Designing thought leadership content that simplified AI and cloud innovation

 
Overview
Microsoft Azure needed a steady stream of smart, engaging social content to position itself as a leader in artificial intelligence and cloud services across industries. I was brought in to turn around a struggling account and lead a globally distributed creative team in crafting a new design system, fresh creative direction, and high-volume content production—on-brand, on-message, and always evolving.
 
Problem
The account was at risk. Content was flat, repetitive, and failed to capture the innovation or human impact behind Azure’s capabilities. The brief was to not just make it look better—but to re-energize the brand’s voice and visual storytelling across LinkedIn, Twitter, and beyond.
 
Impact
• Built and deployed a scalable design system for Azure thought leadership content
• Delivered a high volume of animated and static posts weekly across time zones
• Introduced conceptual visuals, motion, and humor to technical topics
• Successfully retained the account and moved the agency up on Microsoft's preferred vendor list
 
My Role

As creative lead, I:

• Directed concept development, visual design, and messaging frameworks

• Managed a globally distributed team of designers and animators

• Developed modular templates for faster turnaround without sacrificing creativity

• Created guidelines that balanced Microsoft’s brand standards with visual flexibility

 
Process Highlights
• Redefined the visual tone of Azure’s content to feel human, modern, and less corporate
• Mapped technical features (e.g., AI, cloud infrastructure) to relatable business outcomes
• Pitched and produced campaigns built around everyday metaphors and clean design
• Introduced animation and motion graphics into standard formats for higher engagement
 
What Makes It Different
Rather than lean on dry visuals or dense text, we focused on clarity, tone, and modularity—making complex cloud and AI concepts feel approachable. We turned industry jargon into scroll-stopping content that performed and resonated.
 
Where It’s Going
This work helped position the agency as a top performer within Microsoft’s extended partner ecosystem. It also set the foundation for new creative across Azure’s industry verticals and became a model for other teams managing similar enterprise clients.