THE ASSIGNMENT
Client: The Franklin Institute
Produce a portfolio for The Franklin Institute's marketing team to create print and digital collateral and establish a new paradigm for a strategic approach to creating high-quality, engaging image libraries.
THE STRATEGY
Named for the nation's favorite founding father, Ben, The Franklin Institute is one of Philadelphia's premier cultural and scientific institutions. This shoot was an opportunity whose goal was two fold. The first was to give the marketing team some new collateral to work with for membership brochures and a variety of print, digital and outdoor advertising. We had a tight schedule of one day to capture all we needed and were working with a cast of real people with kids from their summer day camp. We worked during operating hours so we had to work around, or directly with, the daily patrons some of whom made it in as some of my favorite final images.
The other goal here was to give the design team a portfolio of work that helped make the case for greater and more strategic investment in image libraries. Sometimes big, well known, institutions don't always see the need to invest in this kind of branding and storytelling since they are so well known. But we all live in a world with immeasurable demands on our time, and dollars, so it was exciting to be a part of that effort to make the case that investing in bold, visionary visual storytelling was worthwhile.
Considering the time constraints, this shoot required a diligent focus on what we were looking for from planned and spontaneous moments while making something iconic feel fresh. Managing a cast of children who aren't professional models who were taking time from their day camp to participate, and working fast to get the kids back to their activities while weaving in and out of the experience of paying patrons while managing the technical demands of a museum with super quick set ups and capturing natural moments is not for the fainthearted. But a well thought out strategic plan with clear goals, ambition checked against reality, a strong team, lots of communication and trust and we got it done and even had time for a lunch break.
"I do think it was a huge ask for the limited time so thank you for sharing your talent and coming in and working on this with us. Everyone is very pleased with the work." - Barbara Chotiner, Graphic Design Manager