August 2012 - March 2013 / Portland, Oregon
Creative Director - Downstream
Managed a multi-disciplined creative department and agency-wide operational processes and efficiencies. I brought new competencies and leadership to Downstream which did not exist prior, including brand naming, identity design, consumer research, and holistic customer experience and service design. I led new business efforts and took a hands-on design and writing role in key experience and environment design projects for Edmonton Oilers, Boeing, AT&T, UW, Chicago Cubs, and others.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
- Edmonton Oilers Arena brand experience and wayfinding
- Chicago Cubs sales center and interactives
- Wrigley Field sponsorship activation
- Boeing BDS briefing center experience and environment
- AT&T TEC 30' interactive wall
- Ottawa CFL team naming and identity
- Ottawa Fury FC (NASL) team identity
CASE STUDIES:
- Ottawa CFL & NASL team branding (naming and identity)
- Boeing BDS briefing center experience and environment
"It would be easy to fill up this space extolling Andy's many gifts. But in this business, finding talent for art direction, writing, photography, music, and much more all in one person isn't talking-dog extraordinary. What sets Andy apart is a combination of his endless curiosity, thoughtfulness, and uncompromising devotion to finding the best solutions—at the same time, teaching and inspiring his teams to seek greater possibilities. Top it all off with down-to-earth sensibilities, genuine caring, honesty, excitement for the work, a strong work ethic, and a passion for the journey."
— Hank Hosfield, Writer / direct report at Downstream
I left my position at Downstream due to severe questions I had about the ownership direction of the firm, their values, management style, and treatment of clients and employees. I was not a good fit for the realities of what goes on there.
April 2012 - July 2012 (contract) / Lausanne, Switzerland
Creative Director - SpotMe (Shockfish SA)
This was a three month contract. I was responsible for directing and producing strategies, concepts and communications across all brand and product marketing channels. Primary focus was on the launch of a new iOS event app, but the impact of my work extended to broader marketing and brand experience, sales tools and presentations, and the photo/video documentation of various large-scale conferences and events for Novartis and Freescale Semiconductor. I advised on aspects of the user experience and usability of the software, and developed a new product offering for client events.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
- trade show booth and custom furniture
- integrated marketing and website
"Andy is a master of a lost art: he can take on a really hard problem (your brand experience) do the research, retire to figure it out and come back with great insight and ideas. Now take that, and throw in someone who can crunch out tons of work in no time: awesome visual design, photography, video, music, furniture design. You name it, Andy can do it - in the highest quality."
— Bänz Ledin, Founder & CEO, SpotMe / my boss
Based in Switzerland, this position was always intended to be a 3 month contract, with the possibility of a permanent position as their Chief Creative Officer. Though I ultimately decided not to accept their generous offer to stay on, I absolutely loved the experience and have great respect for Bänz and the whole SpotMe team. Hire them for your next big event!
2006, 2010 - Present
Creative Director, Designer & Photographer - Frontage Road, Inc.
Independent consultant, designer, strategist and writer for branding, integrated marketing, and multi-dimensional experience and environment design programs. Additionally, I do photo documentary and movie projects, which has included shooting and documenting the early days of the Egyptian revolution and a six month road trip around North America.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
- Sunriver Realty rebranding campaign (logo, story, web, marketing)
- Sunriver Realty quarterly magazine
- entertainment industry movie posters and marketing
- Egypt revolution photo documentary
- Trails.com brand positioning and identity
- San Diego Water Authority campaign concepts
CASE STUDIES:
- My Egyptian Revolution: A photo documentary
- Sunriver Realty rebranding and integrated marketing
"In all honesty, I am in awe of Andy's immense creativity and his keen insight. His talent seems endless, as he is such a craftsman in so many ways—problem solving, storytelling, brand strategy, design, and photography. I am always impressed, inspired, and sometimes stunned by what he is capable of, as well as the strength of the message he is able to convey. Working with Andy to rebrand our company was a truly rewarding experience, and one I will always be thankful for."
— Heather Osgood, Sunriver Realty / my client
2007 - 2010 / Portland, Oregon
Creative Director - Ziba Design
Directed and designed various brand, product and experience innovation programs for Li-Ning, P&G, Citi, TriMet, Sirius|XM, Rubbermaid, IDSA 2010 conference, Texas Instruments, and GE Healthcare, and included frequent travel and business in China.
I was responsible for the successful strategy, design and delivery of projects. My primary focus was on branding and systems-related projects, and comprehensive experience design projects that would embody physical and digital artifacts and interactions, environmental design, customer services, merchandising, and communications. Examples of this work ranged from the branding and retail experience for Li-Ning, a sportswear company with hundreds of stores across China; the guest experience at Holiday Inn; long-range product innovation programs for Rubbermaid and several P&G brands; designing a better EMR for GE Healthcare; and the credit card customer experience for Citi.
Every project was very different, with varying degrees of complexity, and durations that might range from a couple months to a couple years. Regardless of program, my principle responsibility was to develop clear understanding for and alignment between the client's brand or product, and the wants and needs of their target user or consumer. I would frame the vision for the project, and often multiple hypothesis for exploration; make sure each member of the team knew how they needed to contribute; and be responsible for making sure the outcome could be clearly reasoned and aligned with the goals of our client.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
- Li-Ning logo and identity system
- Li-Ning product packaging and collateral
- Li-Ning retail strategy and experience
- Citi credit card product design
- Rubbermaid home recycling product innovation
- IDSA 2010 conference experience platform
- GE Healthcare EMR application design
- P&G innovation studio and sales center
CASE STUDIES:
- Li-Ning rebranding
- P&G innovation studio and sales center
- TriMet Rockwood transit station
- Citi credit card customer service experience
"Andy is one of the most creative people I have worked with. He is well rounded in many creative disciplines. He is dedicated, focused and a perfectionist. He has high expectations and drives hard. His talent and drive produces great solutions and original, beautiful works. Andy leads teams with fairness and intensity. He delivers."
— Sohrab Vossoughi, Founder & President, Ziba Design / my boss
"I would highly recommend Andrew for a creative leadership position. I had the privilege to work with Andy in developing a new approach to innovative selling experiences. His strategic approach, mastery and leadership was instrumental in delivering great results. Andy reframed the business problem—creating a story framework and customer journey to comprehensively articulate the strategy—enabling multi-functional engagement and enrollment. The framework became the guide throughout the creative process across multiple touch-points—Environmental Design & Architecture, Marketing & Digital. In addition to delivering brilliant creative direction, Andy was highly collaborative with both the multi-functional and multi-agency partners—enrolling and engaging the team throughout the process. Andy was very successful in gaining and integrating multiple priorities and points of view. Andy would be an asset to any corporation or agency."
— Beth Harlor, Associate Director, P&G / my client while at Ziba
"Andy's a complete creative leader. He has a rare combination of natural abilities, far-ranging experiences, and inventive outlook that allow him to simplify complex problems, craft powerfully persuasive solutions, and partner with everyone involved to make sure a great original vision doesn't get lost in translation.
He brings to his work everything a great generalist should: empathy, curiosity, and a dedication to finding the right answers... all with a unique ability to see through the issues to the great story that's hidden at the root of every creative problem.
As a partner on a particularly complex and difficult long-term project, he brought creative leadership and thoughtful solutions to a contentious multi-functional, multi-agency team to unite everyone around a common vision. The result was a distinctive, boundary-pushing experience that really stretched the definition of the project and offered the client a genuinely new solution."
— Eric Smith, Creative Director, Chase Design / partner agency on projects
"I remember the first time I worked with Andy, his second day at Ziba. He was dropped into a program full of complexity and in search of a story, and Andy duly provided. I was impressed from the outset with his enthusiasm for crafting meaningful stories and his thoughtful approach to problem solving. Since then, I was always very happy to see Andy's name resourced on any project that I was involved with. He brought another dimension to our design work, building stories that helped us filter, focus and elevate. He has a keen eye for that nugget of fundamental truth, often buried deep within a project, and the skill to bring that to the surface and share it, both internally and with clients."
— Thomas Crisp, Industrial Designer / on my project teams at Ziba
"Artist? Designer? Creative Visionary? Explorer? The perfect mix of these are what make Andy the great Creative Professional he is. I had the pleasure to work with Andy for a couple of years. A great sense of perfection, tenacity to find the best solution and infusing his solutions and communications with an acute sense of meaning and style are Andy's greatest strengths."
— Kai Halsinger, CD & Industrial Designer / colleague at Ziba
After three great years at Ziba, I decided to pursue some personal creative projects, such as documenting the Egyptian revolution and making a movie about my six month road trip around the continent. I have tremendous respect for Ziba and maintain a strong relationship with the owners and former colleagues.
2004 - 2005 / Seattle, Washington
Sr. Design Director - Hornall Anderson (Omnicom)
Led the overall design strategy and execution of various design programs for clients like, Weyerhaeuser, Ciena, Paperboy Ventures, and Intel. I specialized in and focused on brand strategy, identity, packaging, digital media, and environmental design, and managed both large and small teams throughout a project's development.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
- Weyerhaeuser trade show booth and experience
- Ciena brand story and identity
- Paperboy Ventures corporate identity
- Intel Software Network identity and website
"Andy is a never-ending wellspring of creativity, who puts his soul into everything he does. His enthusiasm is infectious; I've witnessed him motivate large teams to get behind big ideas, over and over. He commits himself fully to his ideas, putting his many resources (dare I say he's a generalist? He sort of does it all...) to work to stoke and hone a concept to the finest details of execution. He's a big thinker, with strong business acumen yet he takes interest in the delightful details that make a difference. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and would do it again in a heartbeat."
— Michelle Zassenhaus, UX Designer / direct report at Hornall & Pearson Branded
I left Hornall Anderson to move back east to be closer to some family needs. In order to do that, I worked freelance for a couple years prior to returning to the Northwest and my job at Ziba.
2003 - 2004 / Portland, Oregon
Exec. Creative Director - Babcock & Jenkins
Managed a department of about 20 designers, developers, writers and strategists. Lead business development efforts and various relationship marketing programs for Getty, Starbucks, and WebEx.
Successfully brought more compelling and meaningful creative to the integrated direct and relationship marketing programs B&J specialized in. These were highly orchestrated, data-intensive programs designed to drive sales and tangible return for clients. I was responsible for staff training and collaboration that enabled us to consistently deliver a higher standard of work. And lead the approach and strategy of all new business efforts and agency marketing programs.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
- WebEx direct marketing
- agency "Possibilities" new year self-promo campaign
"Andy is one of the best creative talents I've ever worked with. A master storyteller who uses the powerful combination of design, words and photography."
— Allen Jones, Business Development / colleague at Babcock & Jenkins
Hornall Anderson recruited me away from Babcock & Jenkins to pursue design work I was more passionate about.
2001 - 2003 / Silicon Valley, CA
Creative Director - Pearson Branded
Managed creative and client relations group of 30-40 designers, writers, developers, and project managers. Lead business development efforts and various branding, marketing, and strategy programs for HP, Cisco, Mercury Interactive and others.
Responsible for setting a vision and strategy for achieving the business goals of the owners, raising the creative standard of work while growing and optimizing our staff and capabilities to better compete (and survive) in a very difficult, post dot-com economy. I very much enjoyed working closely with my team and expanding their perspective so that they could better realize their own potential. I was also responsible for leading new business efforts and key client relationships, and the interior design of our newly constructed office building in downtown Cambell.
Aside from many wonderful memories of the people and the skits, one of the biggest lessons I took away from this experience was the need to be authentic. In trying to grow and expand the agency under the duress of the economy, we tried to do something that was going to be very difficult to sustain long term, as it strayed too far away from its origin.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
- agency brand positioning & identity
- agency self-promo "Partners" campaign
- Hewlett Packard image library for rebranding campaign
- Hewlett Packard software advertising campaign
The marketing and messaging work that Pearson did wasn't the best fit for me over the long term, and deciding to leave coincided with my desire to purchase a home and settle in the Pacific Northwest.
1999 - 2001 / San Francisco, Paris, Atlanta
Partner, Exec. Creative Director - USWeb/CKS & marchFIRST
I was initially hired as a Creative Director in the Silicon Valley office of this well-respected, international branding, advertising and web development consultancy. The firm was changing quickly through various mergers and acquisitions, and I soon found myself living in Paris, France and leading a multi-national account and agency team that spanned nine offices.
After my time in Europe, the company promoted me to Partner and Executive Creative Director heading up our Southeast Region Brand Building group out of Atlanta. Here, I was responsible for integrating a multi-disciplined branding, marketing and development staff of 50+ during a tremendously difficult economic and industry transformation. The goal was to get a fractured, multi-disciplined team working better together while bringing much needed stability to a large, ever-changing office. I was responsible for identifying and focusing our core capabilities, and making sure we were properly staffed and organized to deliver them. Significant account wins during my time there included advertising and interactive programs for McDonald's, Disneyworld and Zurich Financial.
Through various mergers, acquisitions and name changes, I witnessed CKS become a company that "marched FIRST", only to see it stumble towards bankruptcy court instead. By May 2001, it was dead. So too was the dot com hype that surrounded them. Despite the disappointing end to the business, my time at USWeb/CKS and marchFIRST was a unique opportunity and learning experience.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
- Disneyworld website
- Zurich business architecture and planning tools
- Zoomerang application strategy and website
- Trader.com brand positioning and identity
- McDonald's "snack time" test advertising
"Andy is one of the most creative people I know. He always finds a way to solve the client's problem in an efficient, thoughtful way. He's enthusiastic, committed and passionate about all aspects of visual communication and an asset to any team. Clients love him and I'll grab any opportunity that surfaces to work with him again!"
— Jane Devon, Creative Director / my boss at USWeb/CKS
This was probably the first job that I actually loved and could have seen myself doing for a long time. I respected the people I worked for and I was getting lots of opportunity to grow and do some pretty neat things. Though it was at times very difficult and was very sad to see it all go bankrupt in the dot com bust, I am grateful for the experience and relationships I gained.
1998-1999 / New York City, NY
Executive Producer - Plumb Design
Though I often refer to this as my job with Dilbert, it was technically with a small, design technology firm called Plumb Design. Many of you may know of the "ThinkMap" content interface they invented, with a popular manifestion of it being the online Visual Thesaurus.
Though I was hired as an Executive Producer, I'm not quite sure why. But I wanted the Manhattan experience more than I wanted to really understand what I would do there. I was lead designer and producer for a few web and motion graphic projects for Sony Music, Motorola, and the Smithsonian. Simple enough, I thought.
Things quickly changed when I offered to help solve some problems they were having with one of their biggest clients, United Media, who in turn managed all of the Dilbert stuff for Scott Adams. From that point on, I lead all the content strategy, design, writing and production of the new Dilbert TV television series's companion website. I worked directly with Scott Adams and had a great experience with it.
I'm still quite proud of our little innovations and the simple creativity of the site, even if the show was cancelled in its second season. We developed the very first, if not the only, 24-hour "live" animated web cam; weekly Cliff Danglers; and the Out-of-Focus Group, which was at the forefront of what is today an industry standard—extending the weekly broadcast through social media and viewer participation. Remember, this was 1998!
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
I couldn't afford to live in NYC on what they were paying me, and aside from my work on Dilbert, I wanted to do more creative and challenging design work. They were primarily a technology firm.
1998 / Seattle, Washington
Creative Director - Fine.com
I remember a few things about this very short gig with a fairly large web development agency, and what may have been the very first "dot com". I remember being very young for a first-time Creative Director and manager of a small department. I also remember when the firm was sold and I was out of job, but not before learning a few good hard lessons. 1) Even when they ask for your honest opinion, never call your Amway clients a cult to their face. 2) Get some quick wins with your team early on. And 3) Take care of your clients and they'll keep coming back to you. I continue to maintain good working relationships with some of them to this day.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
- Los Angeles New Media Roundtable identity and website
- Marriott Hotels website
1989 - 1998
Early Work
Prior to this, my related work experience included: graphic designer, writer and art director for small marketing agencies in Seattle and Palo Alto; graphic designer and paste-up production artist for a rubber stamp company, All Night Media, doing lots of packaging and catalogs; furniture designer and architectural draftsman; theatrical set designer and master carpenter; and performing guitar player and audio engineer in Los Angeles.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
- Bank of America direct marketing
- MWA Creative "Mystic Worm" marketing campaign
- United Airlines charity poster
- Superfeet website
- Seattle Shakespeare Festival "Taming of the Shrew" set
- Seattle Shakespeare Festival "When Love Speaks" set
- custom furniture design for Frederick & Nelson design studio
- Dr. Peter Shalit business cards and letterhead
