Turning Your Vision Into Measurable Growth and Brand Clarity

Creative & Brand Director trusted by startups, growth-stage ventures, and industry leaders.

“A creative genius”
– Huffington Post
Jim MacLeod

I help brands grow by connecting design, strategy, and storytelling into one clear, compelling experience.

For 20+ years, I’ve led creative and digital teams through rebrands, product launches, and marketing overhauls that drive results. My focus is always the same: turn big ideas into aligned execution.

Along the way, I’ve helped launch a venture-backed AI startup, shaped global brand platforms, led digital strategy at a top university, and written The Visual Marketer (Tilt Publishing, 2025) to help marketers design smarter. I also share weekly insights on AI, design, and marketing through my newsletter, Marketing by Design.

What drives it all? A belief that the best ideas deserve to be clearly seen and smartly delivered.

Collaborators and Friends

I’ve worked with some great brands over the years.

Mobeus
Mobeus

Signature Wins

Some examples of work that was well received.

Extreme Networks building

Rebranding a Billion-Dollar Tech Company in 90 Days

Led a full-scale visual rebrand of Extreme Networks to unify two merging companies and reposition the brand for serious enterprise credibility.

See the rebrand in action →

After Design site and logo

Building a Brand for Designers Facing an AI Future

Created After Design to help designers navigate the AI shift, building the brand, content strategy, and site in under two weeks.

Explore the brand platform →

EBSCO Content Examples

Turning Creative Chaos Into a Scalable Content Engine

Transformed EBSCO’s reactive creative model into a structured content system with global templates, funnel alignment, and measurable results.

View the content strategy →

Recent Thoughts

Ideas on brand, creative, leadership, and where the industry is heading.

See all blog posts

How Can I Help?

There are a lot of things I do well. I’m built to help marketing teams who are looking to establish their brand and run measurable marketing activities.

Brand Strategy & Positioning

From revitalizing legacy logos to crafting new identities, I create distinctive visuals that capture a brand’s true character in an instant.

Visual Identity & Design Systems

Build a flexible toolkit of logos, colors, and guidelines that keeps your brand consistent at any size or speed.

Messaging & Storytelling

Shape narratives that speak your audience’s language and turn brand facts into memorable, shareable stories.

Creative Direction & Multichannel Content

Guide ideas from concept to launch across print, digital, and video so campaigns feel cohesive wherever they land.

Website / UX & Digital Experience Optimization

Transform web experiences into smooth, goal-oriented journeys that load fast, look sharp, and convert.

Integrated Campaign Development

Plan, execute, and measure multi-channel demand and brand campaigns that align marketing spend with real pipeline growth.

Conversion Optimization & Performance Analytics

Test, tweak, and track every element to lift engagement and prove the creative work is paying off.

MarTech & AI-Enabled Automation

Unify tools and data – layering smart automation – so your marketing engine runs leaner and learns faster.

Fractional Creative / Brand Leadership & Team Coaching

Step in as an on-demand leader to level up processes, mentor talent, and drive projects without the full-time overhead.


Robot in warehouse

AI’s Impact on Marketing and Design is Undeniable

I’m a big fan of AI, so I’m learning everything I can and sharing it with you each week. Join more than 1,000 designers and marketers who are staying on top of the latest news and trends.

Testimonials

Some people say some nice things about me and my work.

Let’s Chat

How can we work together to do amplify your brand?