Your Majesty - Karen Sulkis

Red Bull Music Academy Radio
Led tone + voice effort for relaunch of RBMA Radio, a curated, ad-free, international Internet radio service.

• Created guidelines for voice and messaging.
• Attended daily team and client standups.
• You need to hear this! It's all about the delight of discovery. You can find music you like online, but RBMA Radio plays the stuff you didn’t know you were looking for.

Case Studies

• Crafted and enforced content strategy for international design experience firm's case studies. 
• Produced guidelines, so all agency staff could add new stories with minimal editorial involvement.

UNIQLO.com Launch - Karen Sulkis

Tone, Voice, Content Strategy, Relationship Management

Filling in for the ACD on the Razorfish/NY creative team, I oversaw copy creation and strategy for the tight-timeline launch of the Japanese retailer's Webby award-winning website, UNIQLO.com. I also served as a liaison between London, Tokyo and NYC teams and wrote interaction copy, product descriptions, site promos and error-page haikus. (Yes, haikus.)

• Fleshed out voice through FUN-ctional and responsive navigation, including naming, buttons and directional copy.
• Smoothed, supported and managed the product copy process between Tokyo product development team, London translation company and NYC-based design team and junior copywriter.
• Drew upon expertise acquired as Editorial Manager at Oldnavy.com to ease concerns of high-level executives about product nomenclature.

Results: UNIQLO.com was an instant, Webby award-winning hit, introducing millions of American fashion fans to the beloved retailer and giving its parent company (Fast Retailing) the insights to open dozens of stores in the U.S.



 
Launch Package
Much of the launch content has since been replaced. However, this package showcases some of our thinking and a few original design pieces.






404 Error Haiku

500 Error Haiku

Postscript: A few years after the UNIQLO.com launch, The Science Project, a boutique creative agency in Lower Manhattan, engaged me for help with interface and interaction language for an in-store app it was developing for the opening of the UNIQLO Chicago flagship store. The app was so successful, it's currently rolling out to additional flagships.

Herman Miller - Karen Sulkis

Creative Concepting/Message Freshening (Primarily Consumer)

Herman Miller is known around the world for its ergonomic chairs. Perhaps too well known. Even with the company's close collaboration with many mid-century modern design luminaries, many prospective customer associate its products with work, work, work. The online challenge: Highlight the array of items for the home -- dining, entertaining, relaxation (Hello, Eames Chair + Ottoman!), even sleeping -- and encourage shoppers to invest in iconic, well-made design.

Since October 2015, I've crafted nearly two dozen Herman Miller web campaigns, including marketing banners, landing pages, emails and social posts.


Entertaining as Art
For an early Holiday gather-round-the-table campaign, we went outside the usual shopping paradigm to offer advice on how to throw a party like design icon and dazzling hostess Ray Eames. I researched the content and quotes, pitched the approach and wrote all copy.

Results: Uptick in customer engagement, request for more "content-only" landing pages.




Spring Sale Email
Herman Miller Sale happens twice a year. Every item on the site is 15% off. That may not sound like a huge discount for a typical ecommerce transaction, but it's a big deal if it means nearly $750 off that Eames Lounge Chair + Ottoman you've been fantasizing about. The 2016 brief called for 6 touches, all of which had to include the 15% messaging: Before the sale, it's time for the sale, the sale is on, only 1 more week, only 1 more DAY, last chance!

The tote giveaway was Marketing's idea. But the friendly, stripped down "Our Gift to You" approach was mine. The sale did well, and the email series was picked up on marketing blogs. Really Good Emails gave us a shout, while Infusionsoft included the image and copy to the right in an article titled, "How to Write Email Copy that Reads Like Buttah."

Portfolio

This page is representative of my recent creative work. Want to know more? Click through the links (especially the first 3 
headers) for a deeper dive. 

Or email me at thewrytstuff @ Gmail dot com.




Herman Miller
I've crafted nearly two dozen web campaigns -- marketing banners, landing pages, emails and social posts -- for this fabled high-style, high-performance furniture company. Favorites include advice on how to host a party like design icon Ray Eames, a dynamic guide to Performance Seating and an email highlighting the life and work of artist Isamu Noguchi.

UNIQLO.com
Filling in for the ACD on the Razorfish/NY creative team, I oversaw copy creation and strategy for the launch of the Japanese retailer's Webby award-winning website, UNIQLO.com. I also served as a liaison between London, Tokyo and NYC teams and wrote interaction copy, product descriptions, site promos and error-page haikus. (Yes, haikus.)

Your Majesty 
Led tone+voice effort for relaunch of Red Bull Music Academy Radio and crafted content strategy for international design experience firm's case studies.


 
The Science Project
Collaborated with the founders of this NYC-based retail innovation studio to hone positioning, landing page and ShopStage content. I also wrote interface copy for an in-store app to support the opening of the UNIQLO Chicago flagship store and for the interactive Maker Wall at the Frye Fillmore store in San Francisco.

 

Bi-Rite Markets & Creamery 

Brainstorm and write campaigns, taglines,
signage and event and email copy for San Francisco's favorite food (and ice cream!) shops.

ROAM Family Travel
I'm a regular contributor to ROAM. Here's a wry, Franglais-filled report on my family's journey to and through Paris for a wedding in 2014. (The food! The wine! The gluten! Le Metro!)
  

 
My second piece for ROAM tells of a whirlwind tour through London with my sister and niece. (Yes, we met the Absolutely Fabulous Jennifer Saunders!)





The ROAM European travelogue trilogy concludes with a chronicle of our lazy week in Bordeaux -- town and country -- the last stop before we left the Continent.

Cow Holla
Here's a link to my neighborhood blog, wherein I share and discuss news and happenings on "the other side" of San Francisco, about as far north of the Mission as you can get before falling into the bay.



Autodesk
As an Autodesk Web Editor, I've worked on product centers, ads, customer stories and large, multipage projects, such as the Autodesk Foundation microsite, Autodesk Careers center and Indie Game Maker hub.

Laughing with my formidable opponent, Jocelyn Draw, during
our game, "The News According to Huey Lewis."

NPR's "Ask Me Another"
In January 2014, I competed in the SF Sketchfest edition of this radio quiz show. My first game was a mashup of '80s pop culture and Huey Lewis' "The Power of Love." I made it to the finals, but...let's just say that Danny Pudi didn't sing to me in Polish.

JLFranklin Wealth Planning
I've been working with principal, Joyce L. Franklin, CPA, CFP®, for more than 10 years, translating complex financial news and advice into friendly, straightforward books, white papers, newsletters and social posts. A website update is in the works.)

The Interweb Home of Karen Sulkis

Hey, there!

Welcome to my portfolio. It's not perfect...yet. But it does have a snazzy watercolor background and two (2!) visitor paths.

1. Get Down to Business
If you're thinking about working with me or know you want to get in touch, feel free to email me directly at TheWrytStuff at Gmail dot com, or take a look at my LinkedIn profile, which includes copywriting, digital and journalism samples.

2. Meander Through My Portfolio
If you'd like to see what I've been up to, keep scrolling.


Herman Miller
I've crafted nearly two dozen web campaigns -- marketing banners, landing pages, emails and social posts -- for this fabled high-style, high-performance furniture company. Favorites include advice on how to host a party like design icon Ray Eames, a dynamic guide to Performance Seating and an email highlighting the life and work of artist Isamu Noguchi.
 

Your Majesty 
Led tone+voice effort for relaunch of Red Bull Music Academy Radio and crafted/enforced content strategy for international design experience firm's case studies.


The Science Project
I worked closely with the founders of this NYC-based creative studio to craft positioning and landing page copy and hone the ShopStage page content. The new site features gorgeous graphics and compelling stories in an intuitive, responsive design.

ROAM Family Travel
I'm a regular contributor to ROAM. Here's a wry, Franglais-filled report on my family's journey to and through Paris for a wedding in 2014. (The food! The wine! The gluten! Le Metro!)
  

My second piece for ROAM tells of a whirlwind tour through London with my sister and niece. (Yes, we met the Absolutely Fabulous Jennifer Saunders!)





My ROAM European travelogue trilogy concludes with a chronicle of our lazy week in Bordeaux -- town and country -- the last stop before we left the Continent.

Cow Holla
Here's a link to my neighborhood blog, wherein I share and discuss news and happenings on "the other side" of San Francisco, about as far north of the Mission as you can get before falling into the bay.



KarenWorldUSA
My longtime arts/culture/politics blog is a bit of a mixed bag. I have a soft spot for comedy and tend to take note when those I admire do something awesome or pass away.

Laughing with my formidable opponent, Jocelyn Draw, during
our game, "The News According to Huey Lewis."

NPR's "Ask Me Another"
In January 2014, I competed in the SF Sketchfest edition of this radio quiz show. My first game was a mashup of '80s pop culture and Huey Lewis' "The Power of Love." I made it to the finals, but...let's just say that Danny Pudi didn't sing to me in Polish.
 

Autodesk
I've served as an Autodesk Web Editor for more than 8 years and have worked on product centers, ads, customer stories and assorted projects, such as the Indie Game Maker hub.


UNIQLO.com

Filling in for the ACD on the Razorfish/NY creative team, I oversaw copy creation and strategy for the launch of the Japanese retailer's Webby award-winning website, UNIQLO.com. I also served as a liaison between London, Tokyo and NYC teams and wrote interaction copy, product descriptions, site promos and error-page haikus. (Yes, haikus.)

JLFranklin Wealth Planning
I've been working with principal, Joyce L. Franklin, CPA, CFP®, for more than 10 years, translating complex financial news and advice into friendly, straightforward books, white papers, newsletters, tweets and Facebook posts. We recently revamped the website to be more flexible and responsive. Another update is in the works.