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On air · McKenna Studio, New York

Ideas youcan hold.

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McKenna StudioCreative direction
Art direction
Branding
Set design
Editorial design
Digital + physical design
Content strategy

McKenna Studio is the creative practice of executive creative director Joelle McKenna. We build brands, campaigns and places where strategy becomes something you can hold.

Selected work

12 projects · Hover to preview
  1. 01The Time MachineNeueHouse × Frieze LA
  2. 02SJR IdentitySJR
  3. 03Brooklyn MagazineBrooklyn Magazine
  4. 04Strategic Storyteller[Client]
  5. 05Unfiltered[Client]
  6. 06Moral CompassFacebook
  7. 07Wonder, Wisdom & Delight[Client]
  8. 08Asymmetrical 8-Ball[Client]
  9. 09NFL PlaybookNFL
  10. 10How Long Does It Take?[Client]
  11. 11S.W. BasicsS.W. Basics for Target
  12. 12Halloween HomeTarget
Installation · NeueHouse at Frieze Los Angeles

The Time
Machine

A vending machine where nothing costs money. Everything inside is priced in time: wait ten to sixty seconds, and it’s yours.

A row of silver Time Machine bags with orange lettering on a pale grey seamless
The collectible bags · Photo: Chris New, Paul Slupski
The Time MachinePrices in seconds
Pick one.Pay in seconds. Nothing here costs money.
300 / 300 left
Push

Try it: a playable stand-in for the real machine. The bag names here are made up for the demo.

10–60Seconds per item
300Collectible bags
~5,000Visitors
1 weekFrieze LA
01 Challenge

[What NeueHouse needed from its presence at Frieze Los Angeles, in one or two lines.]

02 Idea

Make time the currency. Nothing in the machine costs money; every item is priced in seconds.

03 Craft

A working vending machine at the main entrance, stocked with 300 collectible bags of NeueHouse pieces and internet content.

04 Result

Around 5,000 members and guests over one week of the fair.

Concept, design + creative directionJoelle McKenna
AgencySJR
StrategyJohnmichael Faustini
Editorial contentJenny Begley
Design assistantJeremy Feliciano
Electrical engineeringMohammad Asgari
Photo + videoChris New, Paul Slupski

From brief
to built

One senior team, from the first strategic question to the last detail of the set.

01

Strategy & creative direction

Finding the idea worth building, then leading the teams who build it.

Creative directionContent strategy
02

Brand & identity

Identities with a point of view, from the mark to the motion to the printed page.

BrandingArt directionEditorial design
03

Campaigns & content

Ideas people stop for, pass around and remember, made to work across every channel.

CampaignsArt directionContent strategy
04

Spaces & experiences

Placemaking: rooms, sets and installations where a brand becomes something you can walk into.

Set designDigital + physical design
SectorsFinanceTechnologyReal estateEditorialArt
Selected clientsBrands, institutions, founders
Apollo Global ManagementSpotifyLinkedInTiffany & Co.FotografiskaBrooklyn MagazineKrollNovigCasepointLyrical MediaSouthampton PlayhouseIndependent Art FairHR&APinky Promise FilmsSavorMostly Human MediaPuzzle.ioVerbitApplecartTargetFacebookNFLS.W. BasicsBeth Comstock
RecognitionContent Marketing Agency of the YearContent Marketing Institute, awarded to SJR during Joelle’s time there
Recognition[Award or honor][Awarding body, year]
Press[Press feature][Publication, headline]
Joelle McKenna, founder of McKenna Studio
Founder

She started
in a sign shop.

Joelle McKenna is a New York executive creative director who leads creative strategy for global brands: identity, campaigns, and the physical and digital spaces where brands meet people.

She spent nine years at SJR, rising from senior art director to creative director and leading specialized teams across tech, luxury, finance, editorial and art. Along the way she spent three months inside Apollo Global Management to lead, define and launch its new brand identity. In 2024 she founded McKenna Studio. She still makes things by hand.

  1. RootsSign-shop apprenticeBoston University
  2. Los AngelesArt departmentZoic Studios, National Forest
  3. DesignDesignerCrunch, Story Worldwide
  4. 2015–2024Senior Art Director → Creative DirectorSJR
  5. SecondmentLed the new brand identityApollo Global Management, three months
  6. 2024–FounderMcKenna Studio
Contact

Got an idea
that needs
a body?

Tell us what you’re making: a brand, a campaign, a room, a thing. We’ll tell you how we’d build it.

What are you making?