Stellar Brand Refresh + “Real World” Campaign

Role

Executive Creative Director

Scope

End-to-end brand transformation, creative direction, global campaign, and experiential rollout

Approach

We started by reframing Stellar’s story around what truly set it apart: real-world utility.
From there, I led a full creative transformation, building a brand system that merged strategy, story, and sensory design, complete with a refreshed visual identity, new tone of voice, and a first-ever sonic brand.

Our brand platform, “Where Blockchain Meets the Real World,” became the lens for everything: from how we wrote and designed to how we showed up in film, sound, and experience.

Once the foundation was in place, we launched “The Real World Campaign”: a storytelling platform highlighting how Stellar powers tangible human outcomes across the globe.
The campaign spanned digital media, social, press, and physical activations — including Meridian, Stellar’s global summit, and a curated cultural experiences merging art, innovation, and finance.

A man dressed in an orange suit with glasses, bow tie, and orange coat, standing in front of a glass display with the Stellar logo, presenting or explaining. The display shows text about monthly turnover of 45K and opportunities being everywhere, with a background of people in casual and business attire.

Execution

Open brand manual and branding elements for Stellar, including logo, typography, signage, social media templates, visual identity, and a 3D mockup of the manual cover featuring markets and a woman selling produce.

Directed full brand identity refresh, design system, and sonic identity

  • Oversaw film and motion direction, including the launch of the Idris Elba brand ambassadorship

  • Partnered cross-functionally with marketing, comms, and product to align visual, verbal, and experiential expression

  • Developed an integrated campaign rollout across Google Display, Meta, X, LinkedIn, Coindesk, Cointelegraph, and developer channels like StackOverflow and Dev.to

The creative work paired storytelling with strategy, using cinematic visuals, authentic human moments, and clarity of message to turn technology into emotion.

Collage of various photos including people walking in city streets, scenic views of the ocean at sunset, indoor scenes with people working or relaxing, and outdoor scenes with individuals on bikes or standing on the street. Text overlays mention names and quotes.

Results

A speaker in a light-colored suit talks to an audience seated on yellow and orange couches in a modern conference room with white and yellow walls, brick accents, and large soundproof windows.

The new brand and campaign delivered measurable performance across all metrics:

  • 27.6M ad impressions

  • 99.3K clicks

  • $1.59 CPM (well below industry average)

  • 346K sessions

  • 83.7% total engagement increase

  • +23% total mentions

  • +7.4% increase in positive sentiment

Bounce rate down 43% and engagement time up 114% post-launch

People socializing at an indoor event with yellow banners displaying ‘BETTER BOLD’ and ‘BUILDING BETTER’ behind them. Several individuals are seated at tables, engaged in conversation, with some standing and chatting in the background.

Blockchain outlets including Coindesk, Block.co, and Cointelegraph recorded the longest engagement times, validating our focus on credibility within the ecosystem.


Paid and organic channels together brought in a surge of new, high-intent users who stayed longer and engaged more deeply with the new site.

Impact

The Stellar rebrand transformed how the organization shows up in the world, from a technical blockchain to a trusted, human-first network for innovation and access.

By aligning creative storytelling with measurable business goals, we built a brand people don’t just understand. They believe in it.