One part journalist; one part satirist; dash of designer. Heavy dose of Midwestern malleability. Stir gently.

About me

So you want the real thing, eh? 

Forget the resume and portfolio, you want the flesh and blood human being… distilled down into 400 words on a single page of the internet. 

Bravo. 

What you can’t get from all the basic accounting of my career is how I approach my work. When it comes to creativity, I’m ardent believer that what goes in comes out. It’s a siren call to focus too much on the outcome. Instead, when I lead or direct work I try to imbue the process of creation with the spirit of whatever we want at the end. 

More simply: the verb matters more than the noun. 

People on creative teams should feel psychologically safe and deeply inspired. Our bodies should be involved — not just our faces, fingers, and screens — because creativity lives in our limbs, our bones, and even our butts. If we’re designing an experience (and we always are) then we’re aiming for a feeling, so the creative act should also be an experience ripe with feeling. 

Inclusion, accessibility, and the right to belong are table stakes. It’s the 2020s. There are no more excuses for exploiting people’s gifts or denying anyone a rich, fulfilling life outside the project. In fact, creating with respect for the fullness of everyone’s lives produces better ideas and outcomes than working people into dust. Always.

The creative process should feel open and malleable. There’s no need for gatekeeping when lived experience is recognized as expertise. Design, creativity, and art are radically inclusive practices — power hoarding is bullshit and uninventive. 

Believing in all of this feels like a super power. I don’t feel defined by the limited language of “products.” I’ve made videos, books, podcasts, apps, exhibits, websites, music, immersive experiences, print newspapers, live events, global brands, organizational strategies, marketing campaigns, physical products, and some truly spectacular breakfasts. 

I can work on nearly anything because how I work — and how our team works — has always mattered most to me. Because whatever we’re making, we want people to love it. Which means we need to love making it. 

So there you have it. My creativity screed. If you want to know about actual me — the real-world neurodivergent human who hikes, has family, loves sports, befriends birds, and has a butt, please reach out. I’m an extrovert and, with very few exceptions, I love people. So let’s talk. 

Thanks for reading and thanks for caring.

Love, 

Brian

bjanosch@gmail.com