TREND-LED PHOTOGRAPHY
Story Homes is a premium housing developer operating across Cumbria, the North West and North East of England, and southern Scotland. I was engaged as a freelance creative consultant on two projects, with a focus on elevating their lifestyle photography and aligning their visual storytelling with the luxury positioning of their brand.
As part of this collaboration, I was invited to review their customer magazine, Story Living, and provide strategic recommendations to better reflect the high-end nature of their homes. While the properties themselves are aspirational, this wasn’t consistently communicated through the magazine’s photography and editorial content, or across their wider digital presence. My role was to help bridge that gap and bring greater cohesion between brand promise and visual execution.
Role
Creative Director
Responsibilities
Trend analysis
Creative Direction
Shoot Management
Copy Writing
Date
2018 - 2019
‘Status used to be about the possession of certain objects. Now, so many people have so much. The result? Status has become less about 'what I have' and much more about 'who I am': namely, more ethical, creative, connected, and tasteful than the masses. The implications for luxury consumerism are vast, as premium consumers intensify their quest to live out and personify these ideals.’
trendwatching.com
Feedback
I reviewed all back copies of Story Living and gave recommendation on which elements already had a premium feel in-line with their brand identity. I then identified examples of how we could elevate the photography further and create new articles to fit the luxury brief.
Concepts
Each project consisted of identifying and translating four of that seasons hottest trends within chosen Show Homes. These trends stories needed to be new enough to create interest but accessible enough for Story Homes customers to recreate in their homes.
Photography
After visiting several of the show homes to be used as shoot locations, I then wrote the photographic brief and briefed the stylist. I prefer to do this in a very visual way to ensure everyone on the team from the stylist and photographer to the client are aligned and working to create the same vision.
Attending the shoot in person is equally important to ensure everything goes to plan. Making decisions on the angle of shots and styling can be done remotely but it is far more time and the therefor cost efficient to make prompt decisions in person as questions occur.
Copy Writing
Story Homes were delighted with their new photography and asked me to write accompanying articles for their website.
'Louise is an exceptional art director who combines creativity and leadership. I highly recommend her for any project that requires a visionary touch and professional execution'
