Set design and creative direction for brand campaigns, events and stage.

Jameson Poker Club / set design for event
Moon sculpture built as a DJ booth for a private event, now a permanent installation
Dinner table styled for a private dinner party
Event space designed for Chivas Regal’s Chips & Sips party series
Stage set designed for the Adidas x Boiler Room music event, with multiple light and video installations
Expo 2017 Costume design
Set for the Jameson Poker Club event, with light installations
Set Design for Poppy and Pout campaign
Set and props styled for the CalWaters annual report photoshoot, with a glowing Earth
Set and props styled for the Salt & Stone campaign, with salt, wood and stones.
Product set for a skincare shoot, with a petri dish filled with colourful oils and liquids
Product set for a skincare shoot, with black caviar and seashell.
Product set for a skincare shoot, with glass bottles, herbs and fruits
Product set for a skincare shoot, with a glass bottle and flowers.
Product set for Bathing Culture, on a beach-like surface of rocks and sand
Pink and yellow fluffy creatures in a dreamlike desert set.

Clients

CLARINS

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HEINEKEN

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ADIDAS

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JAMESON

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CALWATERS

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NIKE

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UCSF

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STANFORD

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CHIVAS

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CLARINS ~ HEINEKEN ~ ADIDAS ~ JAMESON ~ CALWATERS ~ NIKE ~ UCSF ~ STANFORD ~ CHIVAS ~

Hi! I’m Masha Kechaeva.

Kechaeva Studio is my design practice, based in San Francisco and taking projects wherever they are. For more than ten years I’ve worked as a set designer and creative director on brand campaigns, events and stage productions, from the first sketch to install day. I started out in theatre, where a set has to tell the story before anyone says a word. It taught me to build worlds that work on two levels: what you see right away, and what you pick up from the symbols, textures and light.

Design Consultation

A longer working session for when you need more than an intro call. We go through your idea, the space and the budget in detail, and I sketch out a concept and layout with you. You leave with a clear direction, ready to build with your own team or bring back to me. I’ve worked hands-on with materials for years, so I can tell you early on what’s realistic for your budget. / 90 minutes

What I do

Event Design

Brand launches and private celebrations. I take each one from the first concept through layout, lighting and props. Whether it’s a classic party or a fantasy world with one-of-a-kind set pieces, I work with the vendors, oversee fabrication, and stay through install day to make sure everything matches the original concept.

Campaign Set Design

Full production support for photo and video campaigns: concept design, prop styling, and fabrication. I’m also on set for the shoot, so the design you approved is what ends up on camera.

Workshops

I love teaching what I know about putting a space together, from setting a table to building a set for a photoshoot. Small details or full productions, I teach the same thinking I bring to my own projects.

How we work together

  • Masha Kechaeva on a client call at her laptop, at the start of a new project

    1. Intro call

    A short call about your idea, the date, the space and the budget. If we’re a good fit, I send a proposal with a quote. 30 minutes

  • Pencil sketch of the Moon installation: a crescent on steel legs with a ladder of ribs inside the curve

    2. Concept.

    Sketches, mood boards and a layout of the space. We go back and forth until the design is approved.

  • The Moon’s plywood face lifted upright in the workshop during fabrication

    3. Production

    I bring in the vendors, oversee fabrication, source props and plan the lighting. You’ll see progress photos as the pieces come together.

  • An excavator lowering the Moon into place on a hillside, its aluminum panels still wrapped in protective film

    4. Install

    Install day never goes exactly to plan. I’m on site from load-in to deal with whatever comes up, from uneven ground to a last-minute change from the venue, so the piece goes up the way it was designed.

  • The finished Moon, a silver crescent DJ booth on steel legs, installed under oak trees as a permanent piece

    5. Result

    The finished piece, exactly as it was approved on paper. Some of my sets last one night, and some end up staying for good.

Book an intro call

Whether it’s a campaign shoot, a launch event, a film set or a private celebration, these are the steps I follow. You don’t have to book all of them. Some clients only need a concept their team will build, and others arrive with a design and need someone to run production and install. Tell me what you have, and we’ll work out where I fit in.