brief

A+E Global Media’s back catalog spans decades of programming across A&E, Lifetime, LMN, FYI and HISTORY Channel. Much of the artwork was created for an earlier media landscape, with busy compositions, inconsistent typography, dated imagery, and unclear genre cues that struggled at streaming thumbnail size. What began as a relatively light-touch refresh expanded as updated titles gained visibility across streaming platforms. The challenge became: modernize a huge title library while preserving the distinct identities of its brands, genres, and franchises.

solution

As Design Director, I partnered with A+E leadership and directed 15+ internal and external creative partners across concurrent workstreams. I also helped source and recommend freelance designers, matching their strengths to the project’s creative needs. I set creative standards, reviewed and approved artwork, and guided revisions to keep a high volume of titles moving.

With limited or dated source material, new photography wasn’t always an option. I directed designers toward stronger crops, grading, compositing, typography, and atmosphere to get more from existing assets, working within talent rights and promotional licensing constraints.

systems

I built a repeatable process for evaluating and refreshing titles, with a core visual hierarchy:
talent / emotion / story cue → title → background information

1. Audit the catalog
   I grouped titles by genre and subgenre, identifying recurring issues with composition, typography, emotional impact, and thumbnail readability.

2. Define genre principles
   Competitive audits informed distinct visual principles. From evidence-driven Crime to intimate Thriller imagery, and from the physical scale of Hidden History to the archival authority of Core History.

3. Make the criteria actionable
   Each review asked: What reads first? Does the genre register without a synopsis? Is the title legible at thumbnail size? Does the idea hold across aspect ratios? The answers helped determine whether a title needed no change, a tweak, or an overhaul.

4. Scale the reviews
   A master audit deck, Airtable title tracking, and shared feedback language gave designers and stakeholders a consistent basis for decisions while leaving room for each title’s character.

framework in action

franchise sample

CONTRIBUTING DESIGNERS
Sean McNamee, Mike Zizza, Matt Mason, Tom Fournier, David Irlanda, Daniel Forkin, Matt Ostrom, David O’Brien, Kaori Sohma, Julia Kuswardi, Kyle Moriwaki, Deni Belanich, GNAH, Hermes Arriola, Mike Choo, Peter Gatto, Richard Fahey, JJ Raskin