U.S. CELLULAR RETAIL

U.S. Cellular built its reputation on award-winning customer satisfaction and reliable coverage in urban and rural communities. That trust lived in its nearly 600 corporate and agent locations, spanning multiple formats and generations.

Challenge:
Design a strategic retail system nimble enough to move from promotions, product launches and ad campaigns to store initiatives, yet consistent enough to show up as one brand everywhere.

My Role:
Creative Director leading and mentoring a team of art directors and writers across promo kits, initiatives, new builds and rollouts, staying hands-on from strategy and concept through final design. Co-created a workflow that sustained 40%+ margins year after year. Served as retail’s voice on the IAT, collaborating with other cross-channel leads to deliver a cohesive brand presence. Presented ideas and POVs directly to client leadership, becoming their trusted creative partner and expanding the agency’s role into opportunities beyond the original scope.

Evolving the Store

Every store visit turned U.S. Cellular’s acclaimed customer care into something shoppers could experience firsthand. With each format and generation carrying its own display systems, leading the work meant defining the communication strategy, then modifying and developing displays around it when possible. Products lived in different places from one footprint to the next, but the story never changed. Intuitive zoning, clear navigation and natural flow made each space inviting to explore, while larger next-generation showrooms were beta tested, then rolled out once proven.

Brand Campaigns at retail

Retail always goes first. Long production lead times meant in-store work had to start while the look, TV and guidelines were still being finalized. Navigating that ambiguity took constant collaboration, open communication and quick pivots, sometimes turning lo res comps into print-ready artwork through sheer ingenuity. At its core, translating a campaign for retail required designing for a space people walk through and engage with, in harmony with the offers around it.

Promo Kits

Promo kits were more than a stack of signs. They were a series of strategic choices. Each kit carried three to four primary messages plus multiple smaller offers. Lead communications dominated every store format and generation, while supporting and always-on offers were woven deliberately into the environment. Creating interactive POS, from tactile flip books and six-sided story cubes to digital kiosks, invited exploration and engagement. Existing structures gained new life through die-cuts, lug-ons and inventive designs, extending impact without costly rebuilds. As brand stewards, the creative team followed guidelines with intent and pushed them with purpose, keeping attention focused and driving conversion.

Promo Kit Workflow

Speed and scale thrive inside a framework people can trust when pressure hits, one agile enough to adapt fast. A single kit could run 100+ pieces, released in waves that put the longest-lead items first and kept work flowing evenly for both the team and the printer. Creative crafted the hero designs and secured client sign-off, then studio versioned them across store formats and generations with art director oversight. The element list, the executional north star, proved so effective that U.S. Cellular adopted it as its own standard. Co-creating the workflow and its tools with studio and print production, along with a team culture of ownership, kept margins over 40% year after year.