I led the design and Art Direction for a rare in-cafe, culture-driving activation across 14,000 stores and Times Square. Leveraging my deep knowledge of the brand and client preferences, I identified opportunities to push the design beyond the brief while maintaining alignment with the brand’s framework.

I incorporated my own hand lettering into custom notes featured on window clings and in-cafe collateral, to emphasize community and the power of kindness. This personal touch helped create a warm, authentic connection with consumers. Additionally, I provided Creative Direction to the AR experience design team to create a branded, functional, and unique experience. Lastly, I developed the Art Direction and Design for in-store print collateral, which the clients raved about. The team entrusted me to oversee the in-person installation of the in-cafe experience in New York City, ensuring the vision was brought to life seamlessly.

The campaign achieved impressive results, with over 54.2 million total impressions, 333,000+ hours spent in the AR experience, 206,000+ landing page visits, and recognition from AdAge and QSR.

Design Direction and Design: Emma Dowling.

“Recently, I've had the pleasure of working with Emma on a print in-store signage project for the Starbucks Kindness campaign. Her attention to detail, creative flair, and dedication to rep'ing Design at Edelman has truly shone through in every aspect of the design process. Emma's ability to take a WIP campaign toolkit with a few graphic elements and some typography styles and beautifully bring it to life across signage is truly applause-worthy. From the window clings that will soon adorn 13 window panes across Starbucks' Times Square location to the counter cards that will be placed on over 15,000 pickup bars at cafes across the country, her work has proven to be the gold standard for other designers to follow. Her unwavering work ethic and deep understanding of the Starbucks brand have consistently impressed me and the entire team. I have received numerous positive comments from our clients praising Emma's work, even noting that they "could see any of the signage options we presented placed in their cafes right now." She even went above and beyond to hand letter notes of kindness in different handwriting styles for a truly genuine and authentic expression. Despite facing tight timelines and demanding projects, she has consistently displayed a remarkable level of professionalism and dedication, often working late to meet deadlines. She manages her time effectively and prioritizes tasks, which has been key to our team's success. Moreover, I want to acknowledge her outstanding collaboration skills throughout the entire process. She effectively listened to and incorporated feedback from various stakeholders, while also providing valuable insights and recommendations that enhanced the final product. Cannot thank Emma enough for her remarkable contribution to the work and our team! Psyched to keep working together on Starbucks and look forward to seeing her continued success at Edelman.” –Anna Wingard, SVP, Group Creative Director

“I thought we had enough people on the Starbucks Kindness team. And then Emma came along. Thank God she did because boy did we need her. Emma hopped on the Kindness Train that was already running 50 miles an hour. Have you ever tried to do that? Of course not. Because it's impossible. But Emma did! Emma was working on the Kindness Project to help define our design language for the campaign that would be translated across Starbucks stores and adapted to Web AR and Installation assets. Emma's attitude from the get-go was infectious. She didn't think of the design task like a chore. You can tell she freaking loves what she's doing. You can't fake that excitement. In minimal time and crunched deadlines, Emma was vital in setting the design tone. From Round 1 to Round 5, she still shares the same positivity and enthusiasm for the work. Taking pains to craft each and every element via handwritten fonts. Something she doesn't have to do, but wanted to try. And it ended up looking gorgeous. Her work has not only been appreciated by us on the creative team. But the entire Kindness Team including the clients, who feel Emma's work with the Store Signage elements has been bang on from day one. Understanding the Starbucks brand, their toolkit and being able to evolve and express that in a beautiful way. The best part about Emma isn't even her design. It's her attitude and ownership. Working on Pacific Time isn't easy with a bunch of east coasters. When there is a tight deadline and you know Emma's pulling an all nighter. But you don't wake up to a bunch of panic messages. You wake up to a file that's almost ready to go to the client meeting. That confidence and ownership of "I got this" is so refreshing. Making me on the creative team feel supported and knowing Emma's got my back. I'm sure Emma and myself will find ways to continue working together. If she doesn't, I will. Always rooting for you.” -Manas Abrol, Executive Creative Director, SVP