Content Creation & Creative Direction

‍Make stories. Move people. Build brands.

Strong visuals aren’t enough. Your brand deserves content that compels, commands attention, and feels true to your craft. That’s what we build—narrative-first content and creative leadership rooted in real understanding of shelter work.

Based in Portland, Maine, Vernacular works with architects, builders, designers, tradespeople, and shelter pros—all those who shape physical spaces and want their story told right.

Why Creative Direction Still Matters

Creative leadership means more than pretty visuals. It’s about guiding the voice and vision of your brand. From tone and visual stories to messaging and strategic context, we shape content that’s memorable, consistent, and built around what matters: your craftsmanship, process, and project impact.

What We Deliver & How It Works

Strategic Storytelling + Tactical Content

Brand-aligned Creative Direction
We lead the look, feel, message, and tone across digital and physical touchpoints—whether that's refreshed brand language, campaign concepts, captions, or coordinated visual assets with photographic or motion briefs.

Content Planning & Messaging
Know what to say before you say it. We help map content themes—projects, process, people, product—and tie them into email sequences, social campaigns, blog posts, or printed collateral.

Asset Development Across Media
Original content across formats:

• Gallery-quality photography (studio, lifestyle, jobsite)
• Short-form video (Reels, timelapse, motion cutaways)
• Blog posts, editorial storytelling, team features, firm philosophy
• Social graphics, brochures, proposal decks, and even press announcements

Social & Campaign Support
We create templates and content for Instagram, LinkedIn, Houzz, Pinterest, and more—crafted for the platforms, aligned with your voice, ready to roll with minimal edits.

Templates You Can Actually Use
Whether you work in Canva, Adobe, or in your CMS—everything we hand off is simple, editable, and built to be reused season after season.

Who Benefits Most

• Architecture firms launching new collections or spotlighting completed work
• Builders sharing project highlights, trade philosophies, or collaborations
• Designers deepening client relationships through process stories or seasonal content
• Tradespeople promoting craftsmanship, specialty techniques, or team features
• Shelter specialists with niche work—materials, preservation, prefabrication—craving high-impact story assets

What to Expect When We Work Together

Discovery & Creative Framework
We begin with who you’re talking to—your audiences, your goals, your quirks—and form a creative story framework: tone, themes, styles, and content rhythm.

Story & Collateral Plan
Together, we map a content calendar or campaign schedule that feels natural yet intentional—whether that's quarterly project campaigns, monthly feature stories, or seasonal promos.

Hands-On Creative
Authoring photo briefs, scripting videos, writing copy, designing layouts, editing social edits—making carefully crafted content you can share with confidence.

Client Review & Feedback
We present drafts, take your feedback, and fine-tune based on your voice and vision. No agency speak. No surprises. Just iterative design that stays true to your voice.

Delivery & Training
You’ll get your files, templates, and directions for reuse. We’ll show you how to update your assets, adjust campaigns, and keep the momentum going.

Optional Ongoing Direction
Need seasonal refreshes, narrative edits, campaign rethink, or repurposed content? We’re around to keep the voice sharp and the output moving.

Typical Deliverables

• Creative Direction brief (tone, visual reference, campaign concept)
• Content calendar or campaign plan
• Photography and video briefs + edited deliverables
• Written content: case studies, interviews, columns, blog posts
• Template bundles: social posts, email assets, pitch decks, brochures
• Templates delivered in reusable formats (InDesign, Canva, CMS blocks)
• Optional: Quarterly creative check-ins or new collateral development

Based in Portland, Maine—Content that Comes From Real Shelter Expertise

We’ve spent years working with firms who think in elevation lines, run punch lists, nail siding details, and talk timber framing. That world informs every concept we create, from campaign visuals to content planning and writing.

Content with substance is content that converts. Let’s tell your story with clarity, confidence, and conviction.

Ready to lead your content with purpose?