If I haven’t met you, I want to.
This is me: creative thinker + design tinkerer, branding + identity pro, immersive art/theatre/experiences obsessive, empath, multipotentialite
I have dedicated my design passions for 15+ years to some of the world’s most admired brands, including Nike, Coca-Cola and Crayola. I spearheaded an ambitious reboot for Barry's that transitioned them from niche to global fitness brand. I also led the creation of Taco Bell’s award-winning in-house agency. During my tenure, Taco Bell evolved its branding with an iconic redesign and was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies. Encouraging fans to Live Más, our team defied category norms in bold ways including the Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, Demolition Man 2032 Experience at Comic Con, Steal A Base, Steal A Taco with the MLB, and The Bell Hotel in Palm Springs. Trading tacos for travel, I have the current honor of working with Hawaiian Airlines sharing the Islands’ unique culture and incredible aloha with the world.
Above all, I consider myself a people builder + experience enthusiast. A true advocate for seeking out one’s many creative interests and challenging the status quo, I’ve spoken on the topic at numerous conferences, including HOW Design Live, Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Adobe MAX.
Forever New Yorkers at heart, my husband and I now call O'ahu and DTLA home.
“You’re only given a little spark of madness.
You mustn't lose it.”
-Robin Williams
Whether in life or at work, my madness mantra remains. Why? Armed with a set of seemingly unrelated personal experiences, I think we can all utilize a multidisciplinary approach to not just merely react to culture, but create it ourselves. And that sometimes means challenging the status quo and getting a little weird. Because our unique and unusual perspective—our madness—is our power. It’s what sparks the best ideas. That’s the approach I take when beginning any new team project: build a strong, albeit sometimes unconventional, culture and foster a safe space for talent. With that foundation in place, we can begin solving the same problems in original ways.
I’ve had the incredible privilege to speak at several high profile events and advocate for empathy in design, creative expression, diversity and culture, and the discovery of being a multipotentialite—someone with many interests and creative pursuits. I’d argue that we should all strive to find our spark of madness and shout it from the rooftops. If you hadn’t guessed, I like to do that a lot. But perhaps my 5th grade elementary school teacher summed up my disposition best:
“Chris, if you were meant to talk more than to hear, you’d have been given two mouths and only one ear.”
- Mr. Huhn, Shawanoe Elementary