Creative Direction & Selected Work — Sam Rowlands
Work
18 projects, 2020 — 2026
18 projects, 2020 — 2026
From a founder's first brand to an icon's global campaign: I build what resonates.
Creative direction | Brand strategy & positioning | Campaigns & ecosystems | Experience design | Innovation
(01) Projects
Selected work
Click a projectMake bias visible.Gender bias can distort who gets investment. Pink Chip makes the performance of women-led businesses visible through a live market index. Built with DEGIRO and UN Women NL, it turns an equality argument into evidence investors can explore.pinkchip.org ↗
A belief worth singing.Bitvavo connected crypto’s shared optimism with Oranje’s summer of football. With Jonna Fraser and $hirak, “We’re All Gonna Make It” became a football anthem, music video and merchandise collection—giving a financial platform a place in fan culture.Listen on Spotify ↗
Find your own pace.Gucci Run took the sneaker launch into a world of creative flow. Three artists interpreted that state through surreal digital films, turning the shoe into an invitation to pause, play and follow your own rhythm.Gucci: Journey through flow ↗
Give touch a form.To introduce Jamal Musiala as the face of Nike Tiempo, we made football’s most elusive skill visible. A gallery playground in Berlin translated each player’s touch into a unique digital artwork, bringing the boot’s promise to life through participation.
A small part. A longer life.A broken accessory should not end a product’s life. Philips and Prusa Research created Fixables: downloadable files for 3D-printable replacement parts. The project makes repair more accessible, turning a sustainability ambition into something people can make and use.
Every city has a heart.Foot Locker needed a global platform that felt local. A flexible identity puts EMEA’s sneaker communities at its centre, giving each city its own voice. From street-level campaigns to FLX membership, one system connects the brand without flattening the culture.
Jordan, one tap closer.JordanMode gives Jordan its own home inside the Nike App. To fill it, we went courtside at Quai 54 in Paris. Luka, Tatum and Zion on their latest signature drops. Training films with Gabby Williams and Lethal Shooter. Street style with Teyana Taylor. Rising players, in their own words. One launch film, a deep library of original content, and every side of Jordan in one place.
Everyday, with personality.A clear, expressive identity for Amazon Essentials brings everyday products into focus. Bold language, warm colour and confident photography connect the range across shopping, social, packaging and outdoor—making a broad offer feel like one recognisable brand.
Old ideas. New imaginations.Birkenstock’s archive held ideas worth another look. For its 250th anniversary, historic advertisements were reinterpreted through contemporary illustration and motion. A social series put the original thinking beside fresh creative voices, connecting the brand’s past with a new audience.
A history worth exploring.For Birkenstock’s 250th anniversary, the archive became an experience. A book and interactive digital world bring together product, people and cultural history, revealing the depth behind a familiar sandal and giving 250 years of material a new life.
Make the invisible impossible to miss.Philips Sonicare brought the hidden world inside the mouth into view. A cinematic film and immersive installation turned nighttime oral care into an experience people could see and feel, giving an everyday routine a compelling reason to change.
When a baby is born, a mother is too.When a baby arrives, attention shifts. Launched for Mother’s Day, Philips Avent turned it back towards the mother. “A Mom Is Born” recognises her transformation and asks the people around her to share the care—making support for mothers part of the birth story.
An invitation with a character of its own.Tourism Australia needed to welcome the world back. Ruby, a souvenir kangaroo, became the guide: a warm, distinctive character leading a film and global campaign through Australia’s places and personalities. A familiar greeting became an invitation to visit.
Where hydration meets high performance.An innovation exploration and proof of concept for Powerade inside the U.S. National Football Team Training Center. Electric-blue training stations, player interfaces and a dedicated Mind Zone show how the brand could live where elite players train, recover and prepare, turning sponsorship into a working part of the game.
A cocktail measure in your pocket.BWS made cocktail-making as simple as a phone and a jam jar. Instagram Stories became a measuring guide: pour to the on-screen lines, mix, and enjoy. A familiar social format became a practical tool, with ingredients only a swipe away.
From craft table to starring role.With families locked down at home, Big W set out to give kids something to make and parents a moment of relief. Craft, Camera, Action turned homemade characters into the stars of their own movie, a creative project families could build together, start to finish, without leaving the house.
An in-app game, six summers strong.The BWS app was getting lost in the noise. The answer: a reason to play. The Cooler, designed end to end, from the game and interface to the UX and in-app redemption. It became the biggest promotion in BWS history, with sales up 156% year on year, a Top 2 spot in the App Store and conversion up to 12x. Every year, Reddit tries again to crack the mechanics, keeping the Cooler in conversation across Australia.
One team. Plenty of personality.BWS wanted staff to feel like themselves at work. A new uniform range combines expressive shirts, illustrated pins and playful brand details, giving one team different ways to wear the brand. A wardrobe built for recognition and individuality.
I’ve built my own ventures. Now I help founders shape theirs.From finding their place in the market to building the brand, platforms and experiences around it.
Ventures
Working together
What I bringPositioning, identity, story, launch
How it worksShaped around each founder
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