Shutterstock Creative Direction, UX & Growth
I led creative direction across product, UX, growth marketing, and brand as Shutterstock moved beyond stock content into SaaS and AI tools.
Traffic up ~60% from hundreds of new landing pages
Projected 1M+ in yearly bookings and +70% click-through rate from landing page redesigns
2.5M visitors in 4 months for the Creative Flow™ AI SaaS tool launch
The Challenge
Shutterstock was known as a stock content library, and the brand overall felt dated. It was moving into AI-driven tools and SaaS, and the whole experience had to catch up.
Great products were going to land flat if everything around them still looked and sounded like a photo-first stock site.
We needed to provide a fresh look, feel and messaging to signal the shift overall, then tackle a better SEO strategy to adapt to the new space, plus stronger on-page interactions, clearer user flows, and the details that turned visits into conversions. All of it had to work together to drive growth.
The Approach
I partnered with executive leadership on creative direction across product, UX, growth marketing, and brand. I ran cross-team workshops to help us stay aligned.
We updated our brand identity to better represent our tools and modern sensibility in order to make our customers feel creative, confident, and empowered under my creative direction.
We expanded our color palette, gave our copy more personality, and simplified the way we depicted our tools in order to work with our global efforts. We literally broke our layouts out of the box.
Then we built and expanded the design system: brand styles, interaction design, motion guidelines, accessibility, and usability, all shipped in Figma then executed by a dedicated team of engineers.
On the growth side, I led research-driven redesigns of key landing pages, including the home page, using customer insights and qualitative testing. I also directed design, creation, and copywriting for hundreds of new landing pages to drive traffic and led experimentation for SEM page designs.
I managed a $1.5M product content budget, overseeing external agencies and contractors on an SEO, trend, and insight-led content strategy.
The Results
Traffic up ~60% from hundreds of new landing pages, with click-through at ~40% and product usage up 600K+.
+18% lead order rate (mobile conversion almost doubled) and +14% signup rate from redesigned SEM pages.
Projected 1M+ in yearly bookings from homepage redesigns.
2.5M visitors in 4 months for the Creative Flow™ launch, with 250K+ in annual bookings and +10% increase in asset licensing.
+10% paid order rate, +70% click-through rate, and +14% signup rate.from redesign of key landing pages.
75M+ impressions on a Marvel Studios cross-channel campaign, outperforming benchmarks.
In 2022, Shutterstock expanded into AI-powered design tools with the launch of Creative Flow™. We saw an opportunity to do more than launch a product: elevate the brand and create a cohesive experience across marketing and product.
I led cross-functional workshops with Brand, Marketing, Product Marketing, Enterprise, and UX to align on a new creative direction.
Within a week, my team developed a refreshed brand identity. We expanded the color palette, gave the copy some personality, and simplified how we showcased tools for a global audience. We brought those styles into our design system and created guidelines for the broader team.
New branding and optimizing growth for emerging tools
In the work
Then we put it to work. From a redesigned homepage and SEO landing pages to in-product upsells and tooltips, we applied the new direction across the customer experience. I also consulted on the AI design tools, helping shape their functionality, user experience, and visual design.
I oversaw creative execution and final approvals across marketing, enterprise sales, and in-product experiences, ensuring quality and brand consistency as we scaled.
Results: 2.5M visitors to our AI design tools in 4 months, projected +250K in annual bookings, +10% asset licensing.
After: we buttoned up visual styles, simplified depiction of SaaS offerings, applied more clear messaging, and carried it through multiple touchpoints.
Before: our AI tool landing pages and sales sheets were disjointed and lacked personality. The benefits were convoluted with crowded visuals and no cohesive brand styles.
A holiday collaboration with Marvel Studios. Holiday cards are a commodity, so we paired customizable templates with a beloved IP to give people a reason to care.
I partnered with Product Marketing on strategy and direction across templates, landing pages, and collateral, and my team built a full Guardians of the Galaxy holiday collection.
Marvel Studios product marketing campaign
In the work
We wrapped it in a full-funnel campaign, including influencer partners.
Results: 75M+ impressions, 178K+ social engagements, 3.6M+ video views, 112K+ landing page visits, 8.7K+ templates used. Outperformed benchmarks and secured media coverage.
