I'm a brand and creative director based in Portland, Oregon.

I bring 10+ years of in-house and agency experience and specialize in building and leading high-performing creative teams and bringing multi-channel, strategic brand initiatives to life.

I currently lead the Brand Studio team at Front, made up of a wonderful crew of designers, animators, producers, and writers. I previously led marketing programs at Asana and brand at Designer Fund before starting and running Paladar, a multi-disciplinary design studio. The studio was aptly named from a Cuban word meaning "home kitchen", which is where I spend an absurd amount of my free time. In Paladar's 5 years, we helped companies across industries launch, evolve, and IPO.

Outside of culinary experiments, I'd also love to talk to you about these other non-work related things: voting rights, Catahoula Leopard dogs, and the Mojave desert. 

If you want to talk brand & design: I bring 10+ years of agency and in-house experience to help responsible organizations think strategically about their brand and connect with audiences in new ways. I specialize in building and leading multi-disciplinary teams and bringing multi-channel, strategic brand initiatives to life.

To see recent work, please get in touch.

Select Writing

• Designer Fund, A Guide for Working with Design Freelancers and Creative Studios

• Asana, Designing Teamwork: An Interview with Dana Cho of IDEO

• Bustle, Florida’s Amendment 4 Would Restore Voting Rights To People Who Deserve A Second Chance

Press

• Victionary, GOOD by Design, What is Good Design if not Designing for Good?
  Vice, Convicted Felons on What They Want You to Know About the Midterms

• Tinker* Podcast, Episode 42: Kelsey Aroian - Blocked from the Ballot

• Format Magazine, Blocked from the Ballot Documents Americans Fighting for Voting Rights

• Communications Arts, Webpicks: Design for Business Impact