Method

Same method, four machines

A global brand, a startup app, a coffee company and a mailroom. Different budgets, crews and tools, and the same six steps in the same order. Read across a row to see one step at four scales, or down a column to see one machine.

Step	Nike	Sleeper	Lost & Found	Earth Class Mail
01Define the System	Four pillars, a look per pillar; pitched to Brand Creative for sign-off.	One hero treatment: navy gradient, title on the gradient, same type everywhere.	Logo, wordmark, monogram, fonts, travel-journal language, icons.	A cost model: every operation timed; $13.47 cost against a $9.99 price.
02Build the Pipeline	Airtable path: outline, visual type, brief, select, tag, place, publish.	The Nike path with a prompt agent, generation and a review agent.	Brand, then packaging, website, email and print; a label color per coffee.	Barcoded mail in daily tubs; 85% of requests from the last three days.
03Assemble the Crew	A bench of 10 to 20 freelancers; productions of 20 to 40.	Freelance producers and editors on weekly turns, plus four agents.	A founding team of four instead of a hired crew.	Operations team of 10 to 12; support team of 5 to 7.
04Produce the Content	Directed shoots and illustrators; shot nutrition and the AJ1 launch.	Guides heroes every week; Fantasy Reporter, an AI-hosted show.	The 2026 bag in sixteen rounds; the truck; films from origin.	Brand, website, national TV spots and radio.
05Catalog the Assets	Taxonomy and metadata in Nike's DAM; crop sets for every hero.	An approved library the prompt agent draws from.	An organized origin library and one canonical brand kit.	Support assignment, per-member metrics, NPS.
06Run the System	60 to 120 pieces a month for two years; 400+ still live.	A weekly cadence; the show handed to an in-house editor.	The site rebuilt as a travel journal; the brand runs daily.	Nine years, through an ownership change.