Beyond Enterprise – sandytam.DESIGN

sandytamdesign

Client Projects, Direct Marketing and Agency Work

My creative career began in 1999, running my own design and photography studio in Chelsea, New York, while freelancing across leading agencies including TBWA\Chiat\Day, SS+K, and Grey Advertising. Over nine years, I built a broad foundation in visual craft and campaign production — designing print advertising for tobacco and spirits brands like RJ Reynolds and Three Olives Vodka, alongside retail and direct marketing collateral for a range of clients. This early, hands-on path across brand, print, and photography shaped the versatile creative instincts I later brought into enterprise brand leadership.

Lunar New Year Celebration

2025 Sino-American Digital Planner

Planning tools rarely serve the American Chinese community and local businesses well — Western productivity planners skip the lunar calendar and zodiac entirely, while traditional Chinese calendars aren’t built for an English-first, digitally native audience. I designed, illustrated, and produced the Sino-American Digital Planner to close that gap: a 500+ page interactive planner blending Western daily/monthly structure with Chinese lunar dates, zodiac wisdom, and cultural observances. I launched it on Gumroad to test the digital-product market, and built it as a brandable gift business professionals — insurance agents, doctors, financial advisors, family planners — could personalize with their own logo and send to clients for the Lunar New Year.

The Year of Wood Snake – 2025 Sino-American Digital Planner

Brand: Spideress Digital and as Personalized Brand Materials

Role: Founder, Designer & Creator — concept, illustration, production, and go-to-market

Released: Dec 2024

Objective: The American Chinese community and local businesses wanted a planner that respected Chinese lunar traditions and zodiac culture without sacrificing the structure and usability of a modern digital planner. Existing options forced a choice between the two. Business professionals — insurance agents, doctors, financial advisors, family planners — also lacked a culturally resonant, brandable gift they could send clients to mark the Lunar New Year. The objective was to design a single, interactive tool that felt equally native to both traditions, functional enough for daily use and personal enough to double as a branded client gift.

Outcome/Impact: Designed, illustrated, and produced a 500+ page interactive PDF planner with 14-month coverage (2025–2026), integrating lunar dates, Chinese zodiac profiles for all 12 signs, U.S. federal holidays, and religious observances alongside financial trackers, time-management tools, and customizable templates. Launched on Gumroad to test demand in the digital-product market, and built a personalization option letting business professionals brand the planner with their own logo — turning it into a Lunar New Year client gift as well as a direct-to-consumer product.

Design Highlights

Interactive PDF Well structured 500+ page interactive PDF around a navigable Index/Quick Links system (Calendar, Journal, Trackers), keeping a dense document easy to move through on tablet

Lunar New Year Vectors Illustrated an original Year of the Wood Snake motif and zodiac iconography for all 12 signs, blending traditional Chinese symbolism with a modern flat illustration style

Zodiac Summary Paired Chinese lunar calendar terms with English translations and auspicious/inauspicious day guidance, making cultural context legible to an English-first audience

Customizable and Expandable Designed the planner to be expandable — duplicable templates, customizable trackers, and multiple notepad styles — so users could adapt the structure to their own needs

Personalized logo and branded option for business professionals, so they could brand the planner as their own, turning it into a Lunar New Year client gift alongside its role as a direct-to-consumer product.

Gumroad Full go-to-market package with different cover options, mix and match interiors, and social promotion assets supporting Gumroad sales

The Who's Who's - BlueBook Network

National Construction Buyers' Guide Ads (2021 Fall / Spring)

Designed 130+ print advertisements for the BlueBook Building & Construction Network’s Spring and Fall nationwide editions — delivering layout design and print-ready mechanical files within a 6-week production deadline. Managed all image selection, art direction, and project tracking, collaborating with an assistant on copywriting, proofreading, and business profile verification. Work produced visually compelling ads showcasing paid customer listings for a national construction industry audience.

The Who’s Who Buyers’ Guide Ad Creation

Client: The BlueBook Building & Construction Network

Role: Design, Art Direction and Project Management

Editions: Spring and Fall 2021

Functioned simultaneously as designer, art director, and project manager across the full assignment. Most ads were supplied with business contact details only — with some clients specifying products or services to feature. Through rapid research and a streamlined design process, each ad was crafted to align with the client’s existing brand presence and web identity.

Most ads were supplied with business contact details and select product or service highlights. Through quick research and a streamlined design process, each ad was tailored to reflect the client’s current business appearance and web presence.

Agency Studio

Three Olives Vodka - What's Your O-Face Campaign

Three-Olives Vodka “What’s Your O-Face” Campaign

Agency: Agent16 LLC

Role: Studio Designer

Materials: Print Ads, POP and Direct Marketing Materials

Agency Studio

Camel Brand Advertising Campaign & Direct Marketing

During my early years at Mezzina Brown & Partners and Agent16 for over 9 years, I designed print advertisements and direct marketing materials across R.J. Reynolds’ Camel, Salem, KOOL, and Winston brands. Work spanned magazine inserts, coupon pamphlets, and direct mail pieces — applying timeless design aesthetics and traditional print techniques to strengthen brand identity across broad audiences. All materials were produced in strict compliance with tobacco advertising regulations, incorporating surgeon warnings and nicotine disclosures with precise sizing and placement requirements, and adhering to seasonal campaign rules across all executions.

Camel - Pleasure to Burn / Flavors of the Exotic / Turkish Blends

Brand: R.J. Reynolds Camel Brand

Role: Studio Designer

Materials: Full spread print ads, inserts, POPs and direct marketing materials

Other Brands: Salem, KOOL & Winston

Camel DIP, Camel Signature brands, POPs other direct mail materials

Additional examples of print advertising and direct marketing collateral for the Camel brand. These pieces reflect the technical complexity and production precision required for tobacco print work — spanning custom die-cuts, emboss and deboss techniques, spot color applications, and exacting measurement standards. Each execution demanded deep knowledge of specialty printing processes, pushing both craft and brand personality through bold visuals and innovative format design.

Agency Studio

Archive agency samples I designed print advertisements and direct mail pieces for DuPont Tyvek — spanning Tyvek Envelopes, Medical Fabrics, and Packaging — showcasing product durability and versatility across campaign executions. Also produced a ConEdison direct mail insert and promotional door hanger, delivering engaging visuals to drive brand awareness and customer interaction.

Tyvek Campaign Ads. and ConEdison direct-marketing materials

Agency: Agent16 LLC

Role: Studio Designer

DuPont Tyvek: Tyvek Envelopes, Tyvek Medical Fabrics, and Packaging Ads

Con Edison: Programmable Thermostat Magazine Insert and Door Hanger