Brand Designer
Font Hoarder
Patron Saint of Movie Binging
Visual Storyteller
Avoider of Direct Sunlight
Brand Designer
Unleash the
power
of your
brand's story.
Hi there. My name is Josh. Welcome to my world where storytelling meets design. I'm a seasoned senior brand designer with a fervent passion for stories - from history to video games, I've always been captivated by the art of narrative.
My journey didn't start in design. Initially drawn to marine biology, I soon realized my true calling was in the arts. From customizing profiles on Neopets.com to exploring Microsoft Paint, creativity was my constant companion. This led me to a B.A. in Strategic Communication, specializing in visual comms, where I embraced the fusion of art and storytelling.
creativity
beyond
the
conventional
path
Unlike typical designers, my path began with stories. I mastered the art of narrative before delving into pixel precision and typography. My clients appreciate this unique perspective, as it allows me to grasp the 'why' behind their vision and strategically bring their brand story to life.
My experience spans the tech industry's entire spectrum. I've navigated through crucial stages like Series A rebrands and IPOs, working with giants like Reforge, Compass, and Uber. This journey has given me a holistic understanding of branding across various industries and life cycles.
Crafting
collaborative
and strategic
solutions to
elevate your brand.
What sets me apart? My commitment to innovative, strategy-driven design solutions. I believe in the power of collaborative design, where impactful ideas can come from anywhere - often, from you. I see myself as an advocate and cheerleader for your brand, treating it as an extension of your unique story.
In our digital age, brands that harness storytelling cut through the noise and connect heart-to-heart with their audience. Remember, you're branding, whether actively or passively. Let's elevate your story together and make your brand unforgettable.
Define
I work closely with the client to understand the brand's needs, shortcomings, process, and other background information that will potentially inform my design strategy and output.
Ideate
I take the client's needs and begin to experiment in every angle I can see fit. This stage is usually the longest in the process as I like to ensure the directions I provide the client are as flushed out and strategic as possible.
Collaborate
Arguably the most important part of the process, I lean heavily on thoughtful and efficient collaboration with the client to pressure test and identify shortcomings in solutions I provide. I believe my work is always iterative and and be improved.
Refine
After garnering feedback, refinement can commence where I am focused on optimizing the feedback I've received and elevating a piece to feel more true to a client's brand story.
Launch
Most designers spend their education years learning about the nuances of typography, or color. I spent mine mastering the art of storytelling through visual communication and advertising. In short, I learned how to tell the story to better influence how I push the pixel.
Learn
Most designers spend their education years learning about the nuances of typography, or color. I spent mine mastering the art of storytelling through visual communication and advertising. In short, I learned how to tell the story to better influence how I push the pixel.
My
Experience
Senior Brand Designer, Employer Brand
Working across the Talent Acquisition organization to stand, and scale on-brand content including motion design, brand identity work (for programming), program rebranding, social media assets, and various event/environmental activations.
Developed and scaled 60+ template-based assets on the brand design system, Frontify, and collaborated cross-functionally with the global brand teams to uphold the system accordingly, and hold workshops to teach various members of the teams how to use them.
Managing and mentoring a junior designer on various event and video based projects leading to increased productivity and overall project output from our team.
03.2022 - 11.2022 (impacted by 2022 lay-off)
Brand Marketing Designer
Reforge
Designed and innovated various end-to-end multi-channel campaigns while working closely with growth team members and helped 5x growth marketing membership acquisition efforts.
Collaborated with growth teams to stand-up paid and organic media channels with 35+ branded digital assets and resulting in increases in monthly applications, website traffic, and accepted members.
Co-lead a rebrand with product design, content design, and executive suite. Culminating in an overhauled content, brand, and marketing design system and strategies to help drive growth, brand retention, and uniformity across all touchpoints.
07.2021 - 02.2022 (impacted by 2022 lay-off)
Visual Designer
Rhino
Led the adoption of Lottie animations/motion design for in-product and web use using Adobe After Effects, Figma, and pioneered brand adoption and implementation of Webflow and empowered the sales, growth, and design teams with automated web design/prototyping and launch.
Collaborated with stakeholders across the business using Figma, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Illustrator to create branded assets for print, digital, and environmental campaigns which encompass ~25 assets each.
Balanced ~3-5 projects on a weekly basis using Asana, Notion, and executing design solutions via Figma, The Adobe Creative Cloud (Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe After Effects.)
01.2019 - 07.2021
Brand Designer
Compass
Owned the visual identity for the PRIDE 2021 campaign and produced 50+ branded assets including digital, print, and motion design.
Built template designs for in-house marketing platform which drove product adoption increase by 15% upon release.
Aided in brand system expansion of sub-brands such as Origin Point, Modus, and other Compass acquisitions leading to robust and unique design infrastructures.
Collaborated across company teams to re-build and elevate the Compass PNW Brand resulting in an updated brand system, icon library with 50+ custom icons, region-specific messaging matrix and elevated photographic treatment and direction for stock photography.
12.2017 - 01.2019
Junior Brand Designer & Account Manager
Rairdon Automotive Group
Collaborated with the design team to redesign the brand identity for the company resulting in an updated and refreshed logo, table tents, brochures, wearable buttons, business cards, windshield stickers, posters, and other environmental experiences.
Constructed digital advertisements for both email and Google My Business formats which lead to a 5-10% increase in impressions and ~10% higher redeemed offers on roll-out.
Managed ~6 dealer accounts and all-encompassing design collateral resulting in ~8-10 projects on a weekly basis and executing through the Adobe Creative Cloud (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe After Effects.)
08.2017 - 12.2017
Freelance Graphic Designer
INRIX
Partnered with international teams to build various long-form studies that each garnered ~250 media articles upon release (including The Washington Post, USA Today, and Forbes.) using the Adobe Creative Cloud (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign,) and Sketch.
Produced stock photo library and editing system resulting in ~150 stock photos and branded presets and updated the internal repository using Dropbox.
Constructed systems of assets to support research releases including infographics,
data visualizations, custom iconography, and illustrations.
08.2016 - 05.2017
Lead Production Designer
The Daily Evergreen
Designed and managed ~15 daily advertisements for the paper aiding the layout and formatting of the daily paper using Trello, and the Adobe Creative Cloud (Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign.)
Collaborated with design and marketing team to build strategic design solutions for clients increasing advertising revenue by 33% overall for the 2016-2017 school year
Led branding initiatives for 4 whole-campus events and sponsorships resulting in increased advertising participation and revenue