Creative Direction, Illustration, Graphic Design, etc by Steve Tenebrini

Creative Director / UX Designer / Illustrator

Hello, my name is steve

Through a complete commitment to team, project and client success, my career has taken me from award-winning design, art direction and branding for global corporations to illustrating and screen-printing gig posters for some of the biggest rock and roll bands to tour the planet.

Digital at the core, my strengths lie in conceptual thinking, brand strategy development and designing holistic user journeys. Included with that are an extensive understanding of marketing and brand objectives, consumer needs, the value of effective communications and proven hands-on leadership abilities. Whether it’s ideating brand campaigns, planning and implementing digital strategies, getting ink under my fingernails printing, or filming out the side of an open van, I’ve been in the trenches forging the mission-critical partnership between dreaming and doing that ensures business success.

Case Studies

Projects of relative significance

U.S. Bank

Branding / Creative Direction / UI/UX / Visual Design

Polaris Industries

Branding / Creative Direction / UI/UX / Visual Design

Indian Motorcycle

Branding / Creative Direction / Product Launch / UI/UX

Subaru

Branding / Creative Direction / Product Launch / UI/UX / Visual Design

Harley-Davidson

Branding / Creative Direction / Illustration / Product Launch / UI/UX / Visual Design

Squad19 Creative Union

Branding / Creative Direction / Event Marketing / Illustration / Visual Design

How I WORK

PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS

Over the years I’ve become a jack of all trades and master of some so I can plug into your team on many levels based on your needs. Fully capable of working autonomously I also thrive on collaboration and leadership comes naturally to me. Given this holy trinity, I enjoy producing projects as much as I enjoy playing more focused roles and I’m as comfortable taking creative direction as giving it.

With that in mind, be it a responsive web experience, mobile app, brand overhaul or rock poster, I work through any project giving equal attention to three core areas of focus for optimal results:

1. Discovery and Incubation

Allow time to recognize and digest patterns in collected data, information, facts, assumptions, insights, sensory cues, etc. in order to establish a clear direction.

2. Reality Based Objective Thinking

Set realistic timelines that provide for ideation and then remain open to new points of view and approaches during the conceptual process. This makes the execution stage more efficient.

3. Orchestration vs. Management

Harness the strengths and talents of team members and empower them in an effort to collaboratively achieve a common goal.

Your brand is bigger than my ego

My dedication to your brand and project allows me to adapt my visual style based on the project needs or, to collaborate with other team members in order to ensure that appropriate and consistent branding across all channels is achieved. This is just a small sampling of some of the brands I’ve assisted over the span of my career and it doesn’t even account for the amazing list of bands I’ve had the honor of creating gig posters, album art and merch for. There are many more organizations in my history, both large and small, local and global, for-profit and pro-bono, representing a wide variety of industries and brand experiences. Contact me and let’s add your project to the list today.

what they say

DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT

Matt SwedlundAdvertising Account Director, Harley-Davidson Motor Company

"Steve and I worked closely on many projects at Carmichael Lynch and Polaris. No project that we worked on was identical and Steve was able to bring his unique creative view to each job. He clearly understands the needs of the clients, and the tools to use to get results. His ability to work across all mediums was invaluable."

Leitha MatzSpeaker, Thinker, Ecosystem Connector

"Some people are hot sparking fountains of excellent ideas. Other folks are savvy craftsmen who brilliantly execute excellent ideas. Still others are ace at rallying a team behind an excellent idea and propelling it through to completion. Steve is that enviable (and rare) junction of those powers. I feel lucky to have worked with him."

Andrea MariashFreelance Executive Producer

"Steve is one of those rare creatives that we don't run into that often - hardworking, crazy talented, and humble. I've learned so much from knowing him over the years, and I still proudly show work we did together in my portfolio. He's a timeless talent and any organization would be lucky to be associated with him."

Illustration + Printmaking

ARTIFACTS ARE IMPORTANT

While interactive media has always been a passion of mine, I believe that physical artifacts, in general, are of critical importance to the human experience. Because electronic content comes and goes, I’m as passionate about producing analog creations as I am about producing digital works. Screen printed/illustrated solutions for a client’s communication needs bring not only a hand-crafted quality to works but they allow me to connect in a tangible way in a mobile-first age, and to witness the results of my creativity in the real world. Staying physically connected and expressing creativity through traditional media is something that I will always do with or without an assignment. For you, that translates into a printed piece that enhances your customer’s experience with your brand in a dimension that no electronically produced media can ever communicate.

Visit my Instagram for more illustration samples, works in progress, behind the scenes, etc.