studio
Unlike most communications agencies, we run our own media and storytelling studio to give voice to the strategies we recommend.
Video
Stories of Now and Next:
We produce inspiring films, shortform documentaries, motion graphics, and compelling video stories about some of the most pressing social issues and innovations of our times—either through hyper-local profiles or wide-ranging coverage of our world in transition.
In order of appearance:
A news feature piloted for Vice News on the rise of futures-thinking; a video shot in Iraq for NYC Medics and aired on CNN; an overview of The Greater Boston Food Bank’s seven-brand collaborative initiative to end hunger; a 60-second teaser for a forthcoming PBS series on democracy; an interview with #GivingTuesday co-founder Henry Timms on new power; our CEO and Columbia University professor interviewing a MET museum executive for a leadership series she curated, and which a Columbia video crew shot, for CU’s graduate School of Professional Studies, and an independent, award-winning video on GenZ activism made by BrandStories videographer Logan Calder.
Photography
Portraits of Hope, Need and Resilience:
Our visual storytelling, in-studio and on-location, produces multimedia images and still portraits of power, change and communities in action.
In order of appearance:
Our news photo shot at a social justice rally; Dan Demetriad’s cover photos of jazz great Wynton Marsalis; one of his award-winning photos of midtown Manhattan in motion; a Holi Hindu Festival of Colors; former Citigroup CEO Sanford “Sandy” Weill, and a Phil Suarez photo of a Nepalese villager aided by NYC Medics after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
Digital + Print Design
Brand faces and voices:
Visual and editorial design of an organization’s work in the broader world of innovative advocacy, purpose-driven commerce and cultural change.
In order of appearance:
Site redesign element in Harlem Wellness Center rebranding project; site design for a Boston food bank’s anti-hunger project launch and conference events; early website and print brochure concepts for a fashion startup; selected logo designs.
Publications
Covering news, social trends and ideas.
Through print and online articles, webinars, conferences, podcast and video scripts, research reports and more, we make sense of the changing landscape for influential and diverse audiences.
In order of appearance:
Redesign of the award-winning digital magazine, Cause Global; magazine cover designs for Contribute magazine (2005-2010); cover design for a forthcoming book on social activism and the future of nonprofit work; a visual media guide our CEO developed for her SxSW video workshops; the workbook she developed for her classes at Columbia, and a reprint of an article she wrote for the Stanford Social Innovation Review revealing algorithmic bias in some media platforms.
Podcasts
Programs, Pilots + Sonic Brands.
Our audio studio helps influential brands create compelling episodic news stories, conversations and social narratives—as well as ‘sound brands’ and internal podcasts to help companies and nonprofits better engage with and activate their employees and stakeholders.
In order of appearance:
A segment from a pilot podcast on hunger in America, featuring Hearst’s Jane Francisco; an internal podcast segment produced for Living Cities about mainstream media’s coverage of race in America; an interview with the co-founder of Shine Global on disinformation and what makes a good story; a selection of logos representing some pilots produced for the Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Institute for International Education, including a logo for a forthcoming podcast sharing listener letters about our democracy in transition.
Illustration
Visualizing now and next:
Our illustrators are storytellers who use imagery to helpfully interpret texts or ideas, either using pen and ink, watercolors, or mixed media in digital formats to enliven social media feeds, videos, app pages and printed media.
In order of appearance:
A Nancy Stone drawing for a Halston trunk show; Adrian Grezda’s illustration of Manhattan’s day-night skyline; cover art for a magazine story on digital advocacy, and a photo illustration for a research report on auto safety.
Infographics
Finding the meaning and stories in your data:
We help organizations translate their data, information and appeals into graphics to enliven internal reports, engage the public, improve strategy and increase understanding.
In order of appearance:
Infographic on how to battle fake news; representation of data sets for an internal report showing the scope/impact of an HR client relationship; social impact data for disaster relief organization; data about social video and its growing power to engage audiences; Instagram tiles that helped a successful fundraising campaign on #GivingTuesday.
Emerging Media
VR, AR, AI and the Metaverse:
We can help you make a bot, brainstorm generative AI projects and policies, fundraise in VR and AR, and use the latest digital tools and apps to tell stories, raise funds and connect with culture.
In order of appearance:
A licensed, generative AI image for an ocean conservancy; a BrandStories workshop on AR/VR at RYOT Studios; experimentation in the Metaverse (Bernhard Drax), and a sample of an AR history project that BrandStories helped to promote for the Chicago History Museum.