Curating a brand through the voices of independent artists.
Creative Direction · Curation · Artist Development · Product Innovation · Brand Experience
Society6 brought together a global community of independent artists. The challenge was to build a recognizable brand while preserving the individuality that made the community valuable.
As Director of Curation and Creative Strategy, I led the curation team, established visual standards and review systems, and brought artist perspectives into wider company decisions. Across publications, products, and collaborations, I created opportunities for those voices to shape the brand.
01 / THE COMMUNITY
Start with what makes the community distinctive.
Society6’s creative identity came from its artists. My starting point was understanding their work: recognizing emerging voices and considering where each could contribute.
I looked for connections between artists’ work that could shape a collection, publication or collaboration.
02 / SHARED CREATIVE JUDGMENT
Give the team a basis for making decisions.
As the marketplace grew, curatorial judgment needed to become something the team could discuss, explain, and develop together.
I established standards and review systems that considered visual quality, originality, medium, style, cultural relevance, diversity, and product suitability. These gave us a shared basis for evaluating work while leaving room for different perspectives.
Explaining the reasoning behind a selection helped the team build its own judgment and carry the direction across a growing range of creative decisions.
Proposed evolution of the curation process.
03 / THE PUBLICATION
Give the community a story people could hold.
I conceived and founded the Society6 Art Quarterly during my first year with the team, creating a limited-edition publication that brought the digital community into print.
I directed curation, artist selection, covers, layouts, and editorial content, and carried the publication through production, vendor coordination, press checks, and final proofing.
The Quarterly gave artists, collaborators, investors, and company leadership a tangible way to experience the breadth of the community. Each quarterly edition of 5,000 copies sold out, with participating artists receiving copies before release.
From Art Quarterly to
ARTIST QUARTERLY.
As the publication developed, I proposed renaming Art Quarterly to Artist Quarterly.
The shift gave us a clearer editorial focus: the people, environments, and practices behind the finished work. Artist stories became a stronger part of how the publication represented the community.
04 / ARTIST PARTICIPATION
Create a reason for artists to make something new.
The Flipside Art Zine extended the Quarterly with a second cover on the reverse. Readers could enter from either direction, giving the publication two distinct starting points.
Open calls invited artists to create new work around themes including Full Moon and Retro. Special editions explored other ways to participate, including red-and-blue 3D glasses and a coloring book with Society6-branded crayons.
The publication became a place to discover artists and an invitation for the community to contribute something new.
05 / ARTIST PRODUCTS
Make the format part of the creative idea.
I extended the curatorial approach into limited-edition products, connecting artist selection with the possibilities and requirements of each format.
The object became part of the brief, giving artists a reason to consider how their work could be experienced in a different way.
Skate Decks
My work covered artist curation, templates, vendor relationships, art direction, product testing, and proofing. The range included complete setups and grip-tape options, with decks physically tested in Venice, California before release.
The process connected the artwork to the practical demands of a product people would use.
Playing Cards
For the 2018 holiday season, selected artists were invited to develop original artwork across suits, faces, and card backs.
Each deck gave an artist room to build a connected visual world within a familiar format. The limited editions sold out almost immediately.
Artist Calendars
Artists developed hero artwork alongside custom calendar grids and details such as moon phases.
Successful concept pitches extended the program into Zodiac wall calendars and desktop editions, growing an annual product into a broader collection of artist-led formats.
06 / THE SHARED EXPERIENCE
Bring the community into the city.
The Society6 × Uber Mobile Art Gallery brought work from Los Angeles-based Society6 artists and Uber driver-partner artists into a shared physical space.
The collaboration transformed a 40-foot shipping container into a mobile gallery that traveled through Los Angeles for a one-day experience.
My role covered curation, coordination, and art direction, helping bring the two communities together in an exhibition people could enter and explore.
07 / CREATIVE LEADERSHIP
Give people direction and room to contribute.
I led the curation team and brought artist perspectives into decisions across publications, products, and collaborations.
Shared standards made creative choices easier to discuss. Clear frameworks gave artists and designers direction while preserving room for interpretation and ownership.
My responsibility was to connect those contributions to the wider brand, maintaining quality while making space for the individuality that gave Society6 its character.
CLOSING
A recognizable brand.
Many distinct voices.
Across editorial, products, and experiences, I helped Society6 express its identity through the artists who shaped it.
I found common ground between the brand’s needs and the independent voices that gave it character.
NATHAN SPOOR
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
