Creative Director & Designer





GWEN O’BRIEN
gwen@gwenobrien.com


Creative director and designer building brands, publications, and digital experiences end to end. My work spans brand identity, editorial, web, and campaigns — originating a clear vision and weaving it across every page, screen, and object. I lead creative from concept through production, and the teams that bring it to life.

CONTACT
CV





Education
Kendall College of Art & Design
Bachelor of Fine Arts
1991 – 1997
Visual Communications
Interior Design

Artistic Merit Scholarship
Distinguished Alumni Award
President, Alumni Association
Commencement Speaker




CareerMarketing Communications Specialist
Intertek
2026 – PRESENT

Founder & Designer
Haus of GG
2017 – PRESENT

Founder
Design X Collective
2021 – PRESENT

Head of Brand & Marketing
CENT
San Francisco, California
2022 – 2024

Co-Founder
Clarity Data Insight
Tulsa, Oklahoma
2021 – 2023

Creative Director
Fairly Painless Advertising
Holland, Michigan
2015 – 2016

Co-Owner & Creative Director
Plenty Creative
Grand Rapids, Michigan
2003 – 2015

Lead Web Designer
marchFIRST
Grand Rapids, Michigan
1999 – 2001



Design 
Leadership & Service
President’s Council Chair
National Board — AIGA
2015 – 2016

President
AIGA West Michigan
2013 – 2015

Co-Founder
West Michigan Design Week
2014 – 2016



Design & Creative
Branding & Visual Identity

Graphic Design – Digital & Print

Web Design & Development

UX/UI & Information Architecture

Web3 / NFT Creative Direction

Publication & Packaging Design

Motion Graphics & Video

Experiential Design

Museum Installations

Commercial Signage

Social Media Strategy

Marketing & Campaign Strategy




Leadership
Creative Direction &
Team Leadership

Project Management &
Workflow Design

Mentorship &
Community Building

Strategic Concept Development & Creative Problem Solving

Client Relations &
Experiential Consulting                



AwardsSappi Ideas that Matter
Sappi North America
2014

Museum Publications Design Winner
American Alliance of Museums
2014

U360 Award Winner
Haworth Collection Portfolio Book
Sappi
2014








Last Updated  08.2026
PROJECTS







HAWORTH COLLECTIONConcept, Design & Art Direction
Plenty Creative · 2014

The Haworth Collection brought four design houses — Haworth, Cappellini, Cassina, and Poltrona Frau — under one luxury banner. I led the creative across the full launch suite: a flip look book, the ICON custom magazine, custom mark, and a large-format poster. Across all three I set one cohesive brand language and directed the photography, illustration, and production, translating an eclectic, museum-caliber collection into a single, considered voice. The portfolio book earned the Sappi U360 Award.





JOINERY
Brand Identity, App Design, Social & Launch
2024

Joinery is an AI-powered dating and relationship app built for authentic connection. I created the brand end to end — identity system, app UX/UI, marketing, and launch strategy — giving a crowded category a refined, contemporary voice and one coherent experience from first impression through onboarding.





SOLACE MAGAZINEConcept, Editorial Direction, Art Direction & Design
Plenty Creative · 2008

Solace was an original destination publication for downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, hotels, built from the ground up. I created the concept, the name, and the masthead, established the editorial themes and voice, and designed the overall look and feel of the publication — directing all original photography and illustration and holding a singular, self-assured aesthetic across every page. A brand and a publication, originated and launched end to end.





CENT
Head of Brand & Marketing
2022 – 2024

CENT was the Web3 platform that minted Jack Dorsey’s first tweet as an NFT. I led brand, product, and community through a breakthrough moment for the category — designing and launching the Webflow site, crafting the app’s UX/UI in Figma, and building the visual systems that unified its identity. 

My animated work for the platform’s Doodle program drew a strong response, with over 5,000 collectibles minted. I also directed social and community strategy, moving the audience onto decentralized platforms like Farcaster and hosting events that turned creators and collectors into a genuine community.





CLARITY DATA INSIGHT
Co-Founder
Product & UX Design · 2021 – 2023

Clarity Data Insight is a digital health app that helps people track and manage migraines. As co-founder, I led product and experience design — directing the identity and UX, and translating complex health data into an intuitive, human-centered interface that helps users spot triggers, monitor treatment, and make informed decisions.





THE COLLECT BUTTON
Design, Art Direction & Campaign Direction
CENT · 2023

The Collect Button introduced a new way to turn anything online into a collectible. I created a bold, high-contrast typographic identity, art-directed the web experience, and directed the social campaign and launch films — one creative vision carried cleanly across product, web, and motion.






NUTRILITE
Art Direction & Packaging Design
Nutrilite · 2022

Nutrilite — the world’s leading brand of vitamin and dietary supplements — relaunched its packaging across the global portfolio. I was part of the team that art directed and designed packaging across the line, from the Organics range to core supplements like Double X, translating a botanical, farm-to-family story into a clean, shelf-ready system that had to hold together across products, categories, and international markets.







© GWEN O’BRIEN