Creative director for hire · Montréal & London
Creative director for hire.
Most creative directors come up through photography or design. I came up writing the brand strategy. Seven years at IBM's experience agency, then Head of Strategy at Signifly, then Origine Strategic Studio. The strategy work never left. It shows up in how I read a brief and where I take the work.
What changes
The strategy lens changes how every decision lands. Casting, location, frame composition, the order the work rolls out.
Direction-led work begins by asking what the brand actually needs, not what the production can deliver. The work is built around the strategic intent, the placement context, and the audience the images have to move. Every brief leaves better than it arrived.
The arc
Strategy first. Direction second.
The career started in strategy and stayed there for a decade. Production direction is what the strategy work led to, not what it was replaced by. The strategic instinct shows up in every casting call, every framing choice, every cut.
150% · sales lift
DivaCup, strategy lead at Signifly. Full rebrand for the 20th anniversary, executed across packaging and digital.
Red Dot · Design Award
BMO Digital Banking Platform. Strategy lead at Signifly. US rollout 2026.
50% · engagement lift
LGS rebrand. Seven years leading digital experience strategy at IBM's experience agency. Four national creative awards from this period.
Voice
“Nico's work is always outstanding. He is a pleasure to work with and his photos consistently elevate the brand.”
Caryn Neary · TAG Heuer
“Nico is the kind of agency partner in-house marketers dream of. He cut through the noise and delivered.”
Angela Tayler-Ortado · Director of Marketing
Start a direction
Tell me what the brand needs. I will direct from there.
Send the brief, the brand book, the rough timing, and the tier of placement the work needs to hold up against. I will respond within one business day with a direction read, a clear next step, and an honest call on whether the work needs production direction, strategy first, or both.
Or write directly: nico@nicolasabou.com