CHRIS SZADKOWSKI
Creative services for brands that need clarity, momentum, and standout execution.
I help brands build sharper identities, smarter creative systems, stronger digital experiences, and more effective content. With more than two decades of leading award-winning work across design, technology, and brand building, I partner with founders, marketing leaders, and in-house teams to turn ambition into clear, differentiated growth.
01
- Brand audits and competitive review.
- Positioning and differentiation framework.
- Messaging direction and brand story.
- Visual identity system, logo, typography, color, and design principles.
- Brand guidelines your internal team can use with confidence.
Brand identity and strategy
Build a brand people remember and teams can actually use. I create brand identity systems rooted in strategy, not decoration, so your positioning, messaging direction, visual language, and design standards work together across every touchpoint.
This is ideal for companies launching, repositioning, raising capital, modernizing an outdated identity, or trying to stand apart in crowded SaaS and next-gen categories. Deliverables can include brand strategy workshops, brand platform development, naming support, verbal and visual positioning, logo systems, art direction, design systems, and comprehensive brand guidelines.
02
- Creative AI workflow audits.
- Prompt and process design for brand, content, campaign, and design teams.
- AI-assisted concepting and production systems.
- Governance, compliance, and brand-quality guardrails.
- Training for internal teams and leadership alignment.
AI workflow design solutions
Use AI to speed up creative output without losing brand quality. I design practical AI-enabled workflows for creative and marketing teams so they can move faster, reduce repetitive production work, and create with more consistency across campaigns, content, brand systems, and internal processes.
My approach is focused on implementation, governance, and creative standards. That means evaluating where AI can actually help, defining guardrails, selecting the right tools and agentic workflows, and building systems your team can adopt over the next 6 to 12 months without turning your brand into generic output.
03
- Website strategy and UX planning.
- Information architecture and content flow.
- High-end visual design and interaction direction.
- Front-end development or platform-specific builds.
- SEO-ready page structures and conversion-focused calls to action.
Web design and development
Create a site that does more than look good. I design and build websites that clarify your offer, strengthen your brand, and convert the right audience, whether you need a marketing site, portfolio experience, campaign landing page, or a more robust brand platform.
My background in both design and development helps bridge strategy, UX, storytelling, and execution. I can lead custom site design and builds across WordPress, Webflow, Framer, and Squarespace, with a focus on performance, usability, responsive design, and conversion-driven structure.
04
- Creative concepts and campaign direction.
- Video shooting and on-set creative direction.
- Brand photography, still capture, and photo retouching.
- Editing, color correction, finishing, and content versioning.
- Motion graphics and animation for campaigns, explainers, and branded content.
- Social, digital, and broadcast-ready deliverables.
Photo + Video production
Tell a stronger story across motion and stills. I develop and produce video and photography content for brands that need launch films, social campaigns, broadcast spots, product storytelling, executive interviews, branded shoots, and content systems built to work across every channel.
From concept through final delivery, I can lead creative development, shooting, photography, editing, and motion graphics so the work feels cohesive, polished, and distinctly on-brand. That includes scripting support, directing, on-set creative leadership, still photography capture, retouching, post-production editing, color correction, animation, motion design, and platform-ready exports for digital, social, and broadcast use.
Bring in senior creative leadership without the full-time executive overhead. I work as a fractional Executive Creative Director or Chief Creative Officer for brands that need strategic guidance, stronger standards, better team direction, and clearer creative decision-making during growth, transformation, or transition.
This model is designed for founders, startups, scale-ups, internal marketing teams, and companies in the middle of a rebrand, product shift, or market expansion. I help align brand, marketing, product, content, and design so the work is more consistent, more effective, and easier to scale
- Creative leadership across brand, campaign, and digital.
- Team mentoring and creative reviews.
- Agency and partner oversight.
- Go-to-market creative strategy.
- Brand governance and quality control.
- Executive-level support during launches, fundraising, hiring, or transformation.
- Creative leadership across brand, campaign, and digital.
- Team mentoring and creative reviews.
- Agency and partner oversight.
- Go-to-market creative strategy.
- Brand governance and quality control.
- Executive-level support during launches, fundraising, hiring, or transformation.
How I work
- Discovery and diagnosis: We identify your goals, friction points, audience needs, and growth opportunities.
- Strategy and direction: I define the right path, whether that is brand, AI workflow design, web, content, leadership support, or a combination.
- Build and refine: We create the system, starting with mood boards, concepts, design direction, experience, or campaign with a clear standard for quality and performance.
- Launch and evolve: I help your team implement, scale, and improve the work over time.
I work best with brands that are growing, changing, launching, or trying to sharpen how they show up in the market. That includes SaaS companies, startups, next-gen consumer brands, innovation teams, and organizations that need a senior creative partner who can connect brand thinking with execution.
Chris Szadkowski offers brand identity and strategy, AI workflow design solutions, web design and development, video production, and fractional Executive Creative Director or Chief Creative Officer leadership.
A fractional ECD or CCO is a good fit for companies that need senior creative leadership, brand oversight, team mentoring, or go-to-market direction without the cost of a full-time executive hire.
Yes. The AI workflow offering is focused on practical adoption, governance, compliance, and creative guardrails so teams can move faster while protecting brand integrity
Yes. Chris Szadkowski offers custom web design and development across WordPress, Webflow, Framer, and Squarespace.
Services include digital, social, and broadcast video production, supported by creative direction, storytelling, and motion-led brand thinking.