Case Study 1: The Seattle Streetcar

 The Challenge

Seattle was about to launch its first modern streetcar line - a $600M public investment that needed public trust, political support, and a brand identity that didn't exist yet. There was no visual language, no campaign framework, no clear way to communicate what this thing was, why it mattered, or why people should care. 

My Role

I was brought in as the Design Lead and Creative Manager at SDOT to build the Seattle Streetcar brand from the ground up and lead the creative strategy that would carry it from concept to launch and beyond.

The Process

It started with a simple overview of project that was presented to city council for budget approval. Working across departments: communications, engineering, city leadership, community outreach, I facilitated the conversations that helped us find the real story. Not "here's a new transit line" but "here's what this means for how Seattle moves."

From there I developed the full brand identity: visual language, campaign materials, wayfinding, public engagement tools, and executive presentations designed to build support at every level - from neighborhood meetings to City Council chambers.

The Outcome

The Seattle Streetcar launched with a clear, cohesive brand that earned public confidence and political backing. The creative strategy directly supported presentations that secured additional funding for extension lines. It became the foundation for Seattle's broader multimodal transportation identity - and remains one of the most significant brand systems I've built

 The Challenge

The Regional Transit Authority of New Orleans needed to modernize. New bus routes were coming online, the historic streetcar system needed a brand refresh, and the assumption, like most cities at the time, was that the future was digital. The design work seemed straightforward: update the wayfinding signage, refresh the brand, move toward technology. Except the riders hadn't been asked yet.

My Role

I was brought in to lead the full creative scope - design new wayfinding signage for the updated bus route system, a brand refresh for the New Orleans Streetcar, redesigned bus pamphlets, safety and outreach campaigns, an employee handbook, and special events materials. But before I put pencil to paper, I ran design thinking sessions with the internal city team to make sure we were solving the right problem.

The Process

The design thinking sessions changed everything.

When the team went out and polled regular riders, the data pushed back hard against the phone-first direction. The majority of everyday riders - the people who depended on this system the most and in lesser-served areas, still preferred printed schedules and physical information. 

So we rethought the situation. Not to scrap the modernization, but to make it smarter.

What emerged was a layered system that served everyone instead of assuming everyone was the same. In lesser-served neighborhoods, we added more kiosks and brought back printed bus schedules, making sure the people who needed this system most weren't left behind by a technology shift designed for someone else. In denser, higher-traffic areas used by locals who preferred digital and tourists navigating by phone, we introduced QR codes and digital ticketing booths that made the modern experience seamless.

The streetcar refresh followed the same philosophy. The historic brand needed to stay historic. That's part of what makes the New Orleans Streetcar iconic. We updated with modern wayfinding that helped riders understand how streetcar lines connected with the new bus routes. And when we looked at what tourists were actually asking for most? A brochure. Not an app. A physical souvenir of riding the streetcar in New Orleans. So we designed one.

The Outcome

The RTA ended up with a communication system that actually reflected how its riders moved through the city, not how the city assumed they did. The pivot from phone-first to a hybrid model came directly from listening to real people before committing to a design direction. That shift is what made the difference between a modernization project that served the system and one that actually served the riders.

The Challenge

The City of Seattle had a vision for the South Lake Union Roadway Commons - a major urban redesign that would transform how people moved through and experienced one of the city's fastest-growing neighborhoods. But vision doesn't fund construction. Two competitive federal TIGER grant applications needed to be developed, and they had to tell the right story.

My Role

I co-led the creative and communication strategy for both grant applications - translating a complex infrastructure initiative into a narrative compelling enough to win federal attention and dollars.

The Process

I worked across city agencies and private stakeholders, including Gates Foundation and Vulcan, to gather the right information, facilitated alignment sessions to get everyone telling the same story, and developed the visual and narrative frameworks that made the case clearly and memorably. Every graphic, every diagram, every written section was built around one question: does this help a reviewer understand why this matters?

The Outcome

Both TIGER grant applications were successful, securing $44M in federal funding for the South Lake Union Roadway Commons redesign and construction. The project moved forward. The work demonstrated what strategic storytelling at the intersection of design and policy can accomplish.