Frank User

I'm a Senior Graphic Designer and Art Director with over 26 years of experience spanning advertising agencies, entertainment marketing, and running my own creative studio. My career started at Harrah's Entertainment, designing high-volume marketing across five casino properties (Harrah's, Bally's, Showboat, and Caesars) under strict brand guidelines and tight timelines. That environment taught me how to move fast without sacrificing accuracy or consistency across dozens of concurrent projects.

In 2005, my business partner and I founded a small creative agency together and ran it for 18 years, working with local and national clients on branding, packaging, print, and digital campaigns. As President and Creative Director, I split my time between hands-on design work and running the business side alongside my partner: client relationships, project pipeline, and building long-term creative systems for repeat clients.

Most recently, I spent four years as an Art Director at an advertising agency, partnering directly with the CCO on concept development and leading creative for RFPs and pitch decks that helped win new business, while maintaining brand standards across the agency's output.

I hold a UI/UX certificate from eCornell and have built AI-assisted workflows into my process. I'm comfortable in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Figma, and I've designed everything from billboards and casino signage to email campaigns and pop displays.

Outside of client work, I've built a couple of small ventures with my 10-year-old son. Together we started a hot sauce brand from scratch, where I handle the branding, packaging, and design. We also run a Pokémon card business, buying, selling, and collecting, which has taught me as much about building a brand from nothing as some client projects have. I also tinker with 3D printing and laser engraving, which scratches the same problem-solving itch as design work, just in physical form.

I'm looking for fully remote work, freelance or permanent. At this point in my career, who I'm working with matters more to me than the title on the door. I'd take a great team on a straightforward design role over an art director title in the wrong environment. Good collaboration and people who care about the work are what I'm optimizing for.