The Home Depot Corporate
Art Direction · Retail Design · Creative Leadership · Merchandising
The Role
Designing within a system built for scale.
As a Lead Designer on The Home Depot's Marketing Art Team, I worked with merchandising, creative leadership, vendors, photographers, and a small team of designers to develop national retail advertising.
My role combined creative direction, design review, art direction, and production oversight.
THE STRATEGY
Design for the customer—not just the product.
Every piece of creative had to answer the same question:
What does the customer need to see, understand, and feel?
I translated merchandising priorities into visual communication while balancing brand standards, product information, seasonal messaging, and the customer's experience.
For national circulars, one designed page could be versioned 100+ times, making consistency and attention to detail critical.
Art Direction
BLACK FRIDAY ·
ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREES
The emotional response matters.
For a Black Friday artificial Christmas tree campaign, I directed the photography around the feeling of family, tradition, and bringing Christmas home.
During the shoot, I noticed the child-on-the-ladder composition could create an unintended safety concern for parents.
I raised the issue, and the final image was adjusted so the father supported the child's foot while preserving the emotional concept.
The creative stayed warm and aspirational—without creating the wrong emotional response.
CREATIVE LEADERSHIP
Keeping the system consistent.
I managed and reviewed the work of 2–3 designers, providing feedback throughout the creative process and ensuring work stayed accurate and on-brand.
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I also participated in collaborative wall walks with creative leadership, translating feedback into actionable revisions for the team.
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Sketch → Mockup → Review → Final
Vendor +Digital Art Direction
I worked directly with photography vendors, reviewed incoming imagery, prepared assets in Photoshop, and coordinated updates with the design team.
Final imagery was prepared for print, digital, and social, then organized through the company's digital asset management system.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
A seasonal concept developed within The Home Depot's established brand system.