Joseph Davies

Hello! I’m a London-based creative lead who enjoys creating purposeful work through the playful use of art, copy, and science.

I have collaborated with Apple, Samsung, Meta, IBM, Adidas, Nike, New Balance, HP, Coca-Cola, Mojang, Amazon Prime and many other iconic brands to express their brand narratives.

In London, some agencies I have worked with include W+K, AKQA, R/GA, and VML, but my professional experience spans three continents.

I keep a writing blog and I am passionate about using technology to tell stories — view my experiments here.

Meanwhile, scroll down to view my favourite pieces of commercial work.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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GLOBAL BRAND CAMPAIGN

Run Your Way

In anticipation for the New York Marathon 2022, New Balance wanted to create a campaign that celebrated all runners. Shot by Carlos Serrao, the campaign ran in Times Square and Columbus Circle Station. Made with the dream team at VMLY&R London + NYC.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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GLOBAL BRAND CAMPAIGN

We Got Now.

Kawhi Leonard. IU. Raheem Sterling. Bukayo Saka. Jack Harlow. These are the faces shaping the ‘now’ in the worlds of sport and culture. They aren’t just doing what they do best - they’re doing what they love most. For New Balance’s 2022 global campaign, we’re telling their stories to excite a new generation of fans. The campaign is currently rolling out globally, so watch out for it.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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NIKE GLOBAL CAMPAIGN

You Can’t Be Stopped

Knowing what you do is one thing. Knowing why you do it is everything. “You Can’t Be Stopped” highlights the resilience and perseverance of all athletes and celebrates the motivations that keep us going.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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NIKE RUNNING

Making running a conversation topic.

Nike Running wanted to make inroads into everyday conversations, so we prototyped an instant game that put running right where our runners spent most of their time: Facebook messenger.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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DIGITAL INNOVATION

Learning how to combat a pandemic one infectious zombie at a time.

Minecraft’s Blockdown Simulator sets out to make it simpler to understand how social distancing impacts a pandemic crisis, especially for younger audiences. Besides being featured on CNBC and the BBC, this work was D&AD and Cannes Lions Shortlisted, FWA and was hailed Campaign’s “Innovation of the Year”.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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BRAND CAMPAIGN

Make It Anyway

VSCO’s mission is to help everybody fall in love with their own creativity. Their app eschews “likes”, followers, and comments to form a refuge for artists seeking to embrace their processes, however imperfect they may be.

So for VSCO’s first ever brand campaign: we sounded the bell for young creators to confront self-doubt, procrastination, and validation, and “Make it Anyway”.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ART TOY COLLECTION

CHONKS

CHONKS are playful, cat-inspired art toys which I crafted in limited editions to celebrate our freedom to connect with the world uniquely. The Kickstarter was a resounding success, fully funded by enthusiasts who embrace this ethos. CHONKS are now available on my web-store and on major speciality toy shops.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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CONCEPT ART

Creating Characters and Worlds

Recently, I taught myself the fundamentals of Unreal Engine 5 and Blender to better visualise my ideas. This led to a new-found interest in character and environmental concept art. It is an ongoing passion that brings me much joy and creative satisfaction.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ANIMATION

What has making made you?

As creators, we are often shaped by our processes. As the year draws to a close, our brief from VSCO was to challenge their community to reflect not only on what was made, but what the process made them, in a series of animated shorts.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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FILMIC WORK

Writing an ode to impermanence

This launch film for a fine arts printing studio was written as an ode to time, the beauty of the moment, and the impermanence of being. Masterfully shot in Iceland by director Mathieu Cesar, the film won a Cannes Lion for cinematic craft.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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LIVE EXPerientiAL

Getting Closer To Creation

We built macro photography labs for VSCO members and creators to experiment with colour and texture, generating visuals out of the ordinary. The over-subscribed workshops ran in New York and London for one night only.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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PROTO-TYPING

Feel-ters

Coca-cola’s new campaign sought to “open understanding” in an increasingly divided world. When tasked to bring this to life on Instagram, we hypothesised we could encourage empathic behaviour through IG filters, of “feel-ters”. We created a series of characters that would react to how one treated it via nodding, smiling, and other facial reactions. Unfortunately this project was halted due to covid, but I’ve captured some of the development sketches and interactions.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ANIMATION WRITING

Ronaldo vs Ronaldon’t

Cristiano Ronaldo's unbeatable sense of belief is legendary. But like all mortals, that nagging voice of doubt in his head is all too real. During the World Cup, we animated his battle against his insecure alter-ego — Ronaldon't. The social videos won wood pencils at D&AD 2019.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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CONCEPT

The Face of Dystopia

I am fascinated by emerging technology and its impact on human behaviour. In 2020, I prototyped a face-mask that sold advertising space on the now ubiquitous face mask. It was more a sharpened provocation than a feasible idea, tipped with the question: where does privacy end, and capitalism begin?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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FOOTBALL TEAM LAUNCH

Launching Miami’s Fútbol Club

We worked with David Beckham to reveal Miami’s Major League Soccer team in a highly anticipated launch that ricocheted around the sporting world.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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WRITING / CAMPAIGN

The Crush Is On

Candy Crush All-Stars is the first-ever tournament to crown the UK’s top crusher. Celebrities joined in the fun, 145 million games were played, and some 52,300 players reached qualifier stages. The celebrities took ten finalists through a series of wacky challenges to crown the champion in an unmissable live event, adding some cheer into an otherwise bleak year of the Pandemic.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROJECT

Postcards From Nowhere

"Postcards From Nowhere" are tangible postcards representing unreal destinations generated in AI. They symbolize the affectionate bond between human and machine, serving as a testament to the non-existent, a message of the unexplored, and a journey into the realm of pure imagination.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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JUST A BIT OF FUN, REALLY

Joom

In 2021, I became fascinated with the possiblities of 3D animation using the popular free software, Blender. When I had sufficiently learned the skills to pull of some basic animation, I wrote and created short featurette about two showbiz aliens who are lamenting how bad their sitcom, “Monkey Planet” is doing.