DESIGN MANAGEMENT
During my time with Hilton's Global Design Services (GDS) department, I managed portfolio growth throughout US/Canada for: Curio - A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree.
While a critical amount of time was spent coaching on a project-to-project level, I carried a mindset and vision for the brand as a whole and strived to provide strategic design guidance that was easy to digest. Additional work spanned from distributable brand initiatives that facilitated greater design thinking and understanding of Key Brand Attributes, such as the Art Narrative below, to optimizing the user experience of our websites and how we engage with the outside world as a brand. More on that can be seen via "Design Upload Sites" in the Work section.
A gallery of some of my properties is located further below.
FULL SERVICE & ALL-SUITE ART NARRATIVE
One of my favorite projects dealt with how we approach art across our Full Service offerings, as well as Embassy Suites. After being with Hilton for some time, I noticed a true business need for a guide that could strategically elevate art packages both aesthetically and content-wise. Not only would this help designers better understand what Hilton, as a brand, was looking for, but also guide them to push further and more creatively.
By producing this initiative to live within the design upload websites, Owners and designers have access to it at any time alongside the Brand Narrative and D&C Brand Standards as a crucial document to understanding the ethos and quality expected within our properties.
As part of my objective, I created the framework and scope of the project, interviewed and onboarded art consultants, determined the content and flow of the narrative, curated the artwork, wrote and edited copy, and led the visual design of the final package.
DOUBLETREE PITTSBURGH-CRANBERRY
Spanning across in-person meetings, calls, and written reviews, my time with GDS was spent pushing designers to be their best selves. That meant for their own design vision - or helping them find one - as well as aligning with the brand's design strategy and creating more optimal user experiences for our guests.
Often times, my guidance was split from macro to micro, assessing lay-outs and guest flow/journey to the detailed design of a millwork piece. With a difficult atrium space that needed to be zoned and designed with more intimate spaces, I helped the team rework their plans, breakthrough to create more elevated and modern millwork solutions, and select fabrics that balanced speaking to their vision as well as that Hilton's brand. Fun fact: I designed the ballroom and pre-function areas of this property so it was a real treat to watch a new firm bring the lobby phase to life based on my work in Phase 1.
Click below to enlarge and review my written guidance for Cranberry's designs.
Below is a gallery of just some of the most notable projects I worked on, in addition to countless others across the region.
