Case Study
Branded Content Campaign
AI Use Case
Balancing Personal Journey with Brand Mission
Prismatic visual direction grounded in the brand’s core language: luminosity and timeless luxury
Client
Clé de Peau Béaute
Scope
Photoshoot Art Direction, Branded Content & Social Amplification
My Roles
Led the end-to-end design process, from ideation to stakeholder presentations, photo shoot art direction, and validation
Timeline
Nov. 2025 - Mar. 2026 (4 Months)
Early results
From launch date (March 12) to March 24, page view reached
17,677
Average Time Spent exceeds Forbes.com benchmark by
88.6%
Clé de Peau Beauté collaborated with Forbes to create a custom branded content experience for the 2025 Power of Radiance Award, including an original photoshoot in London, web article, and social amplification, honoring the award recipient’s achievements and story.
Where We Started
To understand CPB's visual language, I went beyond the brand guidelines. I studied how the brand actually manifest its color, typography, and assets across campaigns and social, because there's always a gap between documented style guide intent and lived application. What the brand does in practice tells you more than what it says on paper. The keywords that emerged from that research: luminosity, breathability, and elegance.
Opportunity
The article's linear narrative structure presented a clear creative opportunity: rather than solving for information architecture, I could focus entirely on visual storytelling — finding the visual language that's subtle, but intentional, ensuring the design doesn't fall flat or bland.
Strategy & Vision
Following a round of discussion with stakeholders and presenting my visual research, our campaign vision: use prismatic light, CPB's signature visual language, as both an aesthetic and a narrative device. Light refracts, reveals, and transforms. Applied to a story about a woman breaking barriers in her field, it becomes more than decoration. Motion would carry the same logic: subtle, breathing. I need to chase that perfect light.
Outcomes and Aesthetic Choices
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Inspired by CPB's signature use of refraction and directional light, I built the visual language around three intentional choices: prismatic light effects for luminosity, fractured light as a symbol of barrier-breaking and empowerment
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I also paired refined typography with prismatic light effects to bring a modern, elegant, and premium tone to the experience
“Everything looks so beautiful and we appreicate the Forbes team’s work on these assets.”
Zainab K.
CPB Account Manager, Omnicom SIN
SIDEBAR
AI in practice: how I used generative image tools to build a more precise photoshoot brief
With the increasing maturity of generative image tools, I wanted to evaluate how they could integrate into a professional creative workflow. I approached this exploration with three hypotheses:
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AI image generation will reduce the time spent on reference and image search
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References generated around a fictional subject (never the actual featured SME) can more accurately reflect the desired skin complexion and visual characteristics than stock photography
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AI-generated references can communicate art direction to the photographer more precisely
The Process:
Step 1: Create a fictional subject, referencing SME characteristics
Step 2: Create a series of portraits showing the established model from multiple angles, maintaining consistent character features across all images.
Step 3: The shot must feature our established virtual model holding the glass trophy product
Output: Shotlist completed in 45 minutes. The same process typically takes several hours sourcing references on Getty.
Within two weeks of launch, average time spent exceeded Forbes benchmarks by 88.6%. This performance was driven by a narrative-led approach, where we paired personal story with a restrained visual design that supports, rather than competes with, the content. The clean design keeps focus on the story, allowing readers to engage more deeply.
Incorporating AI accelerated early-stage exploration. However, it was the collaboration across human creatives that shaped and delivered the final experience.
CREDITS
Design Lead → Janet Yin
Content Lead → David MacLean
Producer → Leah Bottone
Program Management → Brian Lee
Photographer → Adam Gasson