Donald Murphy

I was honored to work with a new NYC-based fashion label to create their visual identity – including their logo, look book, business cards, garment labels and hang tags.

The inspiration for both the clothing line and the brand’s identity is the city itself – vintage and classic; new and youthful; bold and seductive; creative and energetic. For the logo, the combination of custom typography, concentric circles and the strong use of black calls to mind downtown nightlife, neon signage, the subway tokens of another era, black and white photos of the city, and an edginess mixed with sleek sophistication.

“My company’s retirement plan has Target Date Funds. What’s a Target Date Fund?”

“I’m an advisor and I’m looking for new technologies that will help me grow my business.”

When the challenge is educating investors or providing support to advisors, oftentimes the best solution is video.

Working with marketing managers and writers to define the specific objectives of a video, I reimagine the script as an illustrated story, create the art, storyboard it and provide direction for the animator. 

These videos have been very successful and “Target Date Funds Explained” won a 2019 Eddy Award from Pensions & Investments.

Throughout my career I've designed a large number of original infographics that serve to educate target audiences and explain complex ideas in accessible and engaging ways.

According to an article in Forbes, many parents don’t understand the benefits of investing in a 529 plan to save for their children’s college educations.

We set out to completely rework the marketing for CollegeBoundfund, Rhode Island’s 529 plan, in order to provide clarity and better position the plan in the marketplace. The materials were rewritten in plain language in easily digestible segments. I rethought the charts and graphics and introduced subtle design touches, like rounded chart corners, to make them feel more accessible.

For the plan’s main visual theme I chose large photos of children focusing their attention on learning and discovery to appeal to parents and enhance the plan’s approachability.

The plan administrators loved the new look and it was so successful that they expanded their suite of materials and created a sister plan for early savings called CollegeBoundbaby.

AllianceBernstein traditionally avoided advertising, relying instead on its industry-wide reputation for strong research. After the financial crisis the firm began expanding and diversifying its product line but it also needed to change its approach to the marketplace. The company’s rebrand created an opportunity to do just that. Employing fresh forward-looking messaging and bold visuals, the firm’s new advertising differentiates it in a crowded field.

I design a large variety of digital and print ads that are product-specific, for campaigns and for sponsorships.

Employee engagement is as important to a firm’s success as sales. Whether it’s for Employee Resource Groups, internal emails, Diversity and Inclusion, volunteerism or corporate events, great design goes a long way toward encouraging that engagement.

I’m grateful to have been able to partner with, and provide design services for, several non-profit organizations. Among them are Callen-Lorde Community Health Center (the only primary care center in New York City created specifically to serve LGBTQ communities), Africare (a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. which provides development aid for Africa), and The Floating Hospital (work examples shown here).

Founded in 1866, The Floating Hospital is New York’s largest provider of primary healthcare to the city’s most vulnerable residents. The marketing challenge was that, while the hospital has been an indispensable help to countless people over the past 150 years, most New Yorkers were unaware of its existence.

I partnered with an event planner to launch the hospital’s first annual fundraising gala. We enlisted renowned wildlife artist Deborah Ross to create watercolors for the invitations and were fortunate to have one of the city’s most desirable venues donate space. The first year planted the seeds of the event, with several dozen dedicated attendees. Today hundreds attend every summer and The Floating Hospital has made huge strides in fundraising and public awareness.

The challenge: how to engage advisors so they see the benefits of subscribing to content offered by the firm.

The solution: I collaborated with a Retail marketing manager to create a new business nurture program that became the first touch point from the firm for 1000 advisors per month. It included:

A welcome email encouraging advisors to get relevant content.

A physical mailing and thank-you gift offer for more than 400 advisors monthly that invited them to make a book selection online.

The offer yielded a 10% engagement rate, which allowed the marketing team to create a custom email subscription preference center that gave advisors a user-friendly way to remain subscribed to certain digital content instead of removing them from all lists. This became the customer service model for several other channels at the firm.

Identity and branding projects for companies large and small, nonprofits and individuals.

A sophisticated touchpoint sets the tone for an event, whether corporate or personal. I choose beautiful premium papers and specialty printing methods like letterpress, foil stamping and embossing to create elegant invitations and stationery.

An oldie but goodie… Nickelodeon wanted a unique style guide for Cousin Skeeter, a popular children’s show that combined a puppet main character with a live cast. The solution was an elaborate pop-up kit folder that housed the printed style guide and digital brand assets.