Brad Burke, Designer in Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Brad Burke

Verified Expert  in Design

Designer

Location
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Toptal Member Since
November 14, 2017

Brad is a passionate digital creative director and product designer with over eleven years of professional experience building brands and digital platforms. He's worked at some of the most highly awarded advertising agencies in the industry, including R/GA, AKQA, Razorfish, and Saatchi & Saatchi. Brad's client list includes Nike, Acura, Toyota, Vizio, and countless others. He focuses on designing delightfully intuitive products and experiences.

Portfolio

Work Experience

Founder | Director of Design

2016 - PRESENT
Idol
  • Founded and led the design at Idol in 2016, an independent brand-and-product design studio.
  • Worked with clients of all sizes, from early-stage startups to major consumer brands.
  • Built products, elevated brands, and accelerated growth through branding, product design, content creation, brand guidelines, and investor decks.
  • Communicated with clients in person and via Skype to present the work.
  • Worked fast and was entrusted with projects that needed to be under the radar.
  • Created brands from scratch or refined existing brands.
  • Developed creative concepts for responsive websites and mobile apps/digital products.
  • Defined the overall user experience and design wireframes for digital platforms and mobile apps.
  • Created branded content for various social channels.
  • Devised rich, detailed user interfaces for responsive sites and mobile apps. Built low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes for interactive site experiences and mobile apps.
Technologies: Prototyping, PDF, Pitch, InVision, Adobe After Effects, Sketch, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop

Creative Director

2016 - 2016
Citadel
  • Established and managed a unified brand system that utilized every channel and consumer touch point to affirm the company's position as a leader in the financial services industry.
  • Developed creative concepts for responsive websites and brand collateral.
  • Defined the overall user experience and designed wireframes for digital platforms and responsive experiences.
  • Created branded content for various social channels.
  • Designed rich, detailed user interfaces for responsive sites.
  • Defined and designed detailed brand guidelines.
  • Developed pitch decks and sales decks.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop

Advisor—Creative and Design

2015 - 2016
Thesis Couture
  • Helped to establish the initial brand look and feel of Thesis: a fashion-focused startup that was dubbed the "Tesla" of high heels; utilizing new technologies, Thesis aims to design and manufacture beautiful high heels that are actually comfortable for women.
  • Defined a creative strategy to help the startup accomplish its goal of disrupting the high heel industry.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop

Interactive Creative Director

2015 - 2015
Razorfish
  • Reenvisioned Acura's digital business by creating and managing their high-fidelity digital experiences across the entire Acura account; with the creative team, we redesigned the digital brand system for Acura and launched their new platform.
  • Developed creative concepts for responsive websites and mobile apps, and digital products.
  • Defined the overall user experience and designed wireframes for digital platforms and mobile apps.
  • Created branded content for various social channels.
  • Designed rich, detailed user interfaces for responsive sites and mobile apps.
  • Created low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes for interactive site experiences and mobile apps.
  • Defined and designed detailed brand guidelines. Developed pitch decks and strategy decks. Managed the team and presented work to clients.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop

Head of Product Design

2013 - 2015
Music Impacts
  • Led, managed, and worked hands-on concerning all aspects of the creative process and owned the complete design of the app.
  • Collaborated directly with the CEO and head of technology to design all the components of the product including UX, UI, branding, and additional growth collateral.
  • Worked in my spare time, while working a different full-time job.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop

Interactive Creative Director

2012 - 2015
David&Goliath
  • Led the creative direction, managed creative teams, and pushed the caliber of work both conceptually and aesthetically across multiple accounts within the agency roster.
  • Directed a wide gamut of projects, including TV campaigns, brand system design, and digital initiatives.
  • Worked on the branding for the following clients: The Art Institutes, New York-New York Las Vegas, Kia, CA Lottery, Vizio, Beats by Dr. Dre, Jack in the Box, Brooklyn Gin, and Paso Robles.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop

Associate Creative Director

2010 - 2012
Saatchi & Saatchi LA
  • Designed, managed, and directed multiple creative projects, both digital and traditional, while pushing the overall aesthetic of the Toyota brand.
  • Led relaunch of Toyota owner's digital platform. Set the overall visual aesthetic and managed the design team to bring the experience to life; worked hand-in-hand with the user experience, technology, and production departments to ensure success.
  • Acted as a key member of the creative team that conceptualized and launched the Camry Effect, a 360º campaign created to launch the 2012 Toyota Camry; while simultaneously leading this massive site overhaul.
  • Created a multi-layered, choose your digital adventure experience for the Camry Effect.
  • Led the creative direction and played a vital role in the execution and deliverables for two Super Bowl commercials, eight short documentaries, a Shazam-sponsored contest component, and social and digital display extensions.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop

Senior Designer

2009 - 2010
AKQA
  • Led the design on the US and global Nike account, where I applied my skill set across digital products and brand campaigns.
  • Tasked primarily in directing the design and motion to bring cutting-edge digital experiences to life to launch flagship products.
  • Developed and refined brands for the following clients: Nike Sportswear (global), SPARQ (Nike's training platform before the FuelBand launched), Nike Women, Nike Training, Nike Mobile, Autodesk, and McDonald's.
Technologies: Adobe Flash, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop

Visual Designer

2007 - 2009
R/GA
  • Led the design for the Nike account (the US and global) by working across eCommerce, digital products, and brand campaigns.
  • Tasked primarily with designing and animating rich, intuitive experiences for the leading athletic apparel brand.
  • Added to numerous new business pitches to help conceptualize and explore visual executions.
  • Refined, developed, and defined the brand experiences for the Nike Store, NIKEiD, Nike Women, Nike+, Hewlett-Packard, and General Electric.
Technologies: Adobe Flash, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop
2002 - 2007

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design

Western Michigan University - Kalamazoo, MI, USA

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