Creative Director & Brand Strategist
Bringing clarity to complexity, from global groups to growing businesses.
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15+ years of experience in delivering quality across the spectrum of design services; leading agency, in-house, contractor and global creative communities with empathy, clarity and creativity.
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Marketing that does not align with the customer experience can cause more harm than good.
I help organisations build trust and loyalty with long-term brand strategies that differentiate in market and prioritise your purpose and mission to your business.
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How brand design foundations are used can either build or break the trust of an organisation’s customers.
I have created comprehensive design systems and supporting guidelines across the spectrum of brand design foundations, including digital and print templates and libraries, colour palettes, fonts, illustration, photography libraries and graphic overlays
I am fluent in both bespoke and industry norm brand digital platforms and have led the development of several global brand platforms.
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Culture eats strategy for breakfast, and operations are the foundation of any team’s culture.
Often the biggest brand problems aren’t visual: unclear processes, siloed teams or policy that gets in the way. I help untangle them, using digital tools to connect teams and build collaborative cultures where ideas cross-pollinate and the brand can thrive.
A translator across disciplines
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The majority of my career has been spent managing heavily regulated, rapidly innovating, complex brands. I do this using the values and purpose of the organisation to find connections and meaning across the business to the work delivered by the Brand Team.
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I have a Masters of Business Administration with distinction from University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins.
I’ve come to speak the languages of brand strategy, design, entrepreneurship, business strategy, and product development fluently and often serve as the link between complex elements of creative management, such as the intersection of creative and legal IP teams.
My dissertation explored the remaining barriers among Fortune 500 and SMEs in the transition to net zero. Click here to learn more about the outcome of my research.
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My passion for creating compelling, high-concept images and experiences was laid many years ago while earning my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design at Texas State University.
Since then I have helped brands across many countries and most mediums where brands appear.
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My most recent Master Classes and certificates are:
AI X DESIGN THINKING - Certificate - IDEO U
CULTURE BUILDING - From Superpowers to Great Teams - Certificate - IDEO U
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS PRIMER - Certificate - United Nations System Staff College
CREATIVE LEADERSHIP Executive Masterclass - Royal College of Art (RCA): My approach of acting as the intersection of empathy, clarity and creativity is a proven technique in leading teams to deliver measurable results. I bring siloed communities together around the common goals of brand values and purpose.
HUMAN-CENTERED STRATEGY Certificate (Design & Activation) - IDEO U
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Intensive Certificate - London College of Communication, University of the Arts London
CARBON LITERATE Certificate - Carbon Literacy Project
Driving positive change
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I'm a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an active alumni at Central Saint Martins and an avid continuing education advocate through both the Royal College of Art and IDEO U programs. This immersion in the creative industry's cutting edge keeps me abreast of coming trends and helps me understand which are ones worth investing in and the most human-centric approach to new technologies.
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In addition to a close connection with creative innovation, I keep in regular contact to internal ERGs (Employee Resource Groups), Accessibility and Neurodiversity teams, Customer Insight and Heads of Sustainability.
Keeping an open channel between these functions, unifies the creative work being done with the lived culture of the organization, and creates a common perspective across teams.
This approach both protects the reputation of a brand and unites creative communities towards authentic ideas that communicate core business values.
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I’m guided daily by a personal commitment to regenerative practices, and believe that industries that come together through the UN’s 17 Global Goals have the common perspective to radically innovate the circular economy needed for net zero by 2030.
I'm fluent in the Sustainable Development Goals and can help guide your brand to define what they mean in your strategy and day to day activities. I'm personally dedicated to:
12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Colleagues have said
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“…her consistent, calm leadership has helped me to cut through the noise and focus on delivering against a comprehensive brand vision.”
— Direct report, HSBC & Control Risks, Global Marketing
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“In addition to her leadership skills, Gwen was deeply committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive brand, actively pushing for more diversity from our agencies and supporting underrepresented colleagues in elevating their profiles. She developed programs that strengthened our creative culture and promoted collaboration, making a lasting impact on our team dynamics.”
— Colleague, HSBC Accessibility team, Group Marketing
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“Not only can Gwen pull together a Mural board to showcase the end-to-end brand experience in a short time, the output of the acquisition branding proposal she presented to the Singapore CEO was very well received. Her dedication to the programme and her insight on how to resolve a rather complex challenge is very impressive.”
— Colleague, HSBC Digital team, Group Marketing
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Please visit my LinkedIn page to see full quotes and more recommendations.
Latest
work
From branding a skyline, to creating a naming strategy, to building a creative community, to developing a foundational design system and everything in-between, read through my most recent case studies.