Michael E. Smith

Design leader focused on making connections between humans & ideas.

15+ years building brands, creative teams, and design systems across technology, agency, and in-house organizations.

I build brands, teams, and the systems that help both scale.

For the past 15+ years, I've worked across tech, agency, and in-house teams as a designer, art director, design manager, and creative leader. I care about making great work, but also about building the teams, systems, and environments that make great work possible.

Creative Direction

Turning business and marketing goals into clear creative direction across brand, web, campaigns, content, and launches.
Brand Systems

Building visual identities and systems that give teams the structure to move faster without everything looking the same.
Team Leadership

Hiring, mentoring, and developing creative teams while creating the processes that help them do their best work.

"Michael is the definition of a player-coach, the kind of leader that designers dream of. He advocates wholeheartedly for every individual, while still supporting and challenging the team as a whole. In the three years he’s managed me, I’ve felt trusted, heard, and inspired."

Brandon Powell
"As one of Michael's direct reports, I experienced significant growth as a designer thanks to his generous mentorship. He took the time to learn about my strengths and interests, helped match those with business priorities, and trusted me to run each project independently."

Idit Knaan
"Michael had a knack for giving constructive, actionable feedback that took me from a fledgling designer to a confident one. He also established the strongest (and, based on employee satisfaction surveys, most content) team at Reforge."

Janessa Poole