Xerox Speaking of Work

Celebrated authors on the future of work — and an editorial microsite for Xerox that reads like a magazine, not a brochure.

Campaign

Editorial

Web

Art direction

Video

Speaking of Work chapter hero: author Roxane Gay
Speaking of Work homepage on a phone
Speaking of Work chapter hero and mobile homepage

Client

Xerox

My role

Art Director

Team

w/ Creative Dir. + Copywriter @VML

Timeline

3 Months

Deliverables

Responsive Landing Page

Tools

Illustrator · Photoshop · XD

TL;DR — the 30-second version

TL;DR

01 — The problem

Xerox wanted to talk about the future of work without sounding like a printer brochure.

02 — What I did

Art-directed an editorial microsite where every author gets a chapter: portrait hero, essay, a “technology behind the story” video and a free book download.

03 — The result

12.4K

E-book downloads in the first 90 days

(01) — The challenge

Make a technology brand worth reading.

Speaking of Work paired novelists and essayists — Valeria Luiselli, Roxane Gay, Gary Shteyngart and more — with one question: what is work becoming? Each chapter had to feel like a magazine feature while still connecting back to Xerox and turning readers into subscribers.

The brief: an editorial platform with a repeatable chapter template, portrait-led art direction, and a clear path from essay to free book download.

“Let the writers lead. The brand shows up in the margins.”

— Creative Director

Speaking of Work homepage with the author grid, full length
Speaking of Work homepage

(02) — Process

How it came together

01

Concept

An editorial platform and chapter structure built around each author’s essay.

02

Portraits

Direction for author photography and video — intimate, warm, unmistakably human.

03

Design

Chapter template: portrait hero, essay, technology behind the story, meet the authors.

04

E-book

The Speaking of Work book, designed for tablet reading and download.

05

Launch

“Stay informed” sign-ups and social cut-downs for every chapter.

Behind the scenes

On top of creating the full digital footprint I also did extensive photo and audio editing

(03) — The work

Chapter by chapter.

Speaking of Work chapter page for Gary Shteyngart
Speaking of Work chapter on mobile
Speaking of Work e-book on a tablet
Speaking of Work author portrait shoot
Speaking of Work author portrait shoot

Annotated: every author chapter shares one template — portrait, essay, the technology behind the story.

(04) — Results

What changed

12.4K

E-book downloads

+38%

Newsletter sign-ups

4:12

Avg. time reading

(05) — If I did it again

What I’d do next

Cut every chapter into short-form video for social first, and let readers vote on the next author.

Credits: Digital Cubed, Vertiv

Vertiv Insights collage: engineers and the Vertiv V mark

Next case study

Vertiv →

UX/UI · Microsite · Design system

(05) – Contact

Say hi

Hiring a Senior Art Director or Design Lead?

I’m open to full-time and contract roles – in-house or agency. Send the brief, the team and the problem; I’ll come back with questions and ideas.

Email

mk@workingprint.com

Based in

NYC · Remote / Hybrid

(Resume) - Martin Kalanda · PDF

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