DR. MARTENS
Tasked with standing out in a fiercely competitive digital landscape, Dr. Martens, in collaboration with WeAreSyn, embarked on three innovative campaigns—a behind-the-scenes factory tour, a vibrant Pride celebration, and a bold summer boots showcase. Each project aimed to blend the raw authenticity of analog film with the crisp clarity of modern digital techniques, ensuring the brand’s rebellious spirit shone through every frame.
Role
Imagery edit & retouch
Team
Solo designer, account director & the team at WeAreSyn
Timeline
3 Projects spanning through 2024 — 2025
The projects combined the analog charm of traditional design with the precision of digital techniques, redefining the intersection of heritage and modernity.
Dr. Martens needed digital imagery that paid tribute to its rebellious legacy while embodying a timeless cinematic aesthetic. However, challenges arose on the shoot days due to intense sunlight, which resulted in blown-out highlights. I made necessary retouching adjustments to restore details, ensuring that Dr. Martens could still present its best foot forward 👀.
Goals
Honour Dr. Martens’ rebellious heritage by creating a film-inspired aesthetic that feels raw and authentic.
Unify multiple campaigns (GenxNappa, Pride, Boots in the Summer) under one cohesive visual style.
Preserve the clarity of modern digital images while emulating analog film's imperfect, nostalgic quality.
Dr. Martens needed to stand out in a highly competitive digital landscape without losing its core identity. By blending the grit of classic film stock with today’s high-resolution standards, the brand could appeal to a younger audience while staying true to its iconic, rebellious roots.
While Dr. Martens has always been synonymous with rebellion, they needed digital images that preserved this raw, imperfect character—yet met modern standards of clarity and precision. These visuals would be crucial for Dr. Martens’ marketing team, e-commerce presence, and social media channels.
The core challenge was to transform digitally perfect images into visuals with an ‘imperfect,’ film-like quality. Achieving this would invoke a timeless, nostalgic aesthetic while leveraging modern digital photography's scalability and clarity.
Final outcomes
To capture the authenticity of Dr. Martens’ heritage across differing shoot environments while maintaining a rebellious, film-like aesthetic, I began with a deep dive into the brand's heritage and explored analog film aesthetics. Researching references like Kodak Portra 400 helped establish a warm, textured base. I moved through structured phases—research, concept development, iterative test edits, and final execution.
“Everyone’s really happy with the retouched images, thanks again for all your help.”
Ruby Barker, Senior Account Manager at WeAreSyn
This systematic approach guided technical decisions, such as adjusting highlights, shadows, and grain. It provided the flexibility to adapt during challenging lighting conditions, ensuring each image maintained its film-inspired integrity.
I maintained consistent visual language across all projects to retain Dr. Martens’ edgy look under bright summer lighting without losing detail or the film-like quality. For instance, in the Gen X Nappa series, I incorporated light grain and adjusted the dynamic range to capture the factory's raw, industrial ambiance. In the summer campaign, careful selective retouching restored blown-out areas without sacrificing the filmic mood.
Results
The final visuals and cohesion allowed for flexible usage, with high-resolution retouched files optimised for everything from social media ads to large in-store posters, maintaining quality and consistency.
The campaigns successfully captured Dr. Martens’ brand DNA, contributing to its wider success across social platforms globally. They were used in assets and on their own to communicate the goals of the campaigns in which they spawned. They were also successful in terms of digital advertising. They were also used globally for in-store posters and are still featured on Dr. Martens’ Eccomerce platform shoe PDPs.
“They’re looking really good & we’re overall happy with everything.”
Hope Williams, Senior Account Manager at WeAreSyn
Dr. Martens, in the world
What went well
Clear briefs and a strong vision enabled the seamless execution of the film-inspired aesthetic.
Challenges and learnings
On some shoot days, especially in the 'Boots in the Summer' campaign, we faced intense brightness when it came to post. This required us to make adjustments like reducing highlights or adding subtle details to achieve the desired look. This experience underscored the importance of conducting iterative test edits and maintaining open, constructive communication with the client.
Looking ahead
These insights will drive future projects where balancing brand heritage with modern visual demands is paramount, ensuring adaptability and continuous improvement.