How many of these must see NYC spots have you visited?

April 1, 2021

A visual walking guide to some of Manhattan’s most photogenic areas.

The weather is getting nicer and spring is the perfect season for wandering around the city! How many of these NY areas have you walked through?

Below I’ll show you some of my favorite spots!

The Seaport District

Enjoy the view of the water from Manhattan’s southern tip. The are is also home to restaurants, museums, shops and bars.

Photo credit/ Illustration by Deanna Kei

South Street Seaport: Watch the boats come and go. Explore the local galleries, shops, and dinning.

Big Gay Ice Cream: Stop for a treat at New York’s most colorful ice cream shop. Take a selfie on the rainbow popcicle bench. Stroll around the surrounding cobblestone streets.

Pier 17: Look down on the water from the open air roof top. There are special events and activities held here each season.

Pier 17: The perfect view of the Brooklyn bridge from the rooftop.

Stone Street: Grab a drink at one of NY’s historic bars.

Stone Street: Take a break on a bench and soak in the atmosphere on this lively street.

South Street Seaport: Stop for lunch with a view under the purple overpass.

Seaport Museum: Check out the inside of a ship!

Empire Outlets: Ride the ferry across the water to Staten Island for shopping at NYC’s newest outlet mall.

Empire Outlets: Enjoy the city skyline view from across the water. Then hop on the ferry for a free boat ride back to Manhattan.

2. Downtown

Shops, parks, cafes and restaurants intermingle with office buildings. Enjoy a leisurely walk up from the Seaport district.

The Oculus : Visit the beautiful new underground shopping mall and transit hub at the site of the WTC.

The Oculus : There are multiple levels to explore and some of the street level stores lead down into the Oculus as well.

The World Trade Center Memorial: Pause and listen to the sound of the rushing water as you honor and remember the victims of 911

The Oculus: Enjoy the view from outside. The uniquely shaped structure is unlike any of the surrounding buildings.

The Mural Project: Artists brightened up the space across from the Oculus.

The Mural Project: : Enjoy the colorful artwork that adorns the building north of the Oculus. Snap a photo or two!

3. The Flatiron district

The Flatiron district is home to many bridal shops, home goods shops, and furniture stores.

The Flatiron: One of New York’s most famously photogenic buildings.

Madison Square Park: Stop and enjoy the greenery with a view of the Flatiron.

The Flatiron district: Grab a seat or pass through on your way uptown.

4. Midtown South

Meander around east of Broadway to find little treasures hidden in plain sight.

Midtown South: Explore the city blocks

Church of the Transfiguration: Admire the beautiful outdoor court yard

Church of the Transfiguration: Take a short stroll through the garden area.

Church of the Transfiguration: Snap a photo at the stone archway

Church of the Transfiguration: One of New York’s historic churches.

K Town: Check out the shops and restaurants, and maybe even go for karaoke

5. Midtown

One of New York’s most popular areas. There are so many different things to do and see here if you don’t mind the crowds.

The New York Public Library: New York’s famous library is located behind Bryant Park, blocks away from Times Square

Rockefeller Center: The site of the Tree Lighting and ice skating rink in the winter, this area is a tourist destination all year long.

Rockefeller Center: The area is decorated differently each season.

Rockefeller Center: Do you recognize this as the same spot where the iconic angel decorations are set out at Christmas time? It looked like a totally different place while this installation was up. It's always worth a visit to see what the latest display is.

Rockefeller Center: In the warmer seasons the ice skating rink is transformed into an outdoor eating area.

St Patrick’s Cathedral: A beautiful church full of history, located next to Sak’s Fifth Ave. It’s open to the public for viewing.

St Patrick’s Cathedral: This architectural masterpiece sits on 5th avenue, just across from Rockefeller center.

East midtown: It’s fun to walk along the blocks of apartments to the east.

Sak’s Fifth Avenue: Manhattan’s iconic luxury department store. A must see for anyone who loves fashion.

Sak’s Fifth Avenue: Located across from Rockefeller center and next to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Sak’s Fifth Avenue: Shop all 10 floors of luxury brands and enjoy the gorgeous displays that fill the store.

East Midtown: Stroll the city blocks with a view of the water to the east.

East Midtown: Tired of walking? You’ve got options! Hop on a citibike!

Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza : A small but beautiful park across from the Japan Society building.

The Lipstick Building / Latham and Watkins: This office building is famous for its unique shape.

About this guide: These photos were taken during Spring of 2019 on my i phone. As a NY native I wanted to try and experience the city in a different and more intimate way. On days when I had errands to run I began collecting photos on my phone of some of the beautiful scenery that peppered my daily routes. I felt like a tourist and began noticing things I hadn’t seen before.

I enjoy taking photographs but I’m not a photographer; I’m an Illustrator. I wanted to find a way to share these photos on my Illustration Instagram and my solution was to add my illustrations into the scenes. I pulled from my favorites and included characters I felt fit into each photo. The illustrations above are from my older work and possess the loose, whimsical mood I wanted to express with this guide. I really enjoyed this project and I’m looking forward to adding a part two with fresh illustrations as I re-explore the post covid city!

Deanna Kei is a NY based Fashion and Beauty Illustrator. She works with brands to create unique and engaging content featuring their products and collections. To commission illustrations for your brand please write to deannakei@gmail.com . She also has a line of prints, totes, and phone cases.

Art Novo shares the story behind GFTD ORG, Nyc's most Inspiring creative community

February 15, 2021

When you bring together a group of motivated, passionate artists, the result is truly inspiring. That is the beauty of GFTD ORG.

I recently chatted with the founder of GFTD ORG, the creative community shaking things up. Artur Novo dished on how GFTD came to be, how its pandemic shift took it global, the exciting projects on the horizon, and what he’s planning for 2021. The result has been truly inspiring.

What does it mean to be GFTD?

GFTD is an ever-evolving, growing artist community founded in NYC by Artur Novo, and fueled by creativity and talent. The group meets weekly to hang out, share their insights, and help each other grow in their crafts. Artur has single-handedly curated an extensive a roster of talent including painters, illustrators, actors, dancers, photographers, musicians, designers, ceramic artists, graffiti artists and more. He’s working tirelessly behind the scenes to connect and foster exciting new collaborations, secure media placement, and host events.

How did GFTD come to be?

“Getting like minded and forward thinking people in the same room together and just seeing what happens, how we can create, and how we can collaborate: that was kind of the synthesis for starting this whole thing.”

The core value of GFTD has always been bringing people together. Artur shared his inspiration behind forming the group: “I used to play in a band and show nights were always my favorite night just because all of our friends got a chance to come and hang out and we all in our separate kind of pockets had really interesting and wildly creative friends, like photographers, fashion designers, models, artists,..this and that.. that kind of notion of bringing people together.”

How do you recruit talent? How long does your process take?

“I don’t usually talk about it just because it’s something I want to put into my life and you know if you talk a big game you better back it up. That means staying up late some nights. I spend so much time on Instagram recruiting people and building genuine connections. The email list has grown a lot and there’s a lot of people to tap into. All the effort is starting to pay off.”

Much of GFTD's members are scouted through Instagram. “Numbers don’t matter so much but is their feed consistent enough that it looks like they’re doing something interesting? That takes a lot of time.”

Which are your favorite apps to connect with creatives on?

“Instagram and clubhouse will be the wheel house where I’ll put the energy into. I like the apps where I can actually connect with people, talk to them and message them. Clubhouse and Insta seem to be the best for that. I’m trying to figure out the discord server. I’m kind of excited to get that going a little.”

This year’s pandemic took GFTD Org international.

GFTD ORG started as an informal Monday night gathering in the private space at the back of a bar in Bowery, NYC in November of 2018. The community has been growing steadily since, despite the setbacks covid-19 brought.

“2020 I came back all fired up, so the first week of January there were over 30 people that showed up. It was a really great way to start the year. We had a studio session in February it went really well and felt really good. And then Covid happened and it all went to sh*t!”

“The first week when covid hit and everything shut down that was definitely a very depressing moment. There was an element of me that was like: is GFTD over? Was all that for naught?”, but GFTD bounced back, even stronger than before, transitioning into a weekly zoom chat in place of the in person meetings. “I always knew there was going to be an online portion anyway so it just happened sooner than I expected. It’s not just a NY central thing anymore. We’ve got people from Germany, Australia, some Canadian people. That was something nice that has happened because of covid. Like a silver lining, if you will.”

What does the GFTD future look like?

“I’ve taken things virtual during the pandemic but I’m ready to hit the ground running once we can all be back in a physical space again.” Brand deals, some special events, maybe a fashion show and live art are also on the horizon for this driven community. “Certain pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Last February’s studio session was a huge success and spots filled up within 24 hours. It gave members an opportunity to work together and create together. The overwhelming response reinforced the idea that the GFTD community loves coming together in a shared space.” Artur adds that he’s working on plans to continue with the online meetings even as in-person ones resume. He’s also looking to secure some partnerships with venues and brands.

“I like helping people tell their stories. I like seeing people be in the media that I had a hand in. I really do enjoy it. I had my time with the band. We were in magazines and blogs so it’s like ‘cool, been there’, but I actually legitimately like helping others get that as well. I would really like to have a press portion of GFTD. I’ve gotten a couple of people into magazines now.”

Is a GTFD Org agency on the horizon?

“GFTD Org Agency, That’s the kind of thing that sits in eye-view of my desk to send me a reminder. That is part of the long time strategy of it all. I’d like to figure out some kind of version. It’s heavily on my mind. We’ll see what happens with this.”

Artur has already amassed a huge pool of creatives, but his foremost goal is to help his friends succeed.

“In a sense it’s payment enough to know that people are actually getting value out of this. I just want it to get bigger and better, while also not being so diluted.”

“To be able to bounce ideas off each other and ask questions to people who have been in similar situations, that’s amazing to me” a lot of people connecting behind the scenes – I said that in a sense is payment enough. To be able to see that, maybe there’s a little ego in there as well, I know I didn't directly cause that, but indirectly through GFTD by bringing theses people together something came from nothing. That’s part of the magic that I get out of this as well.”

To keep your eye on the creative pulse of NYC, subscribe to the GFTD ORG mailing list and don’t miss a thing!

Also check out the GFTD podcast, where Artur interviews exciting guests who are sharing their gifts with those around them

Join GFTD on instagram
If you’re looking to book creative talent, reach out to GFTD for its extensive roster.

How to create the perfect immersive fashion week virtual experience

January 24, 2021

Fashion Week is coming, and I would like to offer my services to support your brand with some experiential marketing ideas and opportunities. I am a fashion illustrator who’s worked in the New York fashion industry for 11 years, offering vibrant fashion illustrations with an attention to detail, fit, fabric, and texture. In this article I’ll share 4 unique ways I can help you make your next experiential virtual event a success.

Crafting an unforgettable branded virtual experience

Our present shift from the physical into the virtual space has opened up endless possibilities, and is allowing brands to extend their reach further than ever before. While this has been a time of limitations, it’s also been a catalyst for transformation, creativity, and development in business-to-consumer marketing.

Fashion Week is known for its exclusivity, but as virtual presentations and live streams continue to take the place of runway shows, brands have opened their doors, so to speak, to invite their customers into their world. As social media became a lifeline for many during quarantine, brands re-positioned themselves to incite a deeper level of conversation and engagement, and a forged new type of growth.

“Fashion Week has never been accessible to this many people before, in this manner. International Digital Fashion Week is an inclusive and diverse way to share the art of fashion with a massive audience.” -Allee Feuerman, Source: Fashionweekonline.com

Gucci Resort ‘21 - Illustrated by Deanna Kei

Earlier during the pandemic, designers saw success from their engaging virtual fashion week presentations (also see Is Fashion Illustration the future of Fashion Week in a post covid world? ), but as the industry continues to be troubled, many are taking an even more intimate approach to client outreach.

By now the consumer is used to some degree of virtual reality, though most are still craving the return to physical experiences. However, we should no longer be thinking in terms of ‘online sales vs in person sales’, but instead focused on finding the perfect balance. Tapping into that potential, the creative agency The Gathery has been delivering hybrid virtual event experiences right to consumer’s doors. They are putting storytelling in the forefront of each experience that they engineer. Founder Luigi Tadini shared inspiring insights during his interview with CFDA.com, and I’ve referenced some quotes from their interview below.

“Instead of leaning into the virtual, we re-imagined these experiences into story-led boxes, allowing our guests to touch, see, feel and discover new collections or shows through their senses at home. By designing these ‘experiences delivered’ in eye-catching and clever ways, we prompted recipients to share their discoveries through their own networks expanding the brand’s stories to even wider audiences.” - Luigi Tadini, The Gathery, Source: CFDA.com

Complimenting a virtual event or presentation with a physical branded presence helps bridge the distance between the consumer and the brand, and ultimately deepens that relationship.

“That said, we still believe that the virtual component should always be an extension of an experience and not the core of the experience itself. ”- Luigi Tadini, The Gathery, Source: CFDA.com

Balmain Fall ‘20 - Illustrated by Deanna Kei

Quarantine culture has brought self awareness and development to the forefront. Consumers have more time to decide which values are important to them, and to discover which brands align with those values. They’re looking for more meaningful and personalized experiences that allow them to express and enrich themselves. They are spending with intention and want to feel connected to the brands they are supporting.

Virtual live illustrations for Pearfisher zoom event - Deanna Kei

I recently illustrated live as part of an experiential virtual event held by Pearlfisher. They had sent a gorgeous assortment of flowers to each attendee for them to work with at home during the virtual workshop and party. After the event they followed up by sending each guest their personal illustration which they had watched me bring to life during the night. Pearlfisher had taken their event beyond zoom and embellished it with little accents to make it more memorable for everyone who participated.

Click here to learn how I’ll work with you to create virtual or live illustrations for your event

Experiential marketing is nothing new, nor is the concept of giving attendees swag bags at a runway show. So how does that translate to a virtual fashion show?: with a highly branded gift box highlighting your collection for your attendees to experience and enjoy from their homes.

Here are 4 unique ideas to include in the perfect experience box to accompany your virtual launch or runway show.

Event invitations or influencer thank you cards

An exclusive thank you card, invitation or print featuring a fashion illustration of a look from the collection and a personalized note. *To request your own collection illustrations, or card designs contact me at deannakei@gmail.com

Branded thank you card - Deanna Kei

2. Collection paper dolls

An illustrated paper doll set featuring different items from the collection for consumers to mix and match. This will keep your items fresh on your client’s minds, allow them to play the part of a stylist, and experience your collection in a unique way from their home. *To request your own custom paper dolls for your collection contact me at deannakei@gmail.com

Custom paper doll set for private client, Tabs fold back - Deanna Kei

3. Collection coloring page

A coloring page featuring a look from your collection. Bring your collection into your client’s leisure time with this fun, relaxing activity. Encourage them to post their finished coloring page on social media with your brand hashtag. *To request your own custom coloring pages for your collection contact me at deannakei@gmail.com

4. Animated collection recap

An eye catching animation that showcases the pieces from your collection. Follow up after your event with a .gif that brings your collection back in front of your audience’s eyes. Animations are captivating and shareable content, and a great way to encourage engagement and boost your brand’s algorithm on social media. *To request your own collection animation contact me at deannakei@gmail.com

The perfect experience box will give your clients and influencers something they can touch and enjoy in their own space, and even share with their friends on social media. It will engage them and make them feel appreciated and more aligned to the brand and the collection you’re showing. Communicating your collection through illustrations will introduce your line to your customers in a way that photography can not, and will invite them to visualize themselves in the world you’ve created. My branded illustrations are a highly customized, cost effective approach to storytelling with a fast turn around. Contact me at deannakei@gmail.com to discuss your vision.

Have you been a part of any immersive virtual events this year? Share in the comments below.

Deanna Kei is a fashion and beauty illustrator, dedicated to creating engaging visual content for brands in the form of vibrant fashion illustrations with an attention to detail, fit, fabric, and texture. For all inquiries please contact deannakei@gmail.com

The Seaport District