A Down to Earth Desert Dweller

Creo ergo sum. – I create, therefore I am.

Brand and creative leader with 10+ years of experience transforming business objectives into distinctive brand experiences. I lead creative strategy, visual identity, integrated campaigns, and cross-channel execution—bringing together design, marketing, technology, and storytelling to create brands that connect, differentiate, and grow.

Who I Am

Father | Husband | Pop Culture Enthusiast | Chronic Idea Generator

I make brands for a living and obscure movie references for free.

The way I approach my work comes down to a simple idea:

“Inspire the confrontation between knowledge and imagination.”

I believe the best ideas happen when what we know collides with what we can imagine. Sometimes the answer is inside the box. Sometimes it’s outside of it. The creative part is knowing which one the moment calls for.

It’s all about context and perspective—understanding the rules well enough to know when to follow them, when to bend them, and when to ignore the box entirely.

When I’m not thinking about brands, design, or whatever idea has decided to occupy my brain that day, I’m probably writing or watching something involving superheroes, spaceships, or questionable time-travel logic. Otherwise, I’m spending time with my family—not necessarily in that order.

I take the work seriously. Myself, considerably less so. After all… “Why so serious?”

TimePayment/ QuickSpark August 2018 – Current

Creative Director / Brand Manager

Following TimePayment’s acquisition of QuickSpark in 2022, I expanded creative and brand responsibilities to support the integration of both organizations, helping align brand strategy, creative systems, and marketing execution while preserving QuickSpark’s distinct market positioning.

I currently lead creative direction and brand stewardship across TimePayment, QuickSpark, LeaseQ, Wheaten Financial, and Waste Funding, supporting multiple audiences and vertical markets within the equipment finance industry.

  • Own brand and creative direction across digital, web, email, social, print, events, tradeshows, sales enablement, and internal communications.
  • Partner with sales, HR, operations, and leadership to translate business priorities into compelling creative strategies and experiences.
  • Lead campaigns and brand initiatives from concept and creative strategy through production and execution.
  • Establish visual systems, creative standards, and brand consistency across customer and employee touchpoints.
  • Guide creative priorities, workflows, briefs, and production to improve quality, consistency, and speed to market.
  • Direct creative contributors and external partners, providing strategic feedback and maintaining brand standards.
  • Integrate AI and emerging creative technology into ideation, content development, design exploration, and production workflows.
  • Expanded creative oversight following QuickSpark’s acquisition, helping unify multiple brands while preserving their distinct market positioning.

Godaddy August 2016 – August 2018

Sr. Logo Designer

I created brand identities for startups and small businesses, translating ideas, personalities, and business objectives into distinctive visual systems.

  • Developed 40+ brand identity projects from discovery and concept development through presentation, refinement, and final production.
  • Managed multiple concurrent creative engagements while maintaining brand quality and production deadlines.
  • Selected for internal GoDaddy creative initiatives including departmental identities, infographics, and commemorative brand projects.

INDEPENDENT

Creative Director + Brand Designer

I partner with businesses to develop brands from strategy through execution, including brand identity, visual systems, digital experiences, websites, campaigns, and social content.

Selected clients: AZ Crown • The Crown Room • Kinfolk Home Loans • EasyFi • Intertec Engineering

TOOLS
Adobe Creative Cloud • Figma • WordPress • Generative AI • HubSpot

Contact

Email designs@blakerussian.com