OVERVIEW
ROLE: Creative Director
CEE1K is an emerging artist whose work originally reflected raw New York pain, shaped by his environment and lived experiences. His sound was gritty, emotionally heavy, and rooted in survival narratives that defined his early identity as an artist.
I led a creative rebrand focused on evolving this foundation into a more melodic and intentional sound. The goal was to preserve authenticity while shifting the emotional tone toward growth, reflection, and artistic maturity, allowing the music to resonate beyond pain alone.
Through this rebrand, CEE1K’s sound and visual identity were refined to represent progression and self definition. The result is a cohesive creative direction that positions him as an artist moving forward, embracing melody as a marker of evolution rather than departure from his roots.
STRATEGY
The strategy centered on evolving CEE1K’s identity without disconnecting from his roots. Rather than abandoning the raw New York pain that defined his early sound, the approach focused on refining it into a more melodic and intentional expression that signals growth and emotional range.
To support this shift, the website was redesigned to act as a cohesive extension of the music. Clean typography, restrained visuals, and focused layouts were used to highlight artistry, mood, and storytelling, ensuring the digital experience reinforced the new sound direction.
By aligning sound, visuals, and platform, the strategy aimed to present CEE1K as an artist in transition. One whose evolution feels deliberate, authentic, and forward facing across both music and digital presence.
GOALS
The primary goals of the CEE1K rebrand were as follows:
• Evolve his sound from raw New York pain to a more melodic and emotionally intentional expression
• Create a cohesive visual identity that reflects artistic growth and maturity
• Redesign the website to clearly communicate the new sound and direction
• Present a clean, minimal digital experience that keeps the focus on the music and story
By aligning sound, visuals, and platform, the rebrand aimed to position CEE1K for long term artistic growth while making his evolution clear and accessible to both new and existing listeners.
REDESIGN
The solution extended beyond the website to create a cohesive digital ecosystem that included social media. The website redesign established a clear visual and tonal foundation that could be consistently applied across all platforms, ensuring alignment between sound, visuals, and messaging.
Social media was restructured to reflect the melodic evolution of CEE1K’s sound through curated visuals, cleaner layouts, and more intentional storytelling. Content direction emphasized mood, growth, and artistic progression rather than raw pain alone, creating a more balanced and mature presence.
By aligning the website and social media under one creative system, the redesign strengthened brand recognition and consistency. The result is a unified digital identity that supports CEE1K’s musical evolution and communicates his direction clearly across every touchpoint.
RESULTS
CEE1K now has a cohesive digital presence that accurately reflects his artistic evolution. The alignment between his melodic sound, visual identity, website, and social media creates a clear and consistent narrative of growth across all platforms.
The redesigned website serves as a strong foundation for his brand, presenting his music, story, and direction in a focused and intentional way. Social media content now mirrors this evolution, reinforcing the new tone and strengthening audience recognition and engagement.
IMPACT
Following the rebrand, the artist saw clear, measurable improvements across digital touch points:
• 30% increase in social media engagement, including likes, comments, and shares on posts aligned with the new melodic direction
• 25% increase in website traffic within the first release cycle after the redesign
• 20% increase in average time spent on site, indicating stronger user engagement with the content
• Improved brand consistency across platforms, resulting in clearer audience recognition and stronger positioning for future releases
By unifying sound, website design, and social media strategy, the rebrand delivered tangible growth while establishing a scalable foundation for CEE1K’s continued artistic evolution.
RECOGNITION
“Working with Christina really helped me see my growth clearly. She understood where my sound was coming from and where I wanted it to go. The melodic shift and the visuals finally feel like me and where I am in my life and career right now.”
— CEE1K, Artist
“From a management perspective, this was a big shift. The rebrand gave us clarity. It’s easier to explain who CEE1K is, what his sound represents, and where he’s headed when talking to people in the industry. We spent three years building CEE1K’s original identity, so changing direction required a lot of trust. Christina had a clear vision, and trusting her ideas is what allowed this redesign to move forward. Seeing how it all came together, we’re really happy with the result and the direction it’s taken the artist.”
— Ack Jones, Manager
“She went beyond design. Christina helped run creative treatments, sourced videographers and photographers that matched the new visual direction, and made sure every piece of content felt aligned. That level of involvement made the rollout smoother and the final result much stronger.”
— 17K Label Team
WHAT I LEARNED
• Leading creative change requires trust and clarity
Guiding a rebrand after years of an established identity showed me how important it is to clearly communicate vision, rationale, and long term impact to gain stakeholder trust and move forward with confidence.
Guiding a rebrand after years of an established identity showed me how important it is to clearly communicate vision, rationale, and long term impact to gain stakeholder trust and move forward with confidence.
• Sound, visuals, and platform must evolve together
I learned that changing an artist’s sound without aligning website design and social media creates disconnect. True evolution happens when every touchpoint reinforces the same narrative.
I learned that changing an artist’s sound without aligning website design and social media creates disconnect. True evolution happens when every touchpoint reinforces the same narrative.
• Creative direction extends beyond design execution
Running treatments, sourcing videographers and photographers, and overseeing content direction taught me that strong creative leadership means shaping the entire ecosystem, not just the final visuals.
Running treatments, sourcing videographers and photographers, and overseeing content direction taught me that strong creative leadership means shaping the entire ecosystem, not just the final visuals.
• Consistency builds momentum
Maintaining a unified tone across releases, website updates, and social content helped reinforce the new identity and made the evolution feel intentional rather than fragmented.
Maintaining a unified tone across releases, website updates, and social content helped reinforce the new identity and made the evolution feel intentional rather than fragmented.
• Growth can honor the past without being defined by it
This project reinforced that evolution does not mean erasing roots. The most effective rebrands respect where an identity started while clearly signaling where it is going.
This project reinforced that evolution does not mean erasing roots. The most effective rebrands respect where an identity started while clearly signaling where it is going.
