Resume

Creative Director | Senior Brand & Design Leader

Creative leader with 20+ years of experience building brands and leading integrated creative across digital, print, motion, web, social media, UX, and marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, SaaS organizations, and growing brands.

I translate business strategy into compelling visual storytelling that strengthens brands, improves customer experiences, and drives measurable business results. My award-winning background in journalism gives me a unique ability to uncover the heart of a story and communicate it with clarity. I thrive in collaborative environments, partnering with executives, marketers, developers, and cross-functional teams to bring ambitious ideas to life.

 

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Directed creative execution for Safeco Insurance's brand transformation, helping launch a new brand identity through integrated campaigns, experiential events, digital platforms, video, and comprehensive brand standards.
• Generated 800,000+ additional organic website visits by leading the design and optimization of more than 200 SEO-driven landing pages and digital marketing experiences for Tirebuyer.com.
• Built scalable brand systems and mentored junior designers, establishing creative standards that improved consistency across web, print, motion, social media, and marketing campaigns.
• Delivered successful creative across Fortune 500 brands, startups, SaaS products, and national marketing campaigns spanning UX, digital, advertising, video, and print.
• Earned four international and nine statewide design awards recognizing excellence in visual storytelling, branding, and communication design.

 

CORE COMPETENCIES

Creative Direction • Brand Strategy • Visual Identity • Integrated Campaigns • Art Direction • Creative Leadership • Brand Systems • Product Launches • UX/UI • Motion Design • Video • Digital Marketing • Team Mentorship • Vendor Management • Figma • Adobe Creative Suite

 

CREATIVE LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

• Brand Transformation & Creative Direction - Sr. Graphic Designer, Brand & Advertising, Safeco Insurance
• Digital Brand Experience & Growth - Senior Web Designer, Tirebuyer.com (American Tire Distributors)
• Product & UX Leadership - Design Technologist & Visual Designer, DXTel / Quiet Platforms (American Eagle Outfitters)
• Managed Staff of 10 for two years - Sports Editor, Idaho Press Tribune

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Owner / Creative Director

Paul Morgan Designs | Aug. 2014-Present

Lead creative strategy, brand development, and digital experiences for clients across multiple industries, directing projects from discovery through launch while balancing business goals, user needs, and exceptional visual design.

• Direct branding, visual identity, website design, and digital marketing initiatives for small businesses.

 

Design Technologist & Visual Designer

DXTel | June 2024 – Feb. 2025

Led visual design initiatives for a proprietary enterprise platform, partnering with leadership, developers, and product stakeholders to improve usability and establish scalable design standards.

• Led UX redesign, creating reusable Figma components, wireframes, prototypes, and polished interfaces that improved usability and accelerated delivery.

 

Senior UX Technologist & Visual Designer

Quiet Platforms (American Eagle Outfitters) | July 2022 – Feb. 2023

Partnered with product and engineering teams to translate complex logistics workflows into intuitive digital experiences supporting enterprise clients.

• Led UX and visual design initiatives for mobile-first enterprise applications.
• Developed scalable interface systems and high-fidelity prototypes that improved stakeholder alignment.
• Collaborated with external and internal teams to balance customer needs, business goals, and technical requirements.

 

Senior Web & Communications Designer

Tirebuyer.com (American Tire Distributors) | Sept. 2015 – June 2022

Led digital creative initiatives supporting one of the nation's largest online tire retailers, delivering integrated campaigns, web experiences, and marketing assets that strengthened brand consistency and customer engagement.

• Designed and launched 200+ responsive landing pages, contributing to 800,000+ additional organic visitors through SEO-focused content strategy.
• Helped lead brand redesign and implementation using brand personas and research to guide our journey, establishing and maintaining brand standards across digital properties while ensuring consistency across campaigns.
• Mentored and provided creative direction to junior designers, reviewing work and maintaining quality and brand integrity across projects.
• Collaborated with marketing, development, merchandising, and business stakeholders to deliver brand-enhancing customer experiences.

 

Senior Graphic Designer, Brand & Advertising

Safeco Insurance (Liberty Mutual) | Nov. 2011 – July 2014

Partnered with executive leadership, marketing, and cross-functional stakeholders to help lead the creative execution of Safeco's brand identity relaunch. Played a key role in translating brand strategy into scalable systems, campaigns, and tools that enabled consistent adoption across employees, agents, and customer-facing communications nationwide.

• Supported redesign in print, digital, experiential, motion, and marketing communications.
• Designed and developed comprehensive brand guidelines that translated strategic positioning into practical tools used by employees and thousands of independent insurance agents.
• Created and coded a centralized brand microsite that served as the organization's single source of truth for brand standards, templates, and marketing resources.
• Designed large-scale brand rally experiences, presentations, environmental graphics, interactive learning tools, and motion content that accelerated brand adoption across distributed teams.
• Produced video and motion graphics supporting the company's first nationwide independent agent campaign.
• Acted as a brand steward by reviewing creative work, maintaining visual standards, licensing photography, and ensuring consistency across all customer touchpoints.
• Mentored a junior designer and vendor partners through creative reviews, providing art direction and feedback to maintain quality and brand consistency.
• Helped grow Safeco's social media audience from 5,000 to more than 80,000 followers through strategic visual storytelling and integrated campaign creative.

 

News Designer                                                                                                                           

The Seattle Times | Oct. 2002 – Nov. 2007

• Partnered with editors to transform complex news stories into compelling visual narratives through page design, illustration, typography, and infographics.
• Balanced multiple deadlines while maintaining exceptional production quality in a fast-paced newsroom.
• Recipient of a Society for News Design Award for portfolio excellence.

 

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts in Journalism | University of Oregon