Thud
Role: Head of Design
Timeline: 2017–2019
Brand creation, Product design, Creative leadership, UX/UI, Motion graphics, Publishing, Experiential design, Team building, Rapid prototyping
Somewhere Between a Comedy Think Tank and a Fever Dream
As a founding member and Head of Design at Thud, I worked directly with leadership to create new brands, products, experiences, and media concepts from the ground up.
Unlike a traditional creative role focused on a single company or product, Thud operated more like a creative incubator. Simultaneously developing multiple ventures across entertainment, technology, publishing, consumer products, and digital experiences. Each concept required its own strategy, identity, voice, and customer experience, often moving from idea to prototype within weeks.
The challenge wasn't evolving an existing brand. It was determining what entirely new brands could become.
01Building the Foundation
Before any product could launch, Thud itself needed an identity.
I establish the visual language, design standards, creative processes, and organizational systems that would support a growing portfolio of projects. This included developing the non-traditional parent brand, building the design department, hiring and mentoring team members, and creating frameworks that allowed multiple ventures to develop simultaneously while maintaining a consistent level of quality.
The work created a foundation capable of supporting rapid experimentation without sacrificing craft.
02DNA Friend
DNA Friend was designed to make personal genetics more approachable, understandable, and engaging for everyday users.
The challenge was translating highly technical scientific information into an experience that felt accessible, trustworthy, and human. I led work across branding, UX/UI, product design, marketing, and visual storytelling to help simplify a complex subject while maintaining credibility.
The result was a product experience that balanced education, curiosity, and usability.
Press:CNBC, USA Today, Tech2, The Atlantic, and Genome Web
04Mampfen
Mampfen was one of the more playful projects within the Thud ecosystem, requiring a completely different visual language than the company's technology and media ventures.
The project involved developing a distinct personality, visual identity, product experience, and marketing approach designed around humor, character, and audience engagement.
The work reinforced the importance of adapting creative systems to support vastly different audiences while maintaining a consistent level of execution.
Press: Eater,
036 Minute Personality
6 Minute Personality explored how personality assessments could become faster, more engaging, and more accessible for modern audiences.
The project required balancing psychology, product design, branding, and user experience while creating a platform that felt insightful without becoming overly clinical.
I worked across identity development, product design, onboarding experiences, visual systems, and marketing materials to help shape the experience from concept through execution.
05Exploring New Ideas
Not every project was intended to become a standalone business.
Alongside larger initiatives, I contributed to a range of exploratory concepts, prototypes, experimental brands, and early-stage ventures designed to test new ideas and identify future opportunities.
Projects such as Existence Group and other internal concepts allowed the team to explore everything from fictional corporations and speculative products to new digital experiences and unconventional brand systems.
The work required rapid ideation, strategic thinking, and a willingness to build quickly in order to learn quickly.
06Leading the Creative Organization
As Head of Design, my role extended well beyond execution.
I built and managed the design department, hired and mentored team members, established creative standards, collaborated directly with executive leadership, and oversaw design production across every venture within the organization.
Operating in an environment built around experimentation required balancing long-term vision with rapid iteration while helping teams move from concept to execution as efficiently as possible.
The experience strengthened my ability to lead through ambiguity, build creative systems from scratch, and support multiple products simultaneously.
Outcome
Thud provided a rare opportunity to build brands, products, and creative systems from the ground up across an unusually diverse range of industries and formats.
The experience reinforced many of the leadership skills that continue to shape my work today: navigating ambiguity, building teams, balancing strategy with execution, and helping ideas evolve from early concepts into tangible experiences.
