Avatar Studios
Established brand · New website · Creative direction · Custom build
Client:
Nickelodeon
Building the franchise hub for Nickelodeon's production company behind Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, bringing their scattered communities, content, and commerce under one roof.
The Avatar franchise has one of the most devoted fan communities in animation (of which I am a part). With content spread across streaming platforms, a concert tour, books, games, and an active social presence, existing fans needed a single destination to stay on top of new releases, and the creators needed somewhere polished to introduce their world to new ones.
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My literal dream project
As Creative Production Director at award-winning creative studio Powster working with major global entertainment clients, I led or oversaw end-to-end delivery of digital experiences from pitch through post-launch. For Avatar, I took a particularly hands-on role across design, build, content, and client liaison; partly because of our small, flexible team structure, and partly because this was a project I was personally invested in from the moment it landed.
When being the biggest fan in the room is a double-edged sword
(or space sword — if you get the reference, we're already friends)
Referencing the established style guide, I led with a lighter palette and character-focused visual direction, the natural instinct of someone who already has an emotional connection to the faces on screen. Through revision rounds with the client, working alongside our designer Ryo Ogawa, we realised that a general audience wouldn't arrive with that same instant connection. The design needed to mature and simplify to work for fans and newcomers alike.
The final direction pulled back to a more sophisticated, darker palette with subtle world-building patterns. Our Senior Video Editor Syvain Kellaway created a lush landing page video cycling through the franchise's distinct landscapes in a watercolour painting style, evoking the richness of the Asian-influenced source material immediately. Characters were woven in as page scroll accents, preserving the human warmth the series is known for without making IP recognition a barrier to entry.
Expanding the Avatarverse
Delivering something the client trusted meant the relationship could grow. The success of the main site and quiz led to a follow-up interactive Timeline page mapping all franchise content in both in-world chronological order and release order, a meaningful feature for a property with a big legacy. Our Project Manager Charlie Cutmore kept the client communications running smoothly across both phases, which meant the creative work could stay focused and the team felt supported. As a fulfilled fan who got to see Avatar In Concert on tickets from the client, I'd say the feeling was mutual!
“Working with Caroline on the Avatar Studios website was a standout experience. She’s incredibly sharp creatively, deeply capable technically, and one of those rare partners who can take on anything and just make it happen. Thoughtful, responsive, and endlessly solutions-oriented—she elevated the entire project.”
— Tanner Stransky, Content Strategist at Nickelodeon
Bringing the wealth of Avatar Studios content under one digital roof, with interactivity visitors actually invested time in, resulted in tens of thousands of impressions and a platform ready to grow with the highly anticipated releases still to come.
Bonus: Yes, that is my own Avatar merch (Seriously. Watch the shows.)
