Social Media at SPY
Tools
Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere, Canon Mark 5D II
Project Role
Graphic Designer, Motion Graphics, Photographer/Videographer, Creative Direction
About the Project
As a Marketing & Communications department member at the International Spy Museum, I frequently collaborate with our Social Media Specialist, Ariel Samuel, to bring her visions to life.
Short-form Video - Training & Creative Direction
SPY launched its short-form video strategy for social media in the spring of 2024. With my background in video editing, I trained teammates on using applications like Adobe Premiere Pro to create professional work and adhere to brand standards.
Since introducing short-form content, Instagram followers are up 121% and impressions are up 235%.
“I came to SPY with no video experience and Emily collaborated with me to build our short-form video strategy from the ground up. Her eye for design consistently elevates our content, whether she’s crafting eye-catching graphics or providing expert feedback on video edits.”
“Emily is both a fantastic creative and teacher. … Beyond her exceptional design work, Emily's ability to teach and mentor stands out - she's patient, thorough, and genuinely invested in helping others grow. She took the time to walk me through video editing basics, share design principles, and provide constructive feedback that helped me develop confidence in creating content. She is my go-to first review, and I rely on her expertise daily.”
- Ariel Samuel, Social Media Specialist
Video Creation
I also get hands-on, helping with the creation of videos from filming to editing.
Heritage Months
There are espionage stories for every demographic, and we strive to tell diverse stories all year round. Celebrating heritage months allows us to shine some special attention on groups not always highlighted in the intelligence community.
Black History Month
Women’s History Month
Branded Templates
To empower our social team while maintaining brand standards, I set up templates for recurring needs in Adobe Express so they would be easily accessible and editable for our team.
Operating Hours
A template to display our museum hours - which change frequently based on an optimization algorithm.
This Week at Spy
A template for sharing the up-coming programming at Spy.
Trivia Tuesdays
A template for Spy-themed trivia, engaging our fans on Instagram.
Adobe Libraries
Utilizing Adobe Cloud Libraries, I set up brand-approved assets with easy access across Adobe apps. Logos, colors, font treatments, and more are available for the team’s use natively within their editing app of choice.
To make my colleagues’ lives easier, I developed overlays that designate the “safe zone” for different social media platforms, so things like captions and labels always fall in the right place - no more getting covered up by the native UI! Freebie alert: Download a copy of the Instagram Reels guide here.
