Tumblr Artist Alley

Client: Tumblr
Industry: Digital Media, Creator Marketing, Community Engagement
Role: Art Direction, Project Management, Community Marketing
Date: 2022-2024

Tumblr’s Artist Alley campaign created a dedicated space to spotlight emerging artists and digital creatives by driving traffic to their personal storefronts. The initiative empowered independent artists to connect with Tumblr’s audience and monetize their work—without Tumblr taking any commission. Objectives of this marketing campaign included:

• Empower Creators: Showcase a diverse roster of artists and link directly to their storefronts with zero platform fees.

• Boost Engagement: Infuse the platform with fresh, user-generated content to spark discovery and drive reblogs/shares.

• Strengthen Community: Reaffirm Tumblr’s role as a creative-first ecosystem and trusted home for illustration culture.

Art Direction & Branding: I crafted a vibrant and unified visual identity for Artist Alley that captured Tumblr’s playful spirit and fandom-centric style.

Cross-Platform Promotion: The campaign’s visuals were prominently showcased across Tumblr’s dashboard, editorial blogs, and social media channels. An accessible submission process invited artists to participate, offering them valuable exposure in exchange.

Community-Driven Outreach: By encouraging artist submissions and sparking engagement with fun prompts like “Anything weird, funny, glittery…,” Tumblr successfully engaged a diverse range of creators—from sticker artists to plush designers.

• Expanded Discovery & Sales: Artists featured on Tumblr saw increased traffic and sales through direct links to their storefronts—strengthening maker-audience connections.

• Increased Platform Engagement: Users responded positively, sharing and tagging favorite artists with enthusiastic feedback like:

  • “#WANT #*starts aggressively jumping up and down* #WANTTTT”

  • “I have these & they’re really adorable in person.”

  • “#this is so pretty #their art is lovely #I very much want it”

  • “#loved this piece I used it as a phone bg for years”

• Enhanced Brand Perception: The campaign reinforced Tumblr as a nurturing space for creative entrepreneurs and independent artistry, elevating its position in the creator economy.