Azsa West is a director, artist and award winning chief creative officer currently based in Portland, Oregon at Wieden + Kennedy. Originally from a small, haunted, surf town in California- Azsa grew up raised by the ocean, skaters, and a metaphysical graphic designer that believed in auras and aliens.
They studied photography and illustration at California College of the Arts, the internet at Hyper Island, was inducted into W+K 12- a cult disguised as an experimental school- with an emphasis on film, ideation, art direction and writing. Azsa has exhibited works at the Pompidou in Paris, Art & Science gallery in Tokyo, Los Angeles, Portland, New York, Brazil as well as a neighborhood gay bar in Sydney. A book of their drawings, “Nature Study on Lonesome Island," was published in 2011.
Over the course of a decade, Azsa has led creative out of four Wieden + Kennedy offices globally, plus a brief detour to Hollywood as an entertainment marketing agent at CAA. From their advertising work to their art to their filmmaking projects, Azsa’s visual style has been described as “spellbinding, insanity inducing, mind-blowing, and out-of-this-world.” Azsa points to global travels as a significant influence on such an eclectic body of work. Yet no matter where Azsa calls home- as a queer identified, indigenous person of color- Azsa strives to not only create culturally impactful work, but an environment that promotes authenticity, experimentation and inclusion.
Their work has been featured in publications such as New York Times, Vice, Hype Beast, Ad Busters, Nowness, Huffington Post, Forbes, Creativity, AdAge, Girls Like Us, Its Nice That, Put A Egg On It, CMYK, Good Magazine, Wall Street Journal and Fast Company.
Clients include SKIMS, Instagram, Rimowa, Nike, Air Jordan, Heineken, Trolli, Door Dash, Magic Leap, Coke, Google, Disney, Canada Goose, Burbery, Shiseido, Zalando, Sony, l’Occitane, Secret, Old Spice, Target, P&G, Ace Hotel, Laika Studios, Beautiful People, Air BnB, Happy Dance, Lord Jones, GoPuff, Tik-Tok, Hinge and MTV.
EDUCATION
WIEDEN + KENNEDY 12
ART DIRECTION / COPY WRITING / IDEATION
HYPER ISLAND
OXFORD FOR ALIENS
CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS
PHOTOGRAPHY / ILLUSTRATION
SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
PHOTOGRAPHY / FILM / GAY STUFF
WORK
2006-2007
WIEDEN + KENNEDY 12 PORTLAND, OR. USA
ART DIRECTOR, COPYWRITER -MTV, GOOD MAGAZINE, ACE HOTEL
2007-2008
FREELANCE USA, DE.
DESIGNER, ILLUSTRATOR, CREATIVE
2008-2011
WIEDEN + KENNEDY PORTLAND, OR. USA
ART DIRECTOR , COPY WRITER - NIKE, LEVI’S, LAIKA, EA, GIRL EFFECT, TARGET
2011-2014
WIEDEN + KENNEDY NEW YORK, NY. USA
SR. ART DIRECTOR - AIR JORDAN, HEINEKEN,TARGET, SOUTHERN COMFORT
CREATIVE DIRECTOR - NIKE CANADA
2014-2015
CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY LOS ANGELES, CA. USA
CREATIVE EXECUTIVE, AGENT - COCA COLA, SPRITE, BURBERRY TOMORROWLAND, CANADA GOOSE
2015-2016
WIEDEN + KENNEDY SHANGHAI, CHINA
CREATIVE DIRECTOR- NIKE, AIR JORDAN
2016-2018
WIEDEN + KENNEDY TOKYO, JAPAN
CREATIVE DIRECTOR- NIKE JAPAN, NIKE KOREA, AIR BNB, SHISEIDO GLOBAL, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
2018-2021
WIEDEN + KENNEDY PORTLAND, OR. USA
CREATIVE DIRECTOR - SECRET, INSTAGRAM, TROLLI, MAGIC LEAP, P&G, HAPPY DANCE, LORD JONES, TRAVEL OREGON, GOPUFF
FILM DIRECTOR -W+K STUDIOS
2021-2023
ANOMALY BERLIN, DE.
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR - SONY, RIMOWA, L’OCCITANE, DIAGEO, NESPRESSO, GOOGLE, ZALANDO, TIK TOK, GAGGENAU, HINGE
2023-PRESENT
WIEDEN + KENNEDY PORTLAND, OR. USA
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER - SKIMS, DOOR DASH, NIKE, VISA, OLD SPICE, TRAVEL OREGON, EA, HP, OMEN, CORONA, TURBO TAX, MLB, ALLSTATE, HINGE
2020-PRESENT
WTBR SAN FRANCISCO, CA.
FILM DIRECTOR
EXHIBITIONS
2006 THE POISON SNAKE, HOLOCENE, PORTLAND, OR.
2007 BRAND LAND, POWELL’S CITY OF BOOKS, PORTLAND OR.
2007 FAIL HARDER, WIEDEN + KENNEDY GALLERY, PORTLAND, OR.
2007 GROUP SHOW WITH COLORS MAGAZINE, POMPIDOU, PARIS
2008 GROUP SHOW, READING FRENZY, PORTLAND, OR.
2009 QUEER GAZE, FONTANELLE GALLERY, PORTLAND, OR
2010 LESBIAN ART SHOW, FONTANELLE GALLERY, PORTLAND, OR
2011 EVERYTHING MATTERS ALL OF THE TIME, THE CLEANERS GALLERY AT ACE HOTEL, PORTLAND, OR.
2012 NATURE STUDY ON LONESOME ISLAND, PUBLICATION STUDIO, PORTLAND, OR.
2012 OUT 24, SPACE ON WHITE GALLERY, NEW YORK, NY.
2012 THE BEGINNING OF THE END, SWORD + FERN, PORTLAND, OR.
2013 COSTELA MAGAZINE GROUP EXHIBITION WIEDEN + KENNEDY, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL
2013 BLANKET, LESLIE-LOHMAN MUSEUM, NEW YORK, NY.
2018 TEXT ME, W+K TOKYO GALLERY, TOKYO, JAPAN
2018 AXIOM SELECTION 2, ART & SCIENCE LAB BY AXIOM, TOKYO, JAPAN
2018 THE TV OVER THE BAR, THE BEARDED TIT, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
2019 PRIDE EXHIBITION, THE HOXTON, PORTLAND, OR.
2021 LESBIENNALE, ELC, BRUSSELS, BELIGUM
SHINY THINGS
CANNES TITANIUM SILVER LION: INTEGRATED CORALINE CAMPAIGN
CANNES CYBER LION: CORALINE CAMPAIGN
CANNES SILVER LION : CORALINE
CANNES SILVER LION CYBER: CORALINE
CANNES BRONZE FILM LION: LEVI’S “LEGACY”
CANNES BRONZE FILM LION: LEVI’S ”O PIONEER”
CANNES BRONZE LION EXPERIENTIAL EVENT: AIR JORDAN “THE EXPLOSIVE GAME”
CANNES ENTERTAINMENT LION SHORT LIST : NIKE KOREA "RUN IT"
ONE SHOW SILVER: INTEGRATED CORALINE CAMPAIGN
ONE SHOW SILVER CYBER: INTEGRATED CORALINE CAMPAIGN
ONE SHOW SILVER CYBER: CORALINE
ONE SHOW SILVER PROMO: CORALINE X NIKE
ONE SHOW MERIT INTEGRATED BRANDING: CORALINE
ONE SHOW SILVER ENTERTAINMENT: AIR JORDAN “THE EXPLOSIVE GAME”
ONE SHOW SILVER EVENTS: AIR JORDAN “THE EXPLOSIVE GAME”
ONE SHOW BRONZE: LEVI’S “LEGACY”
ONE SHOW FILM MERIT: AIR JORDAN "THE WINNING MOMENT"
ONE SHOW SILVER: NIKE "KOBE X TEMPLE OF DEADLY QUICKNESS"
ONE SHOW MERIT DESIGN : NIKE "KOBE X TEMPLE OF DEADLY QUICKNESS"
ONE SHOW BRONZE INTERACTIVE: NIKE "THE UNSTOPPABLE TRIBUTE"
ONE SHOW CRAFT SHORT LIST: INSTAGRAM “COEUR SUR TOI”
ONE SHOW BRONZE BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT: GOOGLE “YOUR LIFE WITH PIXEL”
ONE SHOW INDEPENDENT AGENCY OF THE YEAR 2023: WIEDEN + KENNEDY PORTLAND
D&AD WOOD PENCIL IN ANIMATION: TROLLI “IT’S TROLLI!”
D&AD STOP MOTION ANIMATION SHORTLIST: TROLLI “IT’S TROLLI”
WEBBY AWARD WINNER: CORALINE
WEBBY’S PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD: CORALINE
WEBBY WINNER BEST COPYWRITING : NIKE “HOCKEY IS OURS”
WEBBY NOMINEE MOVING IMAGE: INSTAGRAM “GET INTO WHAT YOU HEART”
WEBBY HONOREE BEST COPYWRITING: INSTAGRAM “GET INTO WHAT YOU HEART”
WEBBY HONOREE ADVERTISING, MEDIA & PR: HAPPY DANCE CBD “A HAPPIER PLACE”
AICP SHOW WINNER IN 3 CATEGORIES: LEVI’S “AMERICA”
AICP AWARD IN CINEMATOGRAPHY: LEVI’S “LEGACY”
AICP SHORTLIST IN 5 CATEGORIES: SECRET “I’D RATHER GET PAID”
ANDY AWARD EVENT SPECIAL EFFECTS: AIR JORDAN ”THE EXPLOSIVE GAME”
CLIO SILVER INNOVATIVE MEDIA : AIR JORDAN ”THE EXPLOSIVE GAME”
APA AWARD: NIKE "MR. SUN"
SPIKES SILVER FILM AWARD: NIKE "MR. SUN"
SPIKES SILVER BRANDED CONTENT AWARD: NIKE "KOBE X TEMPLE OF DEADLY QUICKNESS"
SPIKES SILVER BRAND IDENTITY AWARD: WASO “ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL COME FROM NATURE”
SPIKES BRONZE DESIGN AWARD: NIKE "KOBE X TEMPLE OF DEADLY QUICKNESS"
SPIKES BRONZE MUSIC AWARD: NIKE KOREA "RUN IT"
AD FEST BRONZE: NIKE "DON'T KNOW YOUR PLACE"
YOUTUBE AD LEADERBOARD GOLD: NIKE “IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE”
BRITISH ARROW AWARD BRONZE: SECRET “I’D RATHER GET PAID”
ADAGE A-LIST AGENCY OF THE YEAR 2020,2019,2018: WIEDEN + KENNEDY PORTLAND
ADAGE CREATIVES YOU NEED TO KNOW
ART DIRECTORS CLUB 1x GOLD, 6 SILVER, 3 BRONZE: GOOGLE “YOUR LIFE WITH PIXEL”
JURIES
CANNES, D&AD, ONE SHOW, CICLOPE
PANELS
ADCOLOR, FACEBOOK CREATIVE LEADER SERIES
PUBLICATIONS
NEW YORK TIMES, VICE, HYPE BEAST, FREE THE BID, ADBUSTERS, ADAGE, ADWEEK, MUSE BY CLIO, NOWNESS, YOUNG GLORY, GOOD MAGAZINE, IPSOS, CREATIVITY, FREE THE BID, YOUNG GLORY, CMYK, FADER, HUFFINGTON POST, FORBES, FAST COMPANY, IT’S NICE THAT, GIRLS LIKE US, THE DRUM, PAGE MAGAZINE, DESIGN SCENE, FOOD & WINE, THEM, THE CUT.
ETC.
YEAR OF THE DOG, MAGICIAN, INFJ, AQUARIUS.
CONTACT
magicalshapes@gmail.com