JASON VINCENT OLESZCZUK
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGIST, DESIGNER, AND VOXEL ARTIST

What I bring.

Strategic creativity

From my experience, the best work I've done has had great strategic thinking and processes to jump off of. My process involves starting with a cohesive, comprehensive (yet concise) creative brief. One that that identifies the why, the who, the what-do-we-need-to-overcome, and is centered around a real human truth. The insight. The insight is everything. From there, I activate teams to rally around the insight to create on-brand, on-strategy creative copy and design.

When it comes to projects that require a deeper look into the user experience, I employ my Design Thinking training to identify breakdowns in the current state of an experience which leads to opportunities for the future or "to be" state of an experience.

All this experience comes into play as a creative leader, and this experience and process benefits any client, any company, any project.

Empathic mentorship

THE most rewarding thing about what I do is to be able to nurture talent to their next level. It all starts with listening. Listening to their goals, their interests, their aspirations. Everyone is unique and everyone requires a unique plan to get to that next level and it's my responsibility to give them the tools and opportunities to get there.

Sometimes it's tough. Sometimes I have to have those crucial conversations. Sometimes I have to bridge the gap between two disparate personalities. At the heart of my approach is empathy. It's listening, it's openness to understanding, and a desire to create a clear plan of action to moving forward.
 

Emphatic presentations

No one gets more excited than me about presenting. Whether it's walking through creative concepts, pitching new business, or presenting to the c-suite, I bring the same passion for Xbox that I do for Eddie Bauer.

Maybe it was all those high school musicals I was in, but I believe any presentation should have a bit of theater to it. I like to weave a story. I like a dash of humor (where appropriate.) Add a touch of self-deprecation and a relevant anecdote or two and you have my presentation style. It's engaging. It keeps clients off of their phones. It wins work. It sells ideas.

Because if I don't show that I'm thrilled about the work, why would the client be?

As someone who appreciates how vital strategy is to a project and who understands the value of a clear, actionable insight, I’m no stranger to pinch-hitting on creative strategy. Case in point, I stepped in on an Xbox Series S campaign and helped plot out the approach to the email cadence, clearly defined the messaging structure, and set the tone for the design phase. Plus, I got to use “Affordable AF” in a strategy deck. Check it out:

Making things move comes naturally to me. I’ve been animating, storyboarding, and producing video since I learned what “tweening” was. Recent opportunities have even led me to 3D, live action production, and directing tons of voiceover talent. I love the format. I love bringing PSDs to life. I love telling a story. It all comes together with video.

It was some time during my junior year of Product Design at The Ohio State University that I realized I should have majored in Graphic Design. There were so many amazing things going on with the internet and interaction and motion design that I had to dive in, teach myself, fail, and try again.

Fast forward to today, and I’ve designed everything from gaming mouse control panels, to Walmart.com (not joking!), to social campaigns, to brand guidelines, to applying game theory to Photoshop, to… well, pretty much anything you can think of. Just as long as it’s digital. Nowadays I mostly just direct - leading a team talented designers and writers ever-forward toward the next client review. But don’t get me wrong. I still love going hands-on with design. I always will.

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