Freelance creative leadership for brands + open to impactful full-time roles
DAVID
NEW
MAN
DESIGN
Hello, friends!
I’m a Seattle-based Creative Director who thrives on solving real problems with smart, well-crafted creative. I’ve led teams, built brands, and shipped work that holds up in the real world. Open to full-time roles and project-based work with teams that care about impact, not noise. Let’s talk.
Strategy to Execution
I help teams move from loose, sometimes messy goals to clear creative direction, then stay with the work through launch. That means fewer hand-offs, better decisions, and creative that actually ships and does what it’s supposed to do.
Scalable Brand Systems
I build brand and design systems that hold up in the real world. Across teams, channels, timelines, and constraints. The goal is work that stays coherent as it grows, without becoming precious or brittle.
Creative Leadership
When things are high-stakes or unclear, I step in to align people, set direction, and keep momentum going. I raise the bar, cut through noise, and make sure the work stays focused and honest.
Hands-On Craft
I stay close to the work. I still concept, design, write, and refine. Big-picture thinking matters, but so does choosing the right typeface or tightening a frame. The details aren’t extra, they’re the job.
Selected Work
IMEX America x Visit Seattle – A Trade Show Booth with Stopping Power
Art Direction, Creative Direction, Environmental Design, Video Production
Seattle Bookmarked – Reading Into Seattle, Together
Branded Video, Creative Direction
Clipper Round the World – Design in Motion
Branding, Graphic Design
Sounds by the Sound – Seattle is the Stage
Branded Video, Branding, Creative Direction, Photography
Unsettled Territory – Centering Stories Too Often Left Out
Branded Video, Creative Direction
The Love For All Boat – A Floating First for Pride
Branding, Creative Direction, Environmental Design, Photography
Dear Seattle – A Branded Film Series with Heart and Reach
Branded Video, Branding, Creative Direction
Eat Happy Now – Creative That Fuels a Mission
Art Direction, Branding, Creative Direction, Graphic Design, Logo Design, Presentation Design, Video Production
Cloudbreak Music Festival
Branding, Logo Design, Web Design
A Tough Mentality
Branding, Logo Design, Web Design
Visit Seattle Interactive Sales Tool
Web Design
A quick note on my time at Visit Seattle.
Most of my portfolio comes from 16+ years leading the Creative at Visit Seattle—two-thirds of my design career spent transforming one beloved brand through pivotal moments, a city’s evolution, and a global pandemic.
I joined in 2008, when we were still Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, under a truly unfortunate color palette. By 2012, we had rebranded as Visit Seattle with a vibrant, optimistic look, leading us into a new era where I led creative across campaigns, digital platforms, events, and activations that reached millions annually.
I directed high-impact agency collaborations with The Atlantic, VICE, National Geographic, Vox Media, CBS, and SundanceTV—producing integrated campaigns and video series that drove sustained engagement. One wonderful example: the Seattle Rain Booth experiential campaign, which earned 81 pieces of unique media coverage (including Reuters and Yahoo) as well as 167 million earned media impressions.
As Creative Director, I remained hands-on; designing with my team across trade show booths, destination videos, experiential builds, signage, and digital touchpoints.
When the pandemic hit and layoffs swept in, I stayed; committed to keeping the brand visible at a time when we couldn’t invite travel was critical. And when the city reopened, I was proud to help lead the creative push that welcomed people back with heart & soul and in style.
That kind of longevity taught me how to lead, adapt, and keep the work sharp: balancing craft, strategy and instinct with real-world results.
As one of my final projects at Visit Seattle, I was blessed with the opportunity to help conceive of and create our brand video, weaving together the wondrous poetry of Quenton Baker, the vision of filmmaker Matty Brown, and the sounds of Seattle musician Mike Sylvester into a heartfelt love letter to our hometown. I hope you enjoy it.
Awards
I bring more than 25 years of real depth, perspective, and clarity to the work—approaching every project with curiosity, energy, and a strong creative pulse. Here’s me in a nutshell:
Services
- Creative Direction
- Team Leadership
- Art Direction
- Graphic Design
- Branding
- Web Design
- UX/UI
- Presentation Design
- Email Design
- Video Production
Tools
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Photoshop
- InDesign
- Illustrator
- Premiere Pro
- Acrobat Pro
- Figma
- WordPress
- HTML/CSS
- Generative AI Tools
- Microsoft Office 365
- Google Workspace
- Project Management Software
I am always looking for exciting new challenges. Hit me up, and let's make something great.
Some kind words about me. 🙏🏼
"Not one to settle for "good enough", David thinks creatively and strives for excellence. He's quick to find alternate solutions and suggest new perspectives on approaching a challenge."
"Newman is sharp, talented, and refreshingly human—a creative leader on the client side who makes the whole process just plain fun. If you ever get the chance to work with him, take it."
"The Visit Seattle website would not have been a success without David leading the effort. He herded all the cats and the result was stronger for it. Together we built a gorgeous digital experience that feels uniquely Seattle and it's now one of the top tourism websites in the world."
"David is one of the most talented graphic designers/marketing professionals I know. He has an uncanny ability to work with a wide range of creative opinions and he still manages to produce beautiful work. He knows how to handle multiple projects and stay true to deadlines. I am inspired by his thirst for creative innovation and how he can uniquely introduce these ideas into his own work. He does this not only in graphic design, but also in developing strategic marketing initiatives."
"David is a valuable member of any team - he is a creative problem-solver at his core - which makes him a powerful and unique contributor. He looks at projects from new perspectives and provides numerous ways of executing. I spent over a decade with him and it wasn’t long enough!"
