Freelance Creative Director
May 2022 - Present
I help emerging brands find themselves and historic brands find new relevance. My specialties include creative direction, art direction, copywriting, on-set execution, and concept generation. Category experience across auto, entertainment, food & beverage, luxury, tech, travel, and more.

Available by hour, day, or project. Say hi: nicolelaurenjames@gmail.com

Creative Director, Head of Brand Concept
Gopuff April 2021 - May 2022
Led a team of 8 creatives in developing a global brand voice and above-the-line creative work that helped take Gopuff from a college campus brand to an international category conqueror in one year, touching integrated work across broadcast, social, out of home, and more.

Creative Director
VIRTUE Worldwide November 2017 - April 2021
Helped to build and shape VIRTUE, the creative agency by VICE, as one of its original creative directors. Led travel, spirit, and food portfolios, creating category-defying work for Cholula, Target, Marriott, Tazo, and Martini & Rossi.

Associate Creative Director
Johannes Leonardo June 2017 - October 2017
Created work for MassMutual and Adidas.

Associate Creative Director
Ogilvy August 2016 - June 2017
Created work for IBM, Ikea, Gerber, and Philips.

Freelance Senior Art Director/ACD
March 2015 - July 2016
Created work for R/GA (Samsung), Droga5 (Google), 360i (Various), Y&R (Dell), Huge (SK-II), Carrot (Chipotle), etc.

Art Director
Razorfish June 2012 - March 2015
Created work for Spotify (including Wrapped and Discover Weekly), Mercedes-Benz, and Uniqlo.

Art Director
BBDO May 2010 - June 2012
Created work for AT&T, Bank of America, Gillette, and Mars.

Download a full resume here.

Art Institute of California, San Francisco
Bachelor's of Science, Advertising

Miami Ad School New York
Instructor (but it was certainly an education)

Spotify Year in Music

The One Show - Data & Human Experience - Gold

The One Show - Interactive Merit Award

The Clio Awards - Music, Digital/Social - Silver

The Clio Awards - Music, Innovative - Bronze

Mashies - Best Global Campaign - Winner

London International Awards - Digital, Sites - Silver

The Webby Awards - Media & Entertainment - Winner

The Webby Awards - Best Visual Design Aesthetic - Nominee

Creative Review Annual 2015 - Featured Project

Cannes Lions - Use of Social Data & Insight - Shortlist

Cannes Lions Innovation - Creative Data, Storytelling - Shortlist

The Shorty Awards - Best in Music - Honorable Mention

OMMA Awards - Online Advertising Creativity: Viral Campaign

OMMA Awards - Web Site Excellence: Entertainment

New York Festivals - Digital Design - Finalist Award

The FWA - Site of the Day 3/1/15

aWWWards - Site of the Day 2/12/15

CSS Awards - Site of the Day 2/6/15

Spotify Found Them First

Cannes Lions - Use of Social Data & Insight - Silver

The One Show - Interactive Publications & Media Merit Award

The Webby Awards - People’s Voice: Brand Strategy

The Webby Awards - People’s Voice: Media & Entertainment

The Shorty Awards - Entertainment - Silver

The Shorty Awards - Entertainment - Bronze

The Shorty Awards - Data Visualization - Bronze

Lürzer’s Archive - January 2016

The FWA - Site of the Day 10/13/15

The FWA - Mobile Site of the Day 10/13/15

aWWWards - Site of the Day 10/14/15

Spotify Time for Turkey

The Webby Awards - Music - Honoree

New York Festivals - Interactive Applications - Finalist Award

Spotify Taste Rewind

Cannes Lions - Use of Social Data & Insight - Silver

The One Show - Interactive Publications & Media Merit Award

The Webby Awards - People’s Voice: Brand Strategy

The Webby Awards - People’s Voice: Media & Entertainment

The Shorty Awards - Entertainment - Silver

The Shorty Awards - Entertainment - Bronze

The Shorty Awards - Data Visualization - Bronze

Lürzer’s Archive - January 2016

The FWA - Site of the Day 10/13/15

The FWA - Mobile Site of the Day 10/13/15

aWWWards - Site of the Day 10/14/15

Spotify Discover Weekly

The One Show - Intellectual Property - Silver

Cannes Lions - Entertainment, Innovation - Shortlist

Cannes Lions - Creative Data, Models/Tools/Platforms - Shortlist

Cannes Lions - Mobile, Data/Insight - Shortlist

The Webby Awards - People’s Voice: Mobile Sites & Apps

Uniqlo GIF Box

The Clio Awards - Graphic Design - Gold

The Clio Awards - Social Media - Bronze

The Webby Awards - Branded Content - Winner

Mashies - Best Use of GIFs

Mercedes-Benz Take the Wheel

Effie Award - Automotive - Silver

Cannes Lions - Branded Content & Entertainment - Shortlist

IAB Mixx Award - Product Launch - Silver

IAB Mixx Award - Branded Content - Bronze

WOMMA Award - Engagement - Silver

MMA Smarties Award - Direct Response/Conversion - Gold

MMA Smarties Award - Brand Awareness - Silver

MMA Smarties Award - Product/Services Launch - Silver

Digiday Video Award - Best In-Stream Video Ad

WARC 100 Best Campaigns of 2015 - #47

Epica Award - Online Campaigns, Automotive - Silver

Born in Los Angeles

Currently in Brooklyn

Raised by the internet

Passionate about contemporary art

Astrologically, Capricorn sun Aries moon

Rarely seen without paint on hands

Secret talent is voice over acting

Has too many poisonous houseplants

Certifications include SCUBA, motorcycle license

Talk to me about painting, finance, food, the weather

No relation to Nicole James of Real Housewives Fame

Find me on TikTok as @nicolejames.nyc