sailors through innovative, multi-platform campaigns that highlight naval career opportunities and lifestyle benefits. The campaign targeted diverse demographics with culturally relevant messaging across traditional and emerging media channels. As Art Director, I contributed creative concepts and designs across multiple touchpoints including experiential marketing, social media, print advertising, and digital display. My work focused on maintaining brand consistency while creating engaging, platform-specific experiences that resonated with the target audience.
The Strike Group: Branding and Environmental Design
As part of the Navy’s nationwide VR recruitment initiative, I designed key brand assets and environmental graphics for The Strike Group — a traveling activation touring all 50 states.
My contributions included the creation of the official Strike Group logo, concept designs for mission badges and commemorative coins, and wayfinding and station signage for the VR cube modules stationed around the truck.
While my badge and coin designs were ultimately not selected as the final versions, they reflected early brand exploration and helped establish the overall creative direction of the activation.
Through cohesive environmental graphics and brand elements, the Strike Group experience aimed to immerse attendees in the spirit of teamwork, challenge, and adventure integral to Navy life.
Subreddit Hunter: Gamified Digital Recruitment Challenge
As part of the Navy’s push to engage highly digital-native audiences, I contributed to the concept and design of the Subreddit Hunter campaign — a hidden scavenger-hunt style challenge hosted across Reddit communities.
Designed to reward problem-solving, teamwork, and cultural fluency, the activation required participants to uncover hidden clues and complete a series of digital challenges.
Only 10 participants nationwide successfully completed the full hunt, emphasizing the campaign’s selectivity and difficulty.
I concepted and designed the digital badges awarded to winners, representing successful completion of the mission.
Additionally, I developed the creative narrative and visual structure for the campaign’s internal case study submission to the Cannes Lions Awards.
Due to submission confidentiality, campaign visuals are not publicly available at this time.
Snapchat Lens Designs
I created two interactive Snapchat lenses for Navy recruitment campaigns.
The first, launched during a football sponsorship, transformed users into a goat mascot through facial tracking.
The second promoted Special Operations roles through gamified experiences — users controlled a Navy diver, EOD specialist, and drone operator using head movement.
Both lenses were designed to blend brand messaging with organic Snapchat behaviors to maximize user engagement.
SneakerCon Pitch Collaboration
I collaborated on the creative development for a Navy presence at SneakerCon, one of the largest sneaker culture events globally, aimed at authentically connecting with young, culturally engaged audiences.
My contributions included concepting limited-edition Navy-inspired sneaker designs, designing customization stations and booth environments, and creating specialized packaging concepts featuring "Sole Sayings" — motivational phrases printed on the insoles — to align with Navy messaging.
The activation concept positioned Navy technical skills and innovation as parallel to the creativity and craftsmanship valued in sneaker culture.
It offered attendees a tangible, personalized experience while reinforcing Navy brand values through immersive design.
This work was developed as part of a larger experiential pitch to expand the Navy's recruitment strategy through culturally resonant, event-based marketing.
Conceptual and Event Print Ads
Designed a series of print advertisements targeting specific demographics and events with tailored messaging. These ads appeared in magazines, event programs, and as posters, combining powerful imagery with concise messaging that highlighted specific Navy career paths and benefits.
Digital Media Placements (Banners)
Created a comprehensive set of digital banner ads in multiple formats for various platforms and target audiences. Each design maintained brand consistency while optimizing for specific placements and demographics, incorporating strong calls-to-action and responsive design elements.
