18 years of creative leadership of digital, print, video, animation and experience with a proven track record of collaborating to unlock and build upon the cultures of Fortune 500 brands.
I've gotten to lead teams of designers, coders, writers, and filmmakers to make interesting work for brands and causes. I got my start at Digital Kitchen and after a lengthy stay, I left as a director. At DK, I had the opportunity to tell stories through my work—garnering 2 Emmy nominations and numerous other awards. I concepted, shot, designed, animated, composited, color-graded, and directed broadcast advertisements, environmental projections, social media for the web, and short as well as long-form documentaries.
Then, I jumped into the non-profit world as the creative director of a team of over twenty people developing branding and storytelling for a group of thirteen churches*, a publishing company and a record label. I led by developing a collaborative workflow for the entire department. I would write creative briefs, lead brainstorm sessions and critiques, spend one-on-one time for creative and career development, pitch new work, design, film, interview, edit and animate.
Fast forward to the work I did at Tether—building and mentoring an interdisciplinary team to develop brand strategy, identity, apps and other digital experiences for up-and-comers as well as industry giants such as Microsoft, Under Armour and Google. My time at Tether had been about meeting business objectives by creating meaningful and emotional connections between brands and people.
Now—in my current role at Microsoft—I’m working on the product design side of the business. I get to lead a team of designers, illustrators and animators to evolve the product brands and personality of Teams, Skype, GroupMe, OneDrive, SharePoint and Viva.
All of this teamwork is for nothing if there isn’t something of value being offered to the audience.
Connections like these are forged when people are given something of value that they can enjoy or use more than once. Today, that might be a long-form digital story or an app. Tomorrow it will be something else. My time working in the nonprofit world taught me a lot about worth. It’s worth it for brands to build relationships with people, not just get them to buy something once.
Most of all, this is because the people are worth it.
* Branding for a church? Yes, absolutely. The early Christian church was successful at taking something intangible and making it a catalyst for community, relationships, and transformation. They quickly presented their way of life as distinct from other religions and did so through teaching, events, and eventually, design. (See the Gutenberg Bible, AD 1455)
Recognition
4 Addy awards, FWA Site of the Day, AWWWARD, national media coverage including a mention on Saturday Night Live:
Microsoft Story Labs: Inside Building 87
Published in 2009–Fritz Kahn—Man Machine:
Sundance Festival animation featured in Fritz Kahn — Man Machine
Emmy Nomination 2007:
The Path to 9/11 — Outstanding Main Title Design
Emmy Nomination 2004:
Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital — Outstanding Main Title Design
Telly Award 2006:
Jade Empire Advertisement — Silver Commercial Winner
Communication Arts Design Annual 2004:
Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital — Best Main Title Design