S M I L E Y _ S T E V E N S

Creative Direction for campaign: AVOID REALITY.

Photography: Charlottle Rutherford, Director: Philippa Price.

Creative & Art Direction for the marketing of The Disappearance of My Mother – a documentary about Benedetta Barzini.

Designed the logo / branding for the 2021 Davos summit in Switzerland, with the World Economic Forum

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The initiative, THE GREAT RESET, was announced by Klaus Schwab, founder of the WEF, in partnership with the Prince of Wales, the IMF and the United Nations.

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The Great Reset will seek to reimagine, rebuild, redesign, reinvigorate and rebalance the world, while addressing the world’s socioeconomic impact demands.

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WEF Team: Javier Gesto & Liam Ó Cathasaigh

Producer.

Press: Hypebeast, The Hollywood Reporter, ArtNet.

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Don't Forget to Breathe, a new installation by Doug Aitken, meditates on the rapid changing face of technology framed within a relic of our modern past. Set in a desolate storefront, it presents a possibility that a chapter of capitalism has completed its life cycle and we are entering the next era where the screen world mirrors the physical one.

The three isolated figures rest on a raw wooden floor surrounded by the empty former store on Santa Monica Blvd. The artwork explores a landscape of transformation, the shift of the material to the dematerial. As light, color and abstract images synchronize through the three bodies, they create a continuously changing juxtaposition between isolation and absolute connectivity. Echoing through the space is an original audio composition of layered vocals that moves in sync with the light choreography.

“Community without compromise” is Treehouse Co-living‘s co-founder Prophet Walker’s response when asked what distinguishes the “co-living” model from a conventional apartment building. Treehouse, which is located in the heart of Hollywood, is the first ground-up build of its kind.

To realize the vision in three dimensions, Walker, a longtime community activist and organizer, and his business partner, entrepreneur Joe Green, turned to Soler Architecture and Venice–based Sean Knibb.

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Website Design by Smiley Stevens.

Packaging Design for AQU’s 24-Karat Gold Ear Seeds.

The ear is a microsystem of the body. By stimulating specific acupressure points using auriculotherapy, ear seeds can help reduce pain, stress, tension, and promote overall relaxation of the mind and spirit. The 24K gold can help increase circulation throughout the body while adding an extra sparkle to your health routine.

Order on AQU WELLNESS.

Creative Director of the RYOT Innovation Event series. In Fall 2018, we were asked to put together a concept around the intersection of technology, innovation and entertainment in Los Angeles. Together, RYOT and Verizon Media Group hosted, produced and created a series of events, pop-ups and sponsorships that explored this intersection.

Coinciding with Verizon’s launch of the 5G Network, we highlighted the five industries that will be transformed by the revolutionary tech: film; music, sports, fashion and art.

We partnered with:

+ Doug Aitken

+ Karen O and Dangermouse at the Marciano Art Foundation

+ Marshmellow Laser Feast at the Saatchi Gallery in London

+ David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption & Sigur Ros’s Soundbath

+ MANY MORE!

“For a single day, a golden shipping container made Venice Beach a direct ‘portal’ to the rest of the world.

The one-time public art installation, dubbed the RYOT Portal, popped up in Windward Plaza in the wee hours of Friday morning, Dec. 14, 2018 connecting Venice to five other cities across the globe.

Leveraging cutting edge technology, the Portal — a collaboration between immersive media company RYOT and tech-art collective Shared Studios — invited people inside a standard cargo shipping container to participate in fully immersive video conversations with people in various parts of the world.

The goal: to create conversations that would never happen otherwise.

Inside the Portal, participants faced an eight-foot tall screen broadcasting head-to-toe video of participants in Mexico City, Mexico; Erbil, Iraq; Herat, Afghanistan; Stockholm, Sweden; and Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The day was shaped around three meals, each with its own conversation theme, but most discussions centered on the global refugee crisis. Each topic was chosen carefully by the team of creators.

Breakfast with Stockholm brought three Los Angeles teens together with a trio of 18-year-old refugees to talk about “bridging worlds.” Lunchtime’s conversation with Colorado Springs got heated over the topic of the American dream. Dinnertime with Herat culminated with a global music jam session, bringing together international talents. In between meals, people strolling along Ocean Front Walk could participate in open sessions with Mexico City or Erbil.”

Creative Direction for with Willa Agency for the video launch of ClearStart by Dermalogica, aimed at GEN Z consumers.

Creative Direction, Art Direction and Graphic Design for RYOT. Smiley created the brand book for digital and print, used for clients and on-boarding new team members.

Printed materials for Maverick Imapct – a division of Maverick that develops advocacy, philanthropy and investment strategies to elevate the legacies of artists and managers.

Maverick artists include: Madonna, U2, Miley Cyrus, Nick Minaj, etc.

Branding, Creative Direction and Logo Design for Cali Cafe – A Los Angeles based eatery from the duo behind Cabbage Patch and MRKT.

Art Direction for Flower Punk – a documentary about Japanese floral artist Azuma Makoto, directed by Alison Klayman.

See more of Azuma’s Work.

Graphic Design for the Ten Year Anniversary of The Tasting Kitchen.

Branding for Fiat Lux – a lantern festival. Full deck on request.

The RYOT Films FIlm Club was launched at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

A selection of my work created for various articles on The Huffington Post.

Creative Direction and show development for a Documentary Series about the Silent Twins – June and Jennifer Gibson.

THE SILENT TWINS is elevated and complex – it is a story of human sacrifice, the gemini, mental institutions, and of crime & creativity. Dark. Moody. Artistic. The story is told through real-life scientific studies, historical documents, the twin’s intimate journals, and of course, Majorie Wallace’s research on June and Jennifer.

Branding & Art Direction for the Raising Gen-Z podcast, hosted by psychotherapist Shira Myrow.

Creative Direction for Sony. I was asked to create a five part ad series that played during the Sony Crackle’s show: Start-Up. Directed by Angel Manuel Soto, we created these five educational short ads on hacking.

Global Billboard Campaign for RYOT. The image was shot by Vienna-based photographer David Scherrmann.

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN:

The astronaut is the ultimate explorer – blazing a trail towards the future. Similarly, RYOT is a pioneer of their industry – forging new ways of storytelling, utilizing novel technologies and emerging formats to tell these stories.

We launched the campaign digitally, as well as in NYC and Los Angeles and across Verizon Media Group’s global offices. The campaign is now become synonymous with RYOT and Verizon’s 5G Studio of the future – currently located in Playa Vista.

Graphic Design + Branding for 3Rodeo, a Los Angeles based tech fund, founded by Noah Heller, Molly DeWolf Swenson and Lars Perkins.

Creative Direction and Graphic Design of Augmented Reality Invitations to the Tribeca Film Festival Premiere of Satan & Adam.

Recently acquired by Netflix, the documentary was co-produced by The Kennedy/Marshall Company and RYOT Films.

Creative Direction, Branding, and Graphic Design for Good Today, a non-profit platform that makes it easy and meaningful to give charity daily to hundreds of new causes and organizations across the globe. 

Founders: Guy Oseary, Jeff Benun, Molly Swenson, Joe Teplow, Jeff Dobrinsky, Ariel Sterman.

www.goodtoday.org

In 2017, I went down to a disappearing island off the coast of Louisiana to direct a short VR documentary for Hulu. The island is home to just 25 families and it’s coastline is rapidly falling into the sea as a result of climate change. The piece follows the Brunet family – Chris, Howard and Juliet – who have lived on the island their whole lives.

In March 2018, Louisiana State Officials announced that everyone living on Isle de Jean Charles will be evacuated and relocated to drier land, against their wishes. They are America’s first climate change refugees.

36 Ft x 6 Ft – Printed on Soundproofing Fabric.

For an interior refresh at the Yahoo Playa Vista Offices, I designed a large scale mural representing the heroes of RYOT and Yahoo employees.

From Left to Right:

Stevie Nicks, Fela Kuti, Buckminster Fuller, Frida Khalo, Patti Smith, Keith Haring, Prince, Ai Wei Wei, Nadia Murad, Gloria Steinem, Carl Sagan and Mohammed Ali.

Door No. 1 is an interactive virtual reality experience, created by Nora Kirkpatrick (The Office, Greek) for Hulu. I did the Art Direction for the marketing and branding of the show.

RYOT was asked by Samsung to cover the events surrounding the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. We shot over twenty Virtual Reality films, using the new Samsung Gear 360° Camera, which garnered 11.2 Million Impressions for Samsung.

I was sent down to Rio as the Art Director as well as a photographer.

Facebook asked RYOT to create content for the launch of their 360 Platform – so I directed a piece on the Mars Desert Research Station – a full scale analog facility in Utah.

The MRDS is an experiment that promotes Earth-based research in pursuit of the technology, operations and science required for Human Space Exploration.