Boutique Design - October 2018 - 128

Performance
art
Executive creative director at branding and digital
agency, Sideways, by day and burlesque performer
by night, Callie Peck always knows her audience.
By emily Pot ts

callie Peck's Playful brand campaigns for clients such as Moxy and
Freehand combine captivating narratives with alluring photography that
draw an audience in and keeps them coming back for more. The parallels
between her day job and side hustle are more direct than they seem. "I've
never shied away from outsider status-I think it's been more of an asset
than a detriment for the kinds of brands I like to work with," Peck says.
"We're in the business of seduction. That's what hospitality should be
doing for its guests-seducing them." She has been with Sideways since its
founding in 2009, building the team from three to more than 30, leading
and executing immersive brand experiences. "My passion lies in creative
that serves a clear purpose-something that delights a guest, a customer,
a user and a cfo or ceo," she says.

your guests is not a great start to a brand relationship.
How Do yoU CApTURE THE BRAND IN pHoTo SHooTS?

Whenever possible, I want to be on set when the property is shot, and will
always push to see the spaces activated with people. I hate the term lifestyle
photography, because whose lifestyle are we talking about? Staying at a hotel
should be about fantasy. I don't care how much you travel. I want shots that feel
editorial without being inauthentic. Please, stop dressing women in evening
gowns and using them as decoration. Imagery should demonstrate a heightened reality of what a guest can experience with your brand. I try to go back to
that idea of a performance narrative and build shot lists like a storyboard.
THE DESIgN foR Moxy IS INTENTIoNAlly SExy. wAS THERE EvER ANy

How Do yoU looK AT AND INTERpRET A HoTEl'S INTERIoR AND

CoNCERN THAT yoU MIgHT BE pUSHINg THE CoNCEpT Too fAR?

ExTRApolATE THAT BRAND DNA INTo THE MARKETINg?

Lightstone Group (which owns Moxy Times Square and the soon-to-open
Moxy Chelsea, the upcoming Moxy East Village and a further Moxy on the
Lower East Side), is ridiculously fun to work with. They have done an incredible job of merging a very bright and poppy brand with super sophisticated
interiors and programming. We're lucky to work with a really edgy and
dynamic team who has yet to be phased by just about anything. This is a
brand that should be cheeky; not over-the-top. I don't want to reinforce this
idea that the Millennial traveler is all one-note, so we aim to keep it playful.

For me, that's really only one piece of the puzzle. The interior design is the
set for a performance that is going to happen night after night on property.
When you add lighting, music, actors and narrative-that's when the
performance comes together. I like to walk through and put myself in the
mindset of different guest "characters" because it helps me experience the
space from their perspective. I take the same cues as an interior designer:
What is the sense of space and light? How can it be used for throwing huge
parties or framing intimate conversations or just showing off?

How Do yoUR pERSoNAl INTERESTS INflUENCE yoUR woRK?

We're really excited about gearing up for the launch of Equinox Hotels,
which is all I can say at the moment. Beyond that, we're doing a lot of
work in the restaurant space, which I find really interesting because of the
micro-experience aspect as opposed to hotels' macro-experiences. Chefs
are so intimately involved in the process because a restaurant operates
like a one-person show-every detail is an outlet for their vision. I'm also
working with my partner on a platform called The Plural You, which is
about challenging the gendering of formal language. Hospitality spaces
should be comfortable and inviting for guests who are trans. So think
about the design of single-stall, all gender bathrooms; creating better
booking flows that ask for a preferred way of being addressed; and using
inclusive or non-gendered greetings for groups. Believe me, misgendering
128 boutiquedesign.com

october 2018

It's about rebellion, right? I like to look for the "right" way to do something, and
then see where I can find another route. There's nothing practical about riding a
motorcycle in New York or doing a midnight burlesque gig after a 12-hour work
day, but the experience is richer and more unexpected because of that.
ARE THERE ANy DESIgN TRENDS THAT yoU REAlly lovE AND wHy?

Maximalism! Long live stuff ! I'm so glad that the stripped-down, Scandi,
all-white-everything moment is over. I'm a lover of a good visual orgy. It
keeps me coming back because I never feel like I've fully consumed a space.
The lobby of the Ace Hotel in New York has always really done it for me
because of that, or The Parker Palm Springs. My own design aesthetic has
evolved, and I can be really confident in minimalism. But at home, my
philosophy is stolen from Miss Piggy: "Less is never more. More is more!" 

ADRIAN BUCKMASTER

wHAT ARE yoU CURRENTly woRKINg oN?

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - October 2018

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