Philip Sheikh

Creative Director · Creative Strategist

A young man with a beard and glasses wearing a black baseball cap and black t-shirt standing against a brick wall, looking to his right.

I think in ideas first then figure out what they need to become. A film. A campaign. A platform. A single image that does the work of a thousand words. The medium follows the idea, not the other way around.

Over the past decade I've developed creative work across brand strategy, campaign development, and film direction for luxury clients, global media, and my own ventures. What that combination gives me is range: I can hold a brief and a camera at the same time, and I know which one the moment calls for.

"I've sat in every chair. Strategist. Director. Editor. Founder. The view from each one changed how I see from all of them."

A man with glasses and a beard is operating a professional camera setup, focusing on a monitor attached to the camera.

A grayscale photo of an SUV with all doors open and the rear hatch lifted, parked outside a warehouse. The interior of the vehicle and a remote control on the front seat are visible. In the background, part of a construction vehicle and a large indus

Two people standing outdoors in the rain, sharing an umbrella. One person, a woman with curly hair, is smiling and holding the umbrella. The other person, a man wearing a dark hat and jacket, is looking down and holding a camera.

Close-up black and white photo of two individuals, one adjusting a camera mounted on a steady device, the other wearing a jacket and cap, focusing on the camera setup.

Two men in a cafe, one with a baseball cap looking surprised, the other with glasses and a beanie, adjusting a camera on a tripod.

A camera screen showing a black and white photo of a sunset over the ocean with a person standing on the beach.

Two men taking a selfie in an indoor public space, with signs and other people visible in the background. One man is holding a professional camera with a microphone, wearing glasses and a black jacket, and the other man is wearing glasses, a cap, and

Man operating a professional video camera, wearing headphones and glasses, in black and white

A man wearing glasses, a bucket hat, and a jacket, holding a DSLR camera, standing on a paved street.

A black and white photograph of a man in a suit standing in a bookstore aisle with shelves of books on either side. The man is centered in the image, looking directly at the camera. The bookstore has hanging light fixtures and labeled sections for bo

A man with dark hair, beard, and glasses working on a laptop, dressed in a suit and tie, in a green abstract background.

Track Record

Co-founded Chainy.com a venture-backed creative marketplace that raised $500k, built a team of 10, and connected 7,500 creatives across 55 countries. Campaigns developed in partnership with Cannes Lions, The Guardian, and the Open Society Foundations.

Directed brand films for productions exceeding $2M including the Golden Vines Awards, the Oscars of fine wine experiences.

Developed brand strategy and creative content at Business Reporter, for C-Suite executives distributed across Bloomberg, WIRED, and HuffPost to an annual readership of 4.8 million.

Designed and developed sales programmes for luxury maisons including Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Boucheron. Built with a sales specialist to train teams to sell high jewellery to ultra-high-net-worth clients. Managed the HNWI community behind private boutique visits and bespoke private sales.

Borders crossed

I'm fluent in English and Arabic, which shapes how I think about audiences, markets, and the cultural texture of a brief not just the words in it.

I have lived and worked across London, the Gulf, and Montreal. That geography is not incidental. It is part of how I see.

Available for projects globally.

Ma3lesh, c’est pas grave.

· Go on then.

· Yalla, bye.

· C'est correct.

· You alright mate?

· Cheers!

· Ma3lesh, c’est pas grave. · Go on then. · Yalla, bye. · C'est correct. · You alright mate? · Cheers! ·

What I’m hired for

Three ways in, depending on whether you need the thinking, the making, or a creative voice that stays. Project or retained, brand side or agency side.

When you're starting from nothing, or starting again.
Brand foundation and creative direction, from the first idea to the work that puts it into the market. Positioning, the world the brand lives in, identity direction, and the creative territory everything else hangs off. This is the point of view most brands spend years trying to retrofit. For funded launches, new ventures and sub brands, and businesses entering a market for the first time.
When the idea needs to survive being made.
Concept through delivery. I direct and produce across film, digital, and photography, holding the same standard that shaped the idea, so the thinking makes it to the final cut intact. One mind from strategy to delivery, which is the difference between a campaign that holds together and one that got diluted on the way.
When you want a creative brain, not a vendor.
Retained creative direction for brands who want an ongoing voice rather than a project by project supplier. I work alongside your team across campaign development, content strategy, and brand direction. Close enough to know the business, independent enough to tell you the truth.
When the market is luxury, or the Gulf.
A specialism running through all three. Creative for audiences with real money and real taste, where the wrong tone loses the room. High jewellery, fine wine, private banking, and luxury hospitality, plus the content and community behind private boutique visits and bespoke commissions. Fluent in English and Arabic, with a decade lived and worked across London, the Gulf, and Montreal, so the cultural texture of a brief is something I read, not something I research.

Let's talk

Client Roster

Louis Vuitton · Chanel · Tiffany & Co · BVLGARI · Pictet · Pfizer · Golden Vines Awards · Le Windsor · Business Reporter · Social Chain · Dunya · Chainy