ABOUT
Experienced, Entrepreneurial and Strategic Creative
Ryan is passionate about building brands and helping clients solve their creative and business challenges. He leverages his 25+ years of professional experience with strategic, creative and design thinking skills to provide unique solutions for clients’ business needs. He would like to partner with you on your next brand identity, design, marketing, or product and service development project.
Ryan’s extensive experience, resourcefulness and knowledge of the industry—including print processes and production techniques—make me an invaluable collaborator with any creative or executive team. His entrepreneurial drive and “can-do” attitude means that he not only brings creative and innovative solutions to the table, but he also knows how to turn them into reality—on time and within budget.
Ryan has worked in a variety of roles, from small design firms to large full service agencies, as well as on the client side in sales and marketing. In the early 2000s he created, built, operated and then sold a successful brand identity and design firm called Indicia Design. It had a reputation for strong work and solid relationships over 16 years, working with over a hundred clients throughout the Kansas City region and beyond. After a year of working on the client side in sales and marketing, Ryan helped a former Indicia client build the creative capabilities and team of designers at Crux KC, where he also served on the leadership team as the firm grew from fewer then 10 to over 30 employees during his tenure.
Ryan’s work has been recognized by the Advertising Club of Kansas City, the American Graphic Design Awards, the Austin Advertising Federation and has also appeared in several design annuals and publications. In 2006, he wrote, designed and published a book on design and branding titled The Complete Graphic Designer, distributed by Rockport Publishers in over a dozen languages.
Ryan is a firm believer in helping foster the growth and careers of the next generation of design and creative professionals, which is why he regularly speaks to college students on the topic of design and branding. He has also taught at the Kansas City Art Institute and the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
Ryan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Design, with an emphasis in Graphic Design, as well as a Master of Arts in Design Management degree from the University of Kansas.
Know thyself
To be the best leader and collaborator, it is important to understand one’s strengths, one’s motivations and one’s self. That’s why Ryan is perpetually curious about business—from leadership, operational processes and management—to behavioral psychology and emotional intelligence. He prefers insightful face-to-face conversations and asking a lot of questions, as opposed to presuming to know his clients‘ businesses better than they do.
Ryan’s Strengths include:
Strategic
Input
Futuristic
Intellection
Connectedness
Ryan’s Enneagram Profile:
2 w3
Client Experience
During his career, Ryan has had the privilege of working with some well known brands on a variety of projects. Perhaps you have heard of the following?
