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Stephanie Caw

Professional Profile

An innovative and versatile designer with many years of producing highly creative media for a diverse range of productions and formats. Experienced in directing and designing inspirational digital media and innovative single and multi-screen AV experiences for galleries, immersive environments, exhibitions, corporate clients and non-profits. Skilled in all aspects of creative production including concept visuals, storyboarding, programme design, direction, editing, motion graphics and graphic design, with a proven ability and understanding of interactivity and functionality. Experienced in writing creative proposals, preparing visuals, costings for tenders and attending pitches. Working for a range of clients including museums and visitor centres, broadcast and agency.

Creative Design Process

Project Delivery & Leadership

Interactive Design

 Animation

Post Production / Editing

Tender Processes & Pitches

Career History

2023 – Freelance Creative
Clients: Fitzwilliam Museum: Black Atlantic, New Angle for Imperial War Museum, Atacama for Chepstow Museum

2017 – 2023 Design Lead / Spiral Productions, London

Clients: Dundee Discovery Point, Museum of Islamic Art, Sheikh Abdullah Al Saleem Cultural Centre, Science Museum London, British Library, RAF Museum, National Museum of Qatar, GOSH, Cornwall Maritime Museum, Nottingham Castle

In this interpretive and creative design position, provide specialised expertise in the development and launch of cultural projects across the UK and Middle East; shape ideas to bring exhibitions to life and stimulate the senses.

  • Succinct storyteller, able to communicate complex messages in a creative and innovative manner, using a mix of 2D and 3D animation, graphics, archive and purpose shot material.
  • Frequently engage with developers, researchers and able to lead and motivate junior designers.
  • Sensitive to client’s needs, able to understand and interpret design briefs and promote a positive, fun and interactive experience for visitors; evaluate costs and timelines with producers to prioritise workload and guarantee project delivery.
  • Skills to storyboard, design, plan, direct and edit creative sequences for both single and complex multi-sourced programmes and interactives; test audience reactions.

Project: Natural History Museum – Ecosystems at the Skeikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre, Kuwait

Integral member of the design team charged with developing over 60 digital media exhibits across 4 galleries for the largest museum complex in the world; conducted preliminary research to understand interactive, AV and AR exhibits, translating results into immersive 4K digital maps, multi-screen installations and interactives.

  • Closely liaised with programmers and developers to create fun, interactive experiences for visitors through gestural based software, multi-screen AV, interactive games and animations; enabled augmented reality concepts such as growing plants in the desert and stereoscopic environments.
  • Interacted with cross-continent stakeholders and design companies at each stage of production; researched original content, sourced footage, illustrators andseamlessly installed components in line with tender drawings and specifications.

Project: The Sun: Living with our Star for the Science Museum London

Successfully pitched and won the tender for this temporary ‘blockbuster’ exhibition; engaged with academics and curators to articulate scripts and illustrate story-boards on 5 animated projections.

  • Collaborated with Illustrators to conceptualise complex ideas that encapsulated tender designs and provided clear creative direction to bring stories to life and ensure understanding to a wider audience.

Project: National Horse Racing Museum

  • Created and delivered an interactive experience to viewers, takingthem on a journey of the history of horse racing; incorporated audio-visual technologies and combined archived material, newly shot footage, green screen and animations to effectively tell the story and science behind the sport and it’s personalities.

Project: The National Museum of Qatar

  • Designed and created experimental and interactive 2D / 3D content for one of 11 galleries.

Project: Great Ormond Street Hospital

  • Completed small design projects on several interactive platforms for a new research centre.

2005 – 2016 Art Director / Lead Designer / Stephanie Caw Productions, London / New York

Clients: HBO, Amazon Kindle, Virgin Media, Discovery Channel, English Heritage, Energy Saving Trust, The Science Museum

Worked in studios in New York and London applying expertise in art direction, motion graphics and composition to complete projects in design, film, animation, broadcast and exhibition media. Highly organised and able to work under pressure to tight dead-lines, gained skills in all aspects of creative production in studios and post-production environments.

Project: The Science Museum London: Information Age – Transparent Touch-Screen Exhibits

For this ambitious and multifaceted exhibition, opened by the Queen in 2016, pitched and won the tender to design graphic animations for visually exciting and innovative object story boxes.

  • Gathered understanding of new technology that incorporated storytelling through projecting animations that revealed and concealed objects inside showcases to enhance learning; constructed make-shift test environments to accurately predict object placement, animation sequences and touch-screen capabilities.
  • Successfully told interlocking stories through digital interpretation, collaborating with the curators to develop and understand narratives.
  • Compiled handover documentation for in-house designers and interpreted complicated guidelines to facilitate seamless transition; gained further work on exhibition audio visual tables as a result

Project: Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel – feature documentary film

In collaboration with Film Director Lisa Immordino Vreeland, compiled archive footage, interviews and documents to deliver an intimate portrait and vibrant celebration of iconic Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, show-casing the  evolutionof her career and other iconic photographers; premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

  • Selected iconicimages and created animated chapters and title sequence that illustrated material throughplayful and experimental design; incorporatedarchived footage and interviews to introduce pace to the film and align sequences with soundtracks

Project: British Library; Magna Carta

Created proposal and successfully pitched to design and create animations for two projected pieces exploring the complexity of the changing clauses of the Magna Carta; closely engaged with curators and exhibition designers.

Project: Nice and Serious, Sustainability Project

  • Closely engaged with design agency Dragon Rogue, to create visuals and in-house animations that establishes concepts of ‘Brand Futures’ to encourages brands to become more environmentally aware.

Additional Experience:

  • UI Designer (2000 – 2003) – Atacama Ltd, London
  • Graphic Designer (1998 – 2000) – Studylink, London

Education and Qualifications

  • MSc Advanced Digital Imaging | New York University
  • Certificate, New Media and Interactive Design | New York University
  • MA (Hons), History / Art History | Edinburgh University