CHALLENGE:

How do you inspire travelers to explore beyond the ordinary and reimagine the future of travel? For Away Luggage’s Summer 2023 Campaign, we created the Curious Postcards Activation—a first-of-its-kind AI-driven experience in downtown LA that transformed personal travel memories into imagined destinations.

APPROACH:

I led the design direction for the activation, overseeing a multidisciplinary team of UI/UX, experiential, and graphic designers to craft a cohesive visual identity system spanning print, environmental, and digital touchpoints. We partnered with emerging digital artist Ulises.Ai to develop a custom AI image generator API that allowed guests to create bespoke postcards inspired by their personal travel preferences—leveraging inputs based on the five senses to shape surreal, dreamlike destinations.

SOLUTION:

• Two-day event at The Brig in Venice Beach, attracting 1.5K attendees across GA & VIP.

• 1.0K+ Curious Postcards generated, each featuring a custom AI-created dreamscape inspired by real-world destinations.

• 1.5K+ sqft of seamless environmental graphics, including:

  • A custom floor-to-wall installation that waterfalled across the space, immersing guests in a surreal travel-inspired environment.

  • A bold, campaign-aligned visual identity system that tied every touchpoint together.

• A custom UX interface that simplified AI-generated art, allowing guests to co-create one-of-a-kind postcards based on their favorite scents, foods, and travel sounds.

• High-quality archival prints of each AI-generated artwork, uniquely named, reinforcing Away’s brand story of exploration and discovery.

• Design execution across environmental graphics, print materials, and digital assets to ensure brand alignment with the larger "Extraordinary is Out There" campaign.

IMPACT:

• Reimagined Travel Storytelling: Pioneered a new way for brands to use AI in experiential activations.

• 500+ unique AI-generated dreamscapes sparked new summer travel ideas for attendees.

• Recognized by Event Marketer Awards, winning:

  • Gold for Best Use of AI

  • Silver for Best Overall Pop-Up Experience

• Strengthened Away’s brand positioning as a leader in innovative, experiential marketing.

• Created a visually and conceptually immersive experience that resonated with attendees and amplified social media engagement.