Building brands that share the stories of where we live, work, and gather
At Blanton Turner, a Pacific Northwest real estate development and property management company, I led a creative and marketing team responsible for 70+ residential and commercial brands. In 18 months I created and refreshed over a dozen brand identities, leading everything from naming and positioning to creative direction, photography, and copy. Every brand started with a story, rooted in the history of the neighborhood, the character of the building, and the community it was built for.
BLANTON TURNER
Boutique apartments in Seattle's Central District, named for the street's storied history as the hub of jazz in the Pacific Northwest during the 1920s. The neighborhood had a soul worth celebrating, so we leaned fully into that speakeasy spirit, from a vintage-inspired logo to brochures, billboards, and whiskey move-in gifts. We even licensed archival photography of the jazz scene from the University of Washington archives, bringing the building's lobby to life with imagery that connected residents to the street's remarkable past. When COVID limited foot traffic, we took the story digital, partnering with DJ Hershe to create a retro-inspired Summer Swing playlist and connecting with prospects through direct mail and email that brought some much needed good energy.
Jackson Street
A mixed use destination in Seattle that became home to some of Washington's most celebrated winemakers. The positioning wrote itself: the best of Washington served up in the city. We refreshed the brand identity, built a new website, created print collateral, and placed marketing in local travel publications to spread the word. We also brought the idea to life with a summer wine box campaign, partnering with the on-site wineries to give people a taste of the tasting room delivered right to their door.
SODO UrbanWorks
A former quilt factory and warehouse in Seattle's Pioneer Square, originally designed by legendary Seattle architect William Boone and reimagined as luxury loft apartments. Our job was to give it new life while honoring everything that made it special. The brand leaned into the building's industrial soul, exposed brick, original timber trusses from Seattle's logging era, and a neighborhood steeped in art galleries, music, and culture. Historic on the outside, sleek and modern on the inside.
Quilt Building
A small window into the wider body of work from my time at Blanton Turner. Across student housing, residential communities, and commercial destinations, every project brought its own neighborhood, its own history, and its own creative opportunity. Whether we were refreshing an existing identity or building one from scratch, there was always room to get creative. Projects could run weeks or years depending on the development, and the work spanned everything from giving a building its identity all the way to marketing it and filling it with excited new residents and tenants. Along the way I also worked on positioning for the Blanton Turner brand itself, including a refreshed website, photos, and a new manifesto. No two brands looked the same because no two places were the same.
More brands, more stories...
