HI, IT’S ANN

A strategist with a creative’s heart.



ANN KIM
mik.nna@gmail.com

I’m an entrepreneurial creative strategist who lives for the cultural zeitgeist, whether it’s unpacking the appeal of dupes or tracking the rise of daytime raves. 

I cut my teeth in branding and design before making my way into advertising over 15 years ago. Expressing a brand’s soul in new and evolving contexts is hardwired into the way I think and create. 

Spending over a decade in New York taught me that nothing trumps collaboration + provocation + curiosity. But good taste doesn’t hurt either. 

Some of my most interesting work is kept under wraps. So if you’d like to see more, reach out.

Let’s make something together :)


THE NITTY GRITTY





Experience Global Strategy Director
DDB Worldwide
2023 - 2025

Freelance Strategy Director
Collins, &Walsh, R/GA, Yard
2018 - Present

Strategy Director
Sweden Unlimited
2016 - 2017

Associate Strategy Director
Code and Theory
2014 - 2016

Sr. Design Strategist
Anthem Worldwide
2013 - 2014 

Sr. Brand Strategist 
Clark McDowall 
2010 - 2013


Clients Maybelline
Essie
Garnier
L’Oréal 
Kjaer Weis
Clairol global
Kiehl’s  


Adidas
REI
Target
Gap
Saks Fifth Ave
Madewell
Athleta


Apple
Samsung
Google
Venmo
Mailchimp
Einride
Playstation 


Disney 
Hauser & Wirth
W Hotels


Möet Hennessy 
Chandon
Sweetgreen
Tim Hortons
PepsiCo
Coconut Cult



Skills
Brand strategy
Design strategy
Campaign strategy
Content strategy
Product strategy 

Art direction


Press
‘Maybelline Created a Faux Reality Show to Hype its Two Primers’
Muse by Clios, 2025

‘Will Powdered Mushrooms be Ellie Goulding’s Next Big Hit?’
The Times, 2025

‘Alien: Romulus to get VHS Release in Honor of Original Aliens’
Forbes, 2024

‘The Best Branding of 2022’
Fast Company, 2022

Surfing Is the Solitary Sport to Try This Summer’
Vogue, 2020

‘Your Guide to the Best Women’s Surf Gear Made By Women’
Los Angeles Times, 2019

‘What to Pack for Hawaii’
Conde Nast Traveler, 2019

‘Best Wetsuits’
The Repeller, 2018







Last Updated 25.07.07
WORK I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT







GAP INC.

OMNICOM MEDIA 
AGENCY OF RECORD 
2024
An agency review kicked off in January of 2024 to help Gap Inc. maintain operational and financial strength while driving revenue and relevance across its portfolio of brands including Banana Republic, Gap, Athleta, and Old Navy. As part of the winning pitch team who had its sights set on managing a media budget of $190M, I led brand positioning thinking for each brand with a lens toward fashion, entertainment, and customer-centricity. 





DISNEY 
ALIEN ROMULUS 

DDB WORLDWIDE & OMG23
2024 

Moonshot creative strategy for OOH and experiential media ideas for a range of titles including Alien Romulus, Moana, Mufasa, Agatha, and Avatar.



MAYBELLINE  
PRIMERS LAUNCH 

ADAM&EVEDDB US
2025

Launched “Primer Donnas” with Maybelline New York — a reality TV style showdown starring Ariana Madix and JaNa Craig. Packed with absurd drama and gossip, the campaign spotlights two hero primers: Grippy Serum and Poreless Jelly.

The reality show spoof brought to life the campaign strategy “always ready for drama”.






SWEETGREEN REDESIGN 

COLLINS 

2022
Fast Company‘s Best Redesign of 2022. 

With the team at design agency Collins, we transformed Sweetgreen’s brand identity into a broad-reaching design system that included retail, print, digital, app, and social by bringing to life our strategic design brief “cultivating curiosity”. 





REI

RUN, CAMP, HIKE, CYCLE
ACTIVITY KITS & CREATIVE BRIEFS 

2022 - 2023
Developed REI’s four core activity brand books, inclusive of content strategy, product communication roll out, partnership and vendor recommendations, and initial creative direction.  



*Photo BY Field Unit for Usal x REI collab*





LA BAMBA NYC
ECO-FRIENDLY WETSUITS FOR WOMEN 

2018 - 2022


In 2018 I launched a personal passion project, La Bamba NYC, a line of eco-friendly women’s wetsuits. Born from my desire to have a high performance, aesthetic garment and a curiosity around whether I could build a brand from scratch. La Bamba NYC was sold D2C through a wild and beautiful ecommerce and content experience, where I curated the art direction and campaign content.  

Featured in Vogue, The Los Angeles Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and The Repeller. 



COCONUT CULT REBRAND 

&WALSH 

2022
Prior to the rebrand, Coconut Cult used a changing wordmark and graphic system. And while it was super playful and true to their creative nature, it made brand consistency a challenge, especially going into their next chapter with an expanded product line. 

The team’s goal with the rebrand was to preserve their playful essence within a more unified and distinctive brand system by answering to the design strategy “cult as a business philosophy”. 





RUBI EARTH 

&WALSH 

2022
Rubi Earth, a biotech company sequestering CO2 into viable textile materials was in search of a new brand identity. We centered the design direction around our strategic brief “symbiotic sensibility” and the underlying company belief that abundance is possible if we build for it.

From that strategic lens, the brand elements were designed to reflect being in harmony with the beautiful, mysterious and magical cycles of nature and with each other. Symbiosis and harmony are visualized through the brand monogram, carbon-capture inspired patterns, and 3D imagery.




EINRIDE AUTONOMOUS TECH

PRODUCT, INC. 

2020
Branding, design system, tagline development “intelligent movement” and communications strategy for the launch of Einride autonomous tech solutions and trucking systems in the US and Europe. 




GOOGLE CAREER CERTIFICATES CAMPAIGN 

BONFIRE LABS AGENCY 

2021 - 2025
Ongoing content strategy and campaign development for Grow with Google’s Careeer Certificates campaign featuring learners, employees, and graduates of the program since 2021. 




ELLIE GOULDING
EVERYSTATE MUSHROOM SUPPLEMENTS 

&WALSH 

2023
Brand strategy, naming, and initial design direction ideation for Ellie Goulding’s line of supplements called Everystate, launched in May 2025.  


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