Bailey Johnson
Web Designer
Graphic Designer
Illustrator
Typeface Designer
Executive
Creative Director
Art Director
Product Designer
Alessia Castiglione
Haay. Ciao. Hola.
I’m Alessia, an Australian/Italian Copywriter in NYC 🗽
When I was 16, I watched an ad that outraged me to my teenage core, so I wrote a letter to the brand. A few years later I realised I wanted to be the one writing ads.
Here’s some other things about me:
I co-founded a blog and shit-talking podcast called tbqfh. I pitched on Gruen (Australian TV ad show). My videos have been featured on @whatisnewyork various times because I have a propensity for finding myself where the chaos and shenanigans are. I took a DNA test and it turns out not only was my innate 🤌🏼 confirmed, I’m 8% Middle Eastern which made me feel slightly fancy. I tried studying law and found out my brain couldn’t swallow whole textbooks of information like that. It preferred to draw on said textbooks and never return them.
But my greatest achievement so far has been moving my life to New York City.
It has helped me develop my own particular brand of chaos.
Q
Every Creative has their style but it can be difficult to bring that style to different projects with different clients, all with their own styles. How do you bring the two together?
I make sure to listen to my client's needs first and foremost, digest the brief, start writing, and then once idea threads start coming through, that is when I infuse the "me" part.
Q
Cats or Dogs? ...or other?
BOTH!
Q
What’s your advice to young Creatives just starting?
Put more stock in your creative ideas, and less in what people tell you.
Q
How did your journey into the creative world begin?
It began after graduating with my Bachelor's in Psychology, looking around me realizing what that actually looked like on a day-to-day basis and saying "huh...better go back to university" and this time I got it right with a Masters in Creative Advertising. And the rest was history.
Q
How do you see the digitalization of art? Apart from convenience, which important feature does technology add to your artwork? Which are your favorite technologies to use for work?
My favorite technologies to use for work are AI software for quick and easy storyboards (who said Copywriters can't design) and prompters for when I'm stuck with my thinking and need something to push my ideas.
Q
As a Writer, is it possible to create anything that you can imagine?
Yes, absolutely. All you need is a pen and paper, an old-fashioned clunky typewriter or a keyboard. Whatever floats your proverbial boat.
Q
How do you approach working on a project for a client and what is your process?
I research the client, especially if they are new, to get a sense of what their product/service offers, I research any news about them along with their social profiles to get a feel for their tone and how their personality interacts with the world, their customers etc. I then take the brief, digest the most important bits and start the loopy process of brainstorming. My process involves coming up with multiple ideas under the ask and presenting them in an insight / idea / execution format for the initial review. Then once we decide on a route together, I develop the idea further and add more detail to it (this can include how the idea campaigns out, social media example posts, etc).
Q
Please share with us your absolute favorite project from amongst all your work.
My all-time favorite project has got to be the 14% record and its campaign. That was not just a once-in-a-lifetime brief and piece of work, but something that spoke to our collective moral. The kind of social impact work that changes the way people view the word. And I was lucky enough to be a part of it.
