I’m a visual storyteller.
I love communicating messages with compelling visuals.
I love selling brands; I hate selling myself. I loved being a part of something bigger than myself during my 12 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; I hate that this horrific virus means I can no longer do that, not at the MET, anyway. I love sharing my passion, both as a mentor and a leader; I hated having to say goodbye.
I had the privilege of working at one of the world’s best known and loved museums as Senior Manager of Graphic Design. Over the years, I created the look you saw when you browsed the online catalogue or ordered exclusive museum and exhibition-related merchandise from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s online store. I approach every project the same way: with a tireless spirit, a highly sophisticated design sensibility, a desire for creative risk-taking, and a commitment to doing the best work of my life.
My love of all things visual began when my parents bought me a camera for my 13th birthday. I loved framing the world in my little Canon viewfinder. I took it a few steps further when I earned my BFA in photography. (I was the first in my immediate family to graduate college). I still love photography and my work has been featured on the walls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in employee art shows, as well as exhibitions all over the country.
I’ve learned a lot about myself through photography. It brings out the qualities I like best about myself: creativity, flexibility, patience, inventiveness, imagination. I love the challenge of conceptualizing and then bringing my ideas to life. This is my absolute passion.
Some of the most memorable challenges I overcame these last 12 years include: photographing a child (who had never modeled before); reading a book to a dog (who had also never modeled before); convincing my friend, a world-renowned musician, to lend me his instruments for an idea I had for “Play it Loud,” and then lend me his kids because I needed junior astronauts for “Apollo’s Muse” (side note: he was more reluctant lending his instruments).
One of my greatest successes during my tenure at the MET was the concept campaign for Pride Week, “Be Yourself,” where I sent a museum-wide staff email asking for participation. The response was overwhelming and the campaign was a success, not because of sales (which were good), but because of the engagement and excitement it generated. There was a genuine buzz in the store and the museum, and employees would stop me in the halls to ask when the social posts and email blasts were starting. They felt connected by a shared goal and sense of community, that I had created.
The campaign was based on Oscar Wilde’s quote “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” To me, this means overcoming challenges while still holding onto your core beliefs. This year has surely been a challenging one, and I feel you learn the most from times like these. It certainly has tested my patience, while strengthening my equanimity.
Photography taught me to focus beyond the lens of the camera. With every design project, I focus my passion, and all that goes along with it, into my art direction. Instead of the viewfinder, I see the world and all its possibilities.
© Heather Shaw Design