STEVE MORTENSEN
Tel 408 802 8424 steve@stevemortensen.com portfolio: steve-mortensen.squarespace.com/work

SUMMARY

I’m a creative director who brings a fresh approach to design for technology companies, softening the sometimes sterile nature of the high-tech world through the influences of my early work in the retail and hospitality sectors. I have comfortably managed designers, art directors, photographers, agencies, and brand leaders.

E X P E R I E N C E

ServiceNow, Sr. Designer, Content Experience, August 2021 - Present

• In-house designer on the Content Experience team leading a team of two designers
• Projects include: eBooks, infographics, white papers, imperative guides (my team is responsible for designing most of the long content for the company)

Steve Mortensen Creative, Creative Director, September 2016 - Present

• Freelance creative director specializing in biotech and start ups
• Clients have included Thermo Fisher, Seer, GenapSys, UP THERE, EVERYWHERE and Maravai LifeSciences

Affymetrix, Director of Creative Services, March 2009 - August 2016

• Manage global brand identity for publicly traded life sciences company
• Creative Director and lead designer responsible for product advertising, conceptual design, packaging, A/V, event graphics, and online visuals with four direct reports and four contractors
• Developing look & feel and navigation for 500+ page Affymetrix new web site to launch in 2016
• Designed new company logo and look & feel in 2013; re-branded all sub-brands
• Conceptualized and developed 25+ major product advertising campaigns; print, online, and sales collateral
• Art directed photoshoots, managed freelancers, supervised printing, and adhered to strict deadlines
• Designed trade show graphics and eco-friendly packaging; redesigned corporate collateral and styleguide

Gaia Online, Senior Designer, June 2008 - December 2008

• Created the web site design for Gaia’s 2008 launch of massively multiplayer online game, zOMG!
• Designed promo banners, landing pages, and splash screens that influenced the sale of virtual goods
• Worked under tight deadlines and in teams across a variety of groups (branding, UI, sales, marketing)

Micurio.com, Creative Director & Founder, November 2006 - June 2008

• Conceptualized and designed the Micurio online community for sharing collectibles, drawing from personal experience as a collector and background in branding
• Raised $100,000 in seed funding and developed relationships with Sequoia Capital, First Round Capital, and Foundation Capital; five venture capital firms were interested in the progress of Micurio
• Secured relationship with prominent venture capital law firm Gunderson-Dettmer, who provided all legal counsel and documentation on spec
• Acted as Founder, CEO, and CFO by managing all aspects of the company of four employees
• Gained first-hand knowledge of the technology, marketing, and networking resources available for Web 2.0 companies by participating in conferences and thought leadership groups

Steve Mortensen Design, Design Consultant, November 2001 - November 2006

• Designed the identity and web site for Entrisphere, changing their start-up image to that of a more established telecom company, which facilitated their sale to Ericsson
• Created Rasvia Systems’ corporate identity and web site, helping them launch the company and secure a second round of funding
• Founded and managed a side business, Colossus Comics, which reached a peak of $250,000/year in gross revenue and had five employees
• Designed the book Great Women of Film featuring photographs and interviews of notable women in front of and behind the camera; the book was a part of a traveling exhibition sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and featured Jodi Foster, Joan Allen, and Susan Sarandon
• Worked with numerous clients including Siebel, Cisco, San Francisco Film Arts Foundation, and the Women’s Film and Art Foundation

Apple Computer, Senior Designer, Graphic Design Group, April 2001 - November 2001

• Designed environmental graphics and packaging that were approved directly by Steve Jobs for use in the launch of the first Apple Stores
• Developed concepts, created collateral and trade show graphics for the successful 2001 Mac-to-School campaign
• Designed brand materials for the first generation iPod
• Sole designer on the trade show project for the NECC conference in Chicago with the theme of “PowerSchool”; created scale model that was approved by Steve Jobs
• Created trade show graphics for Apple’s “Think Different” campaign
• Worked with AppleCare team to develop customer facing marketing materials
• Conceptualized 2001 graphics for Macworld San Francisco

marchFIRST (formerly USWeb/CKS), Art Director, Branding Group, August 1999 - April 2001

• Created identities, promotions, web designs and packaging for clients such as Apple, Visa, Financial Engines, e/Madison, Grupo Televisa, Novell, Mars Music, JC Penney, Applied Materials, and Encyclopedia Britannica online; developed Apple software packaging and collateral
• Was influential to the development of the new Alta Visa brand identity, launched in 2000
• Designed the identity and co-led the design of the web site for Work.com, a joint venture between excite@home and Dow Jones

Arias Associates, Senior Designer, June 1995 - August 1999

• Worked under Mauricio Arias on the redesign of the look-and-feel of Pottery Barn, which won the firm San Francisco Ad Club’s 1997 Agency of the Year award
• Served as art director for projects such as the Pottery Barn Gift Registry, the Disney Gift Catalog, the 1997 Quantum annual report, Rancho Bernardo Inn collateral, and signage for Four Seasons Sharm el-Sheik
• Created a 30-page brochure announcing the $50 million renovation of the San Francisco Westin St. Francis Hotel; the piece was featured in several top design publications including Graphis Brochure
• Managed a team of three designers as well as everyday client relations

EDUCATION

Bachelor’s degree in applied art & design, 1995, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo

RECOGNITION

American Corporate Identity 14 • Graphis • How International Design Annual • Print • San Francisco Show 12 • Western Art Directors’ Annual Shows: 32nd, 33rd, 36th • Genome Technology’s Readers’ Choice Award for Best Print Ad, 2011 • GEN Excellence in Advertising 2015 Readex Research Survey for the ProcartaPlex campaign