Creative leader. Designer. Builder of teams and systems.

I’m Michael, a creative and brand design leader with 15+ years of experience across tech, agency, and in-house teams.

I’ve spent my career helping companies figure out how to communicate ideas visually, but somewhere along the way I realized I was just as interested in building the teams and systems behind the work.

I’m at my best somewhere between creative direction and making. Setting the vision, helping designers do their best work, building systems that make teams faster and more consistent, and still being willing to open Figma and get my hands dirty.

I believe the best creative leaders are still creative.

I don’t think leadership means stepping away from the work. My approach has always been closer to a player-coach: give people clear direction, create space for them to own their work, and jump in when another set of hands or eyes can make it better.

At Reforge, that meant growing from the company’s first designer into roles spanning design management, creative direction, and marketing design. I scaled the design team 3× in 13 months, built systems for creating work at scale, and led creative across brand, marketing, educational content, information design, and video.

Before that, I led brand design at AWeber and served as Creative Director at OFC.TV. More recently, I’ve worked independently with technology companies and agencies through Dadsigner, giving me the opportunity to stay close to both the creative work and the business problems behind it.

What I bring to a creative team

  • Creative direction

    I like turning a messy business problem into a clear creative idea. I’ve led work across brand identity, campaigns, websites, product launches, presentations, content, video, events, and just about everything in between.

  • Building teams

    I’ve hired, managed, mentored, and developed designers through periods of rapid growth and change. I care about understanding what people are great at, where they want to grow, and creating an environment where they can take ownership of the work.

  • Systems that make creativity easier

    Good systems shouldn’t make everything look the same. They should remove the repetitive decisions so designers have more time for the important ones. I’ve built design systems, workflows, guidelines, and processes that helped teams move faster while maintaining a high creative bar.

  • Getting my hands dirty

    I’m a leader, but I’m still a designer. I enjoy getting into Figma, working through a visual concept, giving detailed feedback, or jumping into a project when the team needs me. I think staying connected to the craft makes me a better creative leader.

15+

years designing brands, experiences, and marketing

5+

years leading and managing creative teams

3x

design team growth at Reforge in 13 months

4

roles at Reforge, from Sr. Visual Designer to design leadership

Let’s make something good.

I’m currently interested in full-time creative leadership roles where I can help shape a brand, build a great team, and stay connected to the work.

If you’re building something interesting and think I could help, I’d love to hear about it.

Download Resume