I love what I do, and that's helping people like you make an impact through human-centered design.
I'm Briana.
I studied creative advertising at Michigan State University, where I competed on design teams that traveled to New York City and Beijing, China, and even landed a One Club Bronze Pencil. Over four years, I worked my way up to teach design and advertising classes alongside some of the university's most prominent professors.
My past experience has landed me in my current role as the Senior Designer for Crate&kids, a Crate&Barrel brand. My 9-5 is spent collaborating with merchants, strategists, and researchers, thinking creatively to bring visions to life and designing with user-centeredness in mind.
After hours? You can find me with a glass of wine and paintbrush in hand, creating abstract art through the practice of intuitive painting. Using traditional mediums—acrylic on canvas—I allow my brush to roam without conscious reasoning. Art is my passion, and it deeply inspires my day-to-day designing.
Experience
Senior Designer, Kids
Crate&Barrel, June 2020 – Present
Freelance Designer + Artist
September 2013 – Present
Designer
Peopledesign, Feb 2018 – May 2020
Creative Strategist
Piper & Gold Public Relations, Feb 2016 – Feb 2018
Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
Michigan State University, Jan 2015 – May 2016
Graphic Designer
Michigan Health & Hospital Association, May 2015 – Feb 2016
Skills
Design: Print and digital design, art direction, branding and identity, layout, typography, print production, styling and prep work for photo and video shoots, service design, and UX design
Software/Tools: Adobe Creative Suite, WordPress, Webflow, CSS, Google Analytics, Sketch, InVision
Social Media: Major platforms, paid and organic campaigns, text, graphics, photo, and video content creation, analytics, reporting and trends
Bonus: Interior design principles and trends (featured in Apartment Therapy twice!), digital illustration and sketching, studio art concepts and principles, teaching and education
Kind words from my talented colleagues:
"Working with Briana feels like connecting with an old soul. She has an incredible knack for design that carefully blends tradition and trend. Briana's intuition and desire to dig deeply into the why's led my new business to a visual brand that is powerful, lovely and wholly reflective of what I want to put out in the world. She is on point and a joy to work with."
—Veronica Gracia Wing, Owner of Wolfbrick Farm + Flower Truck
"Briana’s design work is innovative, advanced and mature. I’m always confident that she’ll produce great work, especially because she listens carefully to what the client wants and is able to adjust between different client aesthetics. She takes initiative and is dedicated to continuous improvement."
—Hannah Leibinger, Director of Sales and Account Management at Brafton Inc.
Awards and Recognition
2015 One Club Beijing, Bronze Pencil
2016 American Advertising Awards, Bronze (3)
2016 American Advertising Awards, Silver (2)
2017 MARCOM National Awards, Honorable Mention (3)
2017 MARCOM National Awards, Gold (2)
2018 American Advertising Awards, Silver (6)
2018 Hermes Creative Awards, Honorable Mention (3)
2018 Hermes Creative Awards, Gold (2)
2018 Hermes Creative Awards, Platinum (1)
2019 American Advertising Awards, Bronze (1)
2019 American Advertising Awards, Gold (1)
2020 American Advertising Awards, National Silver (1)
Select Clients
Albion College
Bows & Sequins, Chicago Blog
CATA Transportation
Detroit Tigers
DTE Energy
ESI Ergonomics
Grand Valley State University
Haworth
Inscape, Furniture
Interface, Flooring
Kelley Uustal PLLC
Mercantile Bank
Michigan Apple Committee
Ronald McDonald House
Wilsonart Engineered Surfaces