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Designing the Deep Dive.
Samsung Ads at Cannes Lions 2025.
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The Brief
Samsung Ads needed a visually compelling and immersive brand experience for their event activation at Cannes Lions 2025.
Skills
Creative direction Brand identity Stakeholder management Experiential design Large format print design Video art direction Presentation design Event marketing collateral Social media support
Role
As Head of Design, EMEA, I led a multidisciplinary team of four across every stage of the project. From initial concept through to final delivery, I was hands-on throughout. Designing, reviewing work, liaising directly with a Cannes-based events agency, and providing weekly creative updates to senior stakeholders across the EMEA and North America marketing teams, EMEA Leadership, and Global Brand Compliance.

THE RESULT

Delivered on time, on brand, and to a standard that drew positive feedback from the highest levels of the business. The visible evolution from 2024 to 2025 was recognised and well received.

NUMBER OF PRINTED ASSETS

43

SUPPORTED SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT

30

VIDEOS SUPPORTED

10
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What better way to ease into Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity than with a sunset happy hour?
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DISCOVERY

Prior to 2024, Samsung Ads had relied on an external agency to deliver their Cannes activation. I brought this work in-house, designing the 2024 activation myself and establishing a new creative benchmark for the brand at the festival. Building on that foundation, I began the 2025 process by gathering structured feedback from senior stakeholders on the previous year's look and feel. Understanding what had worked, what could be improved, and how competitors had shown up at Cannes 2024 gave me a clear creative foundation to build from. The goal was to evolve the 2024 identity into something distinctly elevated. Returning with something that simply repeated the previous year was not an option. From that foundation I developed moodboards, initial concepts, and worked through a structured review and testing process with the EMEA and North America marketing teams to validate the creative direction before moving into production.
Typography

Ensuring brand consistency for recognition was key across all deliverables.

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Pattern

Creating a bespoke pattern for the branding using brand colours and the theme of ocean waves.

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CHALLENGE

With Cannes Lions taking place in June, the entire project from initial concept to final delivery ran across just eight weeks. Working remotely from London whilst coordinating with a Cannes-based events agency, I navigated the natural complexities of large-scale event production. Venue branding parameters evolved as the event took shape, supplier availability was competitive across the industry, and logistics required constant flexibility and forward planning.

Managing creative approvals across multiple senior stakeholder groups added another layer of complexity. Incorporating feedback from the EMEA and North America marketing teams whilst maintaining momentum required clear prioritisation at every stage. Where Global Brand Compliance feedback required a creative pivot, I moved quickly to rework and resubmit without losing sight of the overall vision or timeline.

Across eight weeks, the ability to stay calm, communicate clearly, and make confident decisions under pressure was as important as the creative work itself.
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