about me
I am a Creative Director who is passionate about creating great work through positive collaborative environments. I have learned that teamwork, trust and hard work is the key to success. By building strong relationships and loving what I do, I have consistently delivered outstanding work.
background
Clients Include
EARLY CAREER TO CREATIVE LEADERSHIP
I began my career in publishing, where I quickly learned the discipline of detail, deadlines, and design, producing pixel-perfect editorial and web content on tight turnarounds.
That foundation evolved into a strong competitive drive which led me to AAA School of Advertising, where I co-founded the school’s student-run agency and graduated with distinction in Art Direction and Brand Communication.
From there, I moved into agency life, launching my advertising career at J. Walter Thompson, earning two Cannes Lions finalist spots in my first year. I was then approached to join The Jupiter Drawing Room, where I was part of the core pitch team that won Burger King with the award-winning “Whopper Envy” campaign.
After several years agency-side, I built a successful freelance career, working across top-tier networks including WPP and Publicis, with agencies such as Ogilvy, MullenLowe, FoxP2, and Publicis Machine. This period sharpened my ability to integrate quickly, lead under pressure, and consistently deliver effective, on-brand creative.
I returned to a permanent role at Saatchi & Saatchi, where I led a newly formed branding and strategic design department and mentored creatives.
Then I had the opportunity to move to London, becoming Creative Director at Amigo Partnership, leading a multidisciplinary team across design, UX, copy and development. My campaign for Basware — Touchless Invoice Processing was recognised at The Drum Awards 2023.
Most recently, I relocated to Dubai to become the first Creative Director at Beyond One, a group focused on Telecoms and Fintech. Here, I’ve led creative and marketing across five brands in seven regions, spanning the GCC and LATAM markets, helping to shape brand identity, drive campaigns, and align strategic direction in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
Complete Career history
Read CVskills
Experienced in translating client objectives into compelling and innovative campaigns, elevating concepts and leading a multi skilled team towards a unified vision that aligns with business objective and is achievable in the scope of the project. .
Skilled in building and managing creative teams, fostering a positive work environment, and mentoring team members to achieve exceptional results.
Over a decade of experience orchestrating compelling campaigns through the strategic use of design and communication elements to enhance the impact and impression of a brand.
Proficient at translating concepts into visually engaging and unique assets by using best practices of layout, typography and visual hierarchy.
Skilled in crafting user-centric and visually intuitive interfaces through a seamless integration of user experience principles, information architecture, and aesthetically pleasing design elements.
Expert experience with tried and tested processes to generate innovative and strategically aligned concepts that drive effective and unique problem-solving to enhance project outcomes.
Exceptional ability to articulate complex ideas with clarity and persuasion, coupled with a talent for creating visually compelling presentations, fostering seamless collaboration, and effectively conveying creative concepts to diverse stakeholders.
Proven capacity to formulate and implement forward-thinking strategies, integrating market insights and creative expertise to drive brand success and achieve overarching business objectives.
Adept at financial planning and management, consistently delivering projects on time and within budget constraints, while maximizing resource efficiency and ensuring optimal return on investment.
proficient in fostering positive relationships with diverse stakeholders through effective communication, strategic collaboration, and a keen understanding of individual perspectives, ensuring successful project outcomes and client satisfaction.
Proven expertise in meticulous project scheduling and timeline optimization, ensuring efficient workflow, meeting deadlines, and facilitating seamless coordination among team members for the timely delivery of high-quality creative projects.
Skilled in organizing and maintaining a comprehensive repository of creative assets, implementing efficient workflows for version control, and ensuring seamless accessibility, contributing to streamlined collaboration and effective project execution.
Technical Skills
Proficient in the Adobe Creative Suite, leveraging expertise in applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to deliver visually stunning and cohesive design solutions across diverse creative projects.
Proficient in Figma, utilizing its collaborative interface design capabilities to streamline and enhance the user experience in the development of visually appealing and functional digital products.
Experienced in implementing AI for creative assets, integrating innovative technologies to enhance design processes, optimize content creation workflows, and deliver work in a faster more accurate way.
Experienced in providing creative direction for both internal and external teams, with a talent for developing brand standards and guidelines, ensuring consistency and coherence across all creative assets, and mentoring team members to achieve exceptional results. Proficient in managing budgets, timelines, and resources to deliver high-quality work on time and within budget.
Familiar with best practices in designing and integrating with a wider web and product development process.
Proficiently utilizing applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to facilitate efficient documentation, data analysis, and dynamic presentation creation for effective communication.
Proficient in video production, combining technical skills and creative vision to conceptualize, shoot, and edit visually compelling content that effectively communicates brand messages and engages diverse audiences.
Versatile proficiency in photography, capturing and editing visually impactful images to enhance brand aesthetics and effectively convey narratives across various platforms.
Meticulous command of typography, applying a keen understanding of font styles, spacing, and layout to create visually harmonious and communicatively effective designs across diverse print and digital media.
Expertise in print production, managing end-to-end processes from pre-press to final output, ensuring the seamless execution of high-quality print materials that align with brand standards and project objectives.
Strategic implementation of digital marketing, leveraging a comprehensive understanding of online channels and analytics to develop and execute data-driven campaigns that enhance brand visibility, engage target audiences, and drive measurable results.
Basic understanding of coding, CSS, and HTML, enabling effective collaboration with development teams and facilitating seamless integration of design concepts into digital platforms for optimal user experiences.
Photography
Photography has been a constant in my creative journey and a craft I’ve honed for over two decades. It sharpens my eye, deepens my storytelling, and gives me a visual instinct that I bring into every project as a Creative.
testimonials
He is reliable and brings a strong work ethic. He understands briefs, works independently and always delivers. Beyond that, he cares about craft, so the quality of his work is consistently outstanding."
We had fun working on big and small campaigns. He is confident in client meetings and presents himself and the work very well. The thing I enjoyed most about Michael was his critical thinking. He has strong opinions and insights and I considered him capable beyond his years."
