Amos Klausner
Team Leader // Art Director // Writer // Artist // Collaboration Engine // Relationship Builder // Coach
aklausner001@gmail.com // 415-299-2454
Thank you for your interest. While words and pictures tell part of the story, I would love to speak with you about my experience in more detail, answer any questions you may have, and discuss how I can support your organization’s goals. Please take time to review my CV and portfolio. Please remember, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
I am:
I’m a creative leader, operations guru, wordsmith, design historian, artist, and father with unparalleled experience leading creative vision and strategy for one of the world’s most important global brands. I have a proven track record translating complex technical concepts into culturally resonant creative work that drives business results. Process improvement is my super power. In other words, I love turning complexity into simplicity by creating clear and engaging work that connects people to a brand and to one another. I’ve led and mentored world-class, high-performing creative teams and partnered with CMOs and other cross functional leaders. I've delivered brand positioning, verbal and visual guidelines, and GTM campaigns across digital, print, environmental, and experiential platforms.
A few things I’m proud or passionate about:
+ Reducing revision cycles through the strategic analysis of design systems and building scalable systems that drive efficiency without sacrificing creativity or quality.
+ Investigating and implementing emerging technologies, trends, and ideas that reflect real time business disruption or the cultural zeitgeist.
+ Brand as a holistic exercise that considers the value of every touchpoint where people come into contact with a company, an organization, or an idea.
+ Using art, research, and data as strategic tools to develop award-winning experiential creative concepts that offer a sense of wonder and possibility.
+ Applying language, with all its inherent quirks, to tell meaningful stories that inspire people to consider more closely, question more deeply, or laugh more enthusiastically.
+ Building empathetic relationships with people in ways that make a difference in our personal and our shared professional lives.
Core Competencies:
• Creative Operations
• Creative Strategy & Vision
• Brand Campaign Development
• Team Leadership & Mentorship
• Complex Technical Storytelling
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• AI Integration & Innovation
• Stakeholder Presentation
• Creative Quality Standards
• Agency & Vendor Management
• Environmental & Experiential Design
• Multi-Channel Creative Direction
• Copy & Content Strategy
Creative Director & Team Leader // PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) // October 2023 - November 2025
• Creative director and team leader driving the vision and go-to-market strategy for a global professional services firm with over $25 billion in annual sales
• Direct, coach, and inspire members of a 50-person team and foster a high-performance, innovation-based culture across all marketing programs
• Use data driven KPIs to validate the creative team’s contribution to help drive over $5 billion dollars into the business pipeline annually
• Deliver consistent experiential brand and marketing programs that drive new and existing Fortune 500 client accounts
• Reduce creative revision cycles by 20% through implementation of streamlined processes and improved stakeholder alignment
• Introduce the PwC brand to over 25,000 students and interns annually by providing creative direction to extensive talent acquisition events
• Translate complex technical concepts like AI, blockchain, cloud and cyber security into compelling narratives that increased KPIs across paid media, social, and in-person events
• Build visual and verbal brand guidelines, define standards, and set quality benchmarks to support brand promise and elevate market perception for one of the world’s leading brands
• Responsible for firm wide merchandising program and internal company store including product selection, sourcing and design resulting in over $8 million in sales a year and an extensive role in brand placement and relationship building
• Champion the integration of AI workflows and templates to improve team efficiency including Canva, Adobe Firefly, Google AI Suite, Chat GPT and more
Art Director // PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) // March 2014 - September 2023
• Art direct over 400 brand critical projects annually including national advertising, organic and paid media, and experiential events
• Design, install, and deliver the brand at leading technology trade shows for Google, AWS, Salesforce, SAP, Oracle, Guidewire, and more
• Provide strategic direction to the marketing and sales functions for event, paid media, social, and advertising-based campaigns
• UI/UX thinking and process skills for compelling visual design to support interactive and digital solutions for experiential, web, and SaaS
• Creative concept and design hospitality spaces and experiences for sports sponsorships at Formula 1, major league sports, The Masters, US Open, and more
• Responsible for highest level political and business programs including the World Economic Forum (Davos) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) program
• Define content for organic and paid social as well as long form, editorial, headlines, body copy, and calls to action that activates GTM materials
• Work with marketing and sales function to assure creative work supports all steps in the GTM funnel
• Demonstrated success managing high-profile stakeholders and building cross-functional collaboration
Brand Manager // PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) // August 2006 - February 2014
• Manage lifecycle of print and digital advertising campaigns resulting in high profile wins for PwC marketing and sales teams
• Create lifecycle naming strategy for PwC talent acquisition events reaching over 100,000 students annually, resulting in over 3,000 new hires a year
• Advise on brand standards and build educational support systems and guidelines documents for IFS, audit, tax, and advisory groups
• Editorial director, art director, and contributor for Keyword, PwC’s award-winning alumni journal reaching over 50,000 alumni
• Traffic manage creative team projects, provide oversight of print, digital and immersive experience vendors toward successful project completion
• Build strong cross-functional alignment by clearly articulating design vision and presenting complex concepts to leadership
• Ensure visual consistency across channels including social, web, events, and brand identity
Project Manager & Copywriter // Brand Engine // January 2006 - August 2006
• Manage national account relationships for universally recognized CPG companies including HP, Clorox, Plum Organics, and others
• Coordinate cross-functional teams of designers, copywriters, and strategists to deliver comprehensive branding projects
• Resolve client concerns and project challenges proactively, maintaining a 100% client retention rate across managed accounts
• Write clear, compelling brand messaging and taglines that distilled complex product benefits into memorable consumer-facing communications
• Conduct brand research and competitive analysis informing strategy and ensuring differentiated messaging in crowded market categories
Writer, Editor & Curator // Chronicle Books & FontShop // January 2005 – 2015
• Pitch, research, write and manage design production of the book Heath Ceramics: The Complexity of Simplicity published by Chronicle Books
• Editor of Font Magazine (FontShop International’s marketing magazine) responsible for thematic development, copy, and project management
• Curator of Getting Upper, an exhibition featuring 26 renowned California graphic designers exhibited at the Pasadena Museum of California Art
• Subject matter expert and writer on the topic of the intersection of experimental typography and graffiti practice
• Subject matter expert of the concept of slow space, a design philosophy focused on the built environment’s ability to impact our lives
• Contributing writer to Dwell Magazine, CMYK Magazine, Core77 and other design publications
Director // American Institute of Graphic Arts, San Francisco // October 1999 – November 2004
• Director of 1,700 member chapter of AIGA responsible for providing management and leadership across a suite of high profile programs
• Initiate creative briefs and select world renowned designers to complete award-winning pro bono print and digital projects
• Oversee the chapter’s annual high six figure budget by providing ongoing financial management and accounts payable
• Concept and plan over 75 industry leading events, lectures, conferences, seminars, and competitions a year to a discerning Bay Area audience
• Plan and execute membership campaigns, provide member benefits, and oversee year over year membership increases of 10%-15%
• Implement and run the country’s largest design-based elementary education outreach program 2x a year in the San Francisco Public Schools
• Successfully solicit and manage sponsorships from a variety of national corporations including printers, paper companies, and talent agencies
• Select and host world-renowned artists, architects, photographers, industrial designers, and graphic designers as lecturers
• Plan national AIGA advocacy campaigns including the non-partisan Get Out the Vote project featured in JC Decaux advertising kiosks
• As the public face of the organization, represent AIGA in the community through industry advocacy and public speaking
Assistant to the Curator of Architecture & Design // San Francisco Museum of Modern Art // September 1997 – October 1999
• Support the curator of architecture and design on all aspects of exhibition research, planning, and implementation
• Coordinate and manage the architecture and design department’s distinguished museum affinity group of high level donors and its programming
• Plan and present a wide range of architecture and design lectures and events for public audiences featuring high profile practitioners
• Lead the curatorial research and planning for the exhibition Far Out: Bay Area Design 1967-1973
• Arrange national and international architecture tours for high level donors and finalize site visits to world renowned architecture with architects
Writing Projects
• Author of Heath Ceramics: The Complexity of Simplicity, published by Chronicle Books
• Articles for Dwell magazine
• Editor and contributing writer for Font magazine
• Editor and contributing writer for Keyword, PwC’s alumni magazine
• Contributing writer for Core77.com
• Articles for CMYK magazine
• Articles for Neojapanese.com
• Multiple time presenter for Pecha Kucha, San Francisco
• Quarterly contributor to the Marin Independent Journal opinion pages
• Artist deconstruction project at gettingupper.com