Hi, I'm Brian.
I’m an art director and visual artist based in Washington, DC with 10+ years of professional and freelance experience in graphic design and branding. Strategically, my work aims to elevate brand offerings by distilling core messaging down to its cleanest, freshest form.
I am half of the creative team at Studio Blacksheep. I have collaborated with various dynamic brands, small businesses, nonprofits, and independent artists to develop quality visuals, content, and campaigns that reach and engage consumers.
No matter the challenge, I am confident I can develop a creative solution that resonates with a target audience and achieves specific business goals. Let’s work together.
View my work.
My resume.
Education
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Bachelor of Science 2015:
Electronic Media, Arts & Communication
Minor: Architecture
Professional
Branding & Identity, Print & Digital Design, Motion Graphics, Animation, Illustration, Information Graphics, Packaging, Photography Film & Videography, Editing
Technical
Adobe CS, Final Cut Pro, Hype, HTML, Figma, Canva, Wordpress, Squarespace,Autodesk Maya & Rhino, Microsoft Office,
Windows & Mac OS Operating System
Contact
Bethesda, MD
thestudioblacksheep.com
linkedin.com/in/brianrcauthen
Experience
Moore Digital Agency | Art Director | 2025 - 2023
Spearheads the creative process from concept development to final delivery, ensuring the production of impactful marketing materials for nonprofit clients like Wounded Warrior Project and The Salvation Army. Combines design expertise with prompt engineering to generate diverse digital assets, including display ads, landing pages, paid social, SMS, email campaigns, and various animated ads. Designed 2023 Giving Tuesday Campaign that collected over $1.5M in donations, achieving 15% increase in revenue to year prior. Followed success with 106% increase in revenue in 2024. Achieved over 4X return on ad spend for our clients.
Studio Blacksheep | Freelance Graphic Designer | Creative Director | 2025 - 2014
Provided strategic direction for brand and marketing strategy. Established visual identity and executed advertising campaigns based on research and strategy sessions. Collaborated closely with clients to establish and execute visual identity that addressed their specific business goals, brand identities, user needs, and technical restraints.
Nevly Money | Senior Graphic Designer | 2022 - 2023
Executed brand refresh. Collaborated with product teams to understand user needs and translate findings into actionable design solutions. Conducted user interviews and surveys to gain insights into user behavior, needs, and pain points. Created visually engaging layouts, interfaces, illustrations, guidelines and graphics that align with brand aesthetics and enhance user experiences.
Yes& Agency | Art Director | 2022
Developed concepts and brief stage design mockups for clients approval to established overall style and brand message. Oversaw junior designers through phases of production, testing, edits, final execution, and delivery.
KGD Architecture | Graphic Designer | 2022 - 2018
Developed a visual system for portfolio and archived work to be used in marketing and business development initiatives. Researched latest design trends and implemented strategy across brand collateral, campaigns and platforms. Managed website and social media accounts. Produced 200+ graphic design projects, including print and digital assets, proposals, brochures, and signage that improved client interaction and brand visibility. Increased proposal conversion rate to over 30%.
Ad Astra | Multimedia Designer | 2018
Analyzed existing graphic system and developed a new visual identity for company-wide rebrand. Designed graphic assets including infographics, email campaigns, social media posts and mailers to support the sales, and marketing teams. Produced environmental displays for industry events that converted new clients.