Brett is available for hire
Hire BrettBrett M Cambria
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Yachats, OR, United States
Toptal member since August 7, 2026
Bio
Brett has spent over 20 years building brand strategy and creative direction across Fortune 500, government, and nonprofit sectors. Her toolkit centers on Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, and Microsoft 365. While at Mattel, Brett oversaw creative development for product lines exceeding $500 million annually.
Experience
- Design Systems - 20 years
- Art Direction - 20 years
- Logo Design - 20 years
- Branding - 20 years
- Print - 20 years
- Packaging - 20 years
- Style Guides - 20 years
- Product Packaging - 20 years
Portfolio
TransformITive Campaign Branding and Creative Rollout
Adobe Creative CloudAdobe IllustratorArt DirectionArtificial Intelligence (AI)Brand StrategyCanva+ 8 more
City of Yachats Brand Guide
Government ContractingAdobe Creative CloudBrandingStyle GuidesSignage Design
Disability and Sport Collective Logo, Website, and Brochure
Disability DesignParalympicSport BrandingAdobe Creative CloudPrintWeb Design
Local Action Marketing Brand Launch
Adobe Creative CloudArtificial Intelligence (AI)Art DirectionAdobe InDesignAdobe PhotoshopAdobe Illustrator+ 18 more
KidKraft Industrial Design and Graphic Design
Toy DesignToys & Children's ProductsAdobe Creative CloudAdobe InDesignAdobe PhotoshopAdobe Illustrator+ 1 more
Work Experience
Creative Director
2025 - PRESENT
Local Action Marketing
- Provided creative direction and visual strategy for international governments, tourism organizations, destination marketing initiatives, and global brands entering the U.S. market.
- Led visual identity development, campaign design, presentation materials, and experiential design that connect international audiences with American markets.
- Contributed to the full graphic design strategy and service for global governments and global brands navigating the Los Angeles Sports scene in advance of the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics.
Technologies: Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, Canva, Claude, ChatGPT, Marketing Campaigns, Art Direction, Presentation Design, Design Systems, Creative Direction, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Midjourney, Microsoft 365, Brand Strategy, Teams, WordPress, Storytelling
Creative Director
2021 - PRESENT
THRILL Communications
- Collaborated with creative leadership, strategists, and account teams to develop integrated marketing campaigns, experiential activations, and audience engagement strategies across technology, manufacturing, and AI innovation.
- Visual storytelling and campaign execution for government clients that need support navigating brand strategy, brand consistency, and day-to-day brand application.
- Spearheaded visual identity development, campaign design, presentation materials, and experiential design that connect international audiences with American markets.
Technologies: Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Art Direction, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Brand Strategy, Canva, ChatGPT, Claude, Creative Direction, Design Systems, Experiential Marketing, Storytelling, AI for Design, Branding, Content Creation, Content Strategy
Founder and Creative Director
2020 - PRESENT
Cambria Design
- Advised over five CEOs and ten top executives on messaging, customer experience, and organizational positioning for their business. Taking old, outdated brands and transforming them into fresh new designs in the top Financial Wealth Management space.
- Partnered with marketing powerhouses in their industry, defining the client story, journey, and outcome. Transforming brands every day from what has "always been done this way" to having a fresh point of view with a diverse background.
- Built enterprise brand guidelines supporting cross-functional teams and long-term organizational growth at Barbie and Hot Wheels, from core branding to expanded guides to share with International partners, legal teams, and consumer products teams.
- Developed scalable design systems, templates, and ADA- and WCAG-compliant communication frameworks for the areas of finance, fashion, toy, IT, local government, federal government, sport, entertainment, FPGA modules, and food.
- Produced hundreds of PowerPoint presentations and event materials that have empowered Fortune 500 executives, CEOs, non-profits, and entrepreneurs to deliver top-tier events.
- Facilitated stakeholder workshops, as well as brainstorming and strategic planning sessions, directing and moderating everything from revolutionary brand strategies to art directing evolutionary seasonal brand refreshes to keep evolving a brand.
- Helped organizations modernize creative workflows by integrating AI to enhance efficiency, consistency, and strategic decision-making while preserving sound design principles.
Technologies: Brand Strategy, Creative Direction, Design Systems, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Art Direction, Base44, Basecamp, Canva, ChatGPT, Claude, Cross-functional Collaboration, ElevenLabs, Experiential Marketing, Figma, GoDaddy, Grammarly, HubSpot, Marketing Campaigns, Microsoft 365, Midjourney, Presentation Design, Salesforce, Shopify, Teams, Visual Identity Systems, WordPress, Zoom
Senior Art Director
2018 - 2020
Moose Toys
- Managed creative workflows for the art directors and production teams, created internal processes for showcasing the best work and getting projects to faster approvals, and designed a creative brief for ongoing and new product launches.
- Drove eco-initiatives across marketing, product development, licensing, and manufacturing teams, including eco-friendly packaging, material efficiencies, and reusable presentations.
- Improved assembly efficiencies with the manufacturing and production teams while still maintaining the quality of the various brand standards, saving money for the bottom line.
- Led the design communication of global artwork requirements like localization and translations, including areas like Canadian French regulations and the Zero language packaging.
Technologies: Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Art Direction, Design Systems, Creative Direction, Presentation Design, Manufacturing Design
Packaging Designer and Manager
2007 - 2018
Mattel
- Managed creative teams of five to seven designers, engineers, copywriters, and producers, supporting Barbie and Hot Wheels packaging.
- Art-directed and personally designed hundreds of Barbie and Hot Wheels packaging concepts presented to executive leadership and global marketing teams.
- Oversaw creative development supporting Barbie and Hot Wheels product lines exceeding $500 million annually.
- Progressed through increasing leadership responsibilities over an eleven-year career supporting two of the world's most recognized consumer brands.
- Led illustration art direction with artists from concept to final vector art, to photography in professional studios with young talent, set up files for production, and designed custom trade show displays for global reach in various languages.
- Maintained brand consistency across hundreds of SKUs and international markets and the Barbie legal team's go-to-source for the review of counterfeit goods around the world.
Technologies: Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Art Direction, Design Systems, Presentation Design, Management, Branding, Corporate Culture, Content Creation, Experiential Marketing, Style Guides, Logo Design, Microsoft 365, Marketing Campaigns, Manufacturing Design, Product Packaging, Print, Packaging, Toys & Children's Products, Storytelling, Toy Design, Typography
Education
1999 - 1999
Certificate in Adobe Creative Suite
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Los Angeles, CA, USA
1996 - 1998
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Industrial Design
San Francisco State University - San Francisco, CA, USA
Certifications
DECEMBER 2024 - PRESENT
LinkedIn Learning Certificate of Completion
DECEMBER 2024 - PRESENT
Content Creation: Strategy and Tools
Skills
Tools
Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Canva, Claude, Zoom, Basecamp, Wix, CAD
Platforms
WordPress, Figma, Salesforce, Shopify, WooCommerce
Other
Brand Strategy, Creative Direction, Design Systems, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, Visual Identity Systems, Art Direction, Typography, Logo Design, Packaging, Branding, Style Guides, Signage Design, Toy Design, Product Packaging, Toys & Children's Products, Visual Design, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cross-functional Collaboration, Marketing Campaigns, Presentation Design, Experiential Marketing, Storytelling, ChatGPT, Base44, Midjourney, Grammarly, Teams, Manufacturing Design, Management, Disability Design, Paralympic, Sport Branding, Print, Web Design, Corporate Culture, Corporate Design, Global Design, HubSpot, ElevenLabs, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Industrial Design, Content Strategy, Content Creation, AI for Design, Government Contracting
Collaboration That Works
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
1
Share your needs
Discuss your requirements and refine your scope in a call with a Toptal domain expert.
2
Choose your talent
Get a short list of expertly matched talent within 24 hours to review, interview, and choose from.
3
Start your risk-free talent trial
Work with your chosen talent on a trial basis for up to two weeks. Pay only if you decide to hire them.
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring