ROLE

CD/Writer

AGENCY

Marketing Momentum

VIBES

Fierce AF

TEAM

AD David Vadala

CW Evangeline Condakes

CAPABILITIES

Brand Voice

Visual Identity Design

Brand Positioning

Content Strategy

Insight extraction

Fashion trendspotting

llah Cibis, a mega-talented artist and jewelry designer, had amassed a cult following for her edgy designs and sheer moxie, but she needed a brand that could match her energy. When she was gearing up to launch her Worcester flagship store, I jumped at the chance to help her reinvent everything from the ground up.

Working directly with Ilah, I discovered she was inclusive, irreverent, and fond of four-letter words—a designer who wasn’t afraid to tell it like it is in a world of precious jewelry speak. The challenge was translating her authentic personality into a brand system that could scale while maintaining that raw, unfiltered energy that makes her special. I created the iLAH name and logo inspired by the shapes and textures in her actual pieces, plus a positioning line that felt like it came straight from her inner monologue: i.e. “The jewelry you f*cking deserve, made with fierce love in Worcester.” The kinetic grid-style social media approach I developed for her empowered her to keep doing her thing for a larger audience of fans who don’t just buy jewelry—they buy attitude.

For this project, I stepped outside my wheelhouse as a writer to handle the design myself because I wanted to understand, from a really lived-in place, what the creative process is like for my art director partners. The experience taught me that art direction and design are unbelievably hard (seriously, hug an art director), but it also reinforced why I love being on the writer side of the creative world. That said, the fusion of both disciplines can be magic—something I appreciated even more when I eventually called my most trusted art director partner David Vadala to help me mech the files and bring everything to life properly.

Since the rebrand, iLAH has been featured in ELLE Magazine, Vogue, and Marie Claire, and she’s integrated the system into her flagship store, packaging, community outreach materials, and experiential events. Her profile keeps rising, and the brand system continues to serve her growing success.