Shirley Paden: Organic Social Content
Work Type
Organic social strategy · Content direction · Visual design · Community engagement
Overview
Shirley Paden is a renowned knitwear designer whose work spans decades and whose community is deeply loyal and globally dispersed. By my second year on her team, I became the creative lead for her organic social presence, shaping the roadmap, designing all visuals, collaborating closely with our copywriter, and managing community engagement as Shirley. A core goal was fostering the feeling that Shirley was truly online with everyone, guiding, encouraging, and celebrating the artists who looked up to her, even though the content was produced by our team.
The Winter Design Challenge
Our Focus
Create a cohesive social campaign around Shirley’s first large-scale online design challenge. Showcase the students’ progress, highlight weekly sessions, and foster a vibrant sense of community throughout the three-month competition.
My Role
I directed and executed the campaign across social platforms: designing posts, shaping the weekly content cadence, developing visual cohesion across presentations and social assets, and managing participant engagement. I created process-driven posts that walked through Shirley’s design philosophy, recapped weekly sessions, encouraged students to share their swatches and progress, and highlighted the winning garments. My goal was to make the challenge feel immersive, collaborative, and deeply connected to Shirley’s values.
What I Learned
This project taught me how to design and manage a long-term social campaign that balances education, community participation, and brand identity. It strengthened my ability to create visual cohesion across many formats and keep a large group of participants engaged and excited.
Made by Hand Series
Our Focus
Celebrate the artistry and craftsmanship behind each garment by spotlighting intricate details and quotes from Shirley about the precision and beauty of hand-made work.
My Role
Filmed close-ups of Shirley’s finished garment designs, pairing the footage with thoughtful quotes from Shirley, and framing the posts to feel reverent and elevated. The goal was to honor the tradition of knitwear design and position the brand as both a steward and celebrator of the craft.
What I Learned
This series sharpened my ability to create content that is both inspiring to designers and emotionally resonant. It also reinforced how aspirational posts can validate and energize a niche community when they’re rooted in shared pride and passion.
Daily Engagement Posts
Our Focus
Increase overall engagement without overwhelming the audience’s feed by creating a series of daily Instagram Stories designed to spark conversation, thought, and participation.
My Role
Researched and collected content that could be used in a flexible daily series that included design prompts, historical facts, “ask Shirley” moments, community questions, and quick educational insights. I designed each piece, collaborated with our copywriter, and handled community responses as Shirley. This series became a reliable engine for organic connection and growth.
What I Learned
How to create sustainable, high-impact daily content that deepens community connection without fatiguing the audience. This campaign directly contributed to a 19% YoY increase in followers, showing the power of consistent, thoughtful, community-first storytelling.
