The Boston Consulting Group has published compelling thought leadership for over 50 years. They came to CSA looking to bring this tradition to a digitally native audience and develop a cutting-edge digital publishing platform. As part of a team, I collaborated with BCG on a variety of initiatives to prepare Ideas & Inspiration for launch, and continued the engagement during their first year of publishing.

This included providing creative direction to a roster of artists, who BCG commissioned to develop article artwork. I collaborated closely with each artist, our core client, and the development team to develop a seamless process for artwork creation and implementation. I also led a team in curating a photography library, and worked directly with the client to develop website page layouts using modular page-building tools.

Role: Senior Designer
Skills: Art Direction, UX Design, UI Design, Guidelines, Development Oversight

Andre Beato

Charles Williams

Sarp Sözdinler

Artist Partnership
The design direction for this site is about embracing voice as the visual, and creating a feeling of “Provocative Discussion” throughout the editorial experience. To bring the article titles to life, I provided creative direction to a roster of talented typographers, illustrators, and new media artists. I developed creative briefs and walked each artist through the creative challenge, as well as level-setting client expectations and technical requirements. This effort generated a rich library of proprietary artwork for BCG, rendered in the innovative artists’ signature styles.

Alastair Gray

Planning & Process
I developed a standardized work plan that outlined the entire Artist Partnership process — from initial artist briefing to artwork delivery. Because there were three players involved (BCG + CSA + Artist), it was imperative to establish expectations and make guidelines clear. This kept the work moving, the clients happy, and the artists satisfied with their contributions.

Curated Imagery
I also led a team in curating a library of photographs to use as hero imagery for articles that did not require custom artwork. Building on BCG’s relationship with EyeEm, we selected images from this crowd-sourcing photography site. Doing so allowed us to build a library full of avant-garde yet affordable images.

Show, Don't Tell
During a two-day workshop, I worked directly with the BCG Digital Marketing Manager to develop page layouts for the site launch. I walked the client through using the system of modular tools to create engaging page layouts and populate them with real content in BCG’s CMS. We focused on how to organize content and select modules to create a sense of rhythm and intrigue as the user scrolls, and use module types appropriately.

Flexing for the Future
This approach to a design system — driven by unique artist partnerships and dynamic imagery — is additive rather than constraining. By framing the approach as design principles rather than rules, the Ideas & Inspiration site is able to flex and grow as BCG moves into the future.

Created at Carbone Smolan Agency
Creative Direction: Paul Pierson, Matt Hallock, Daniel Irizarry

Helen Dear

Contact
hddear@gmail.com

Social
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