Where We Started
Before rebranding, Liingo had a generic, outdated aesthetic. The visual identity leaned heavily on blue and white tones, clinical lighting, and stock-like imagery, models holding glasses with stiff, unnatural poses. While the brand was functional, it lacked emotional resonance and failed to differentiate in a competitive market.
The tone was safe, conventional, and geared toward the everyday consumer, but it didn’t tell a story, spark excitement, or reflect the creative confidence we knew our audience craved.
Recognizing The Opportunity
I recognized a critical opportunity to evolve Liingo’s outdated, overly playful aesthetic into something more refined and resonant for our core demographic of 35–65 year olds. The previous brand relied on bright, whimsical colors and posed, clinical imagery that lacked emotional depth and modern relevance.
To set a new tone, I partnered closely with our photographer, Tim Bensen, to reimagine the brand’s visual language. Together, we stripped away the juvenile color palette and replaced it with a more sophisticated, editorial look, focused on authenticity, nuance, and storytelling. The result was imagery that felt elevated, relatable, and deeply human.
This transformation became The Framery: a brand that no longer just sells glasses, but invites people to see themselves with clarity, confidence, and creative expression.
Establishing an Ownable Photographic Style for The Framery
As Design Director, one of my proudest contributions to The Framery rebrand was leading the development of a signature photographic style that feels undeniably ours. I collaborated closely with our staff photographer, Tim Bensen to craft a visual language that not only elevated the product, but also reinforced the brand's distinct identity in a crowded marketplace.
We immersed ourselves in the craft, spending hours in the studio testing lighting setups, refining compositions, and studying the visual nuances of high-end brands across categories like eyewear, handbags, and luxury watches. This wasn’t just about aesthetics—it was about intention. We scrutinized every detail: shadow play, angles, reflections, material texture, and color tone, with one goal in mind—creating a look so distinctive that our imagery would be instantly recognizable as The Framery.
Through rigorous experimentation and creative iteration, we landed on a bold, editorial-inspired style that balances polish with authenticity. From lighting direction to lens selection, every creative decision was made to ensure consistency across campaigns and channels, establishing a premium, ownable look that elevates the brand and builds long-term visual equity.
The Process
Building a brand from scratch meant defining a visual language that felt instantly recognizable and uniquely ours. I led the creative direction alongside our incredibly talented staff photographer, Tim Bensen. Together, we spent weeks building moodboards, analyzing competitors, and experimenting in the studio, refining lighting, shadows, angles, and material texture to uncover what would become The Framery’s signature style.
This was a hands-on, detail-obsessed process. We tested endlessly to strike the right balance between elevated and approachable, modern and timeless. Every frame was an exercise in storytelling and brand building.
The outcome? A visual identity that feels editorial, refined, and undeniably The Framery, built to scale across web, app, packaging, and marketing.
The Results
As a design director, building a brand from the ground up is where I thrive, and launching The Framery was no exception. From day one, I led the charge in defining an ownable, unmistakable visual identity that could scale across every customer touchpoint. We weren’t just designing a brand,we were architecting a full experience.
Creating a distinct photo style was our North Star. I worked side by side with our photographer through multiple shoots, obsessing over shadows, angles, and lighting until we landed on a look that felt elevated, editorial, and instantly recognizable. That creative foundation gave us the toolkit to bring the brand to life across every surface and screen.
With a clear identity in place, I guided my team through the rollout of all marketing and packaging materials, everything from box inserts, lens cloths, and glasses cases to a fully redesigned website, app experience, and social content strategy. We created an immersive in-home try-on experience and launched a new branded insert delivered to millions of 1-800 CONTACTS customers, introducing them to The Framery.
This wasn’t just a rebrand. It was a ground-up creative build, and I loved leading it, from concept to execution, from vision to velocity.
