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Tim Shephard — Creative Director
Tim Shephard Creative Director
Profile // Creative Mind Ventures LLC
Dallas / Fort Worth, TX
About

The
Creative
Director.

Fifteen years translating the gap between what organizations build and what audiences believe — across six industries, at national scale, with measurable results.

Brand Strategy Creative Direction Mass Mobilization Section 508 SaaS GTM Film & Broadcast Federal Comms Implementation Science
// Fast Facts
Location Dallas, TX
Experience 15+ Years
Availability Full-Time + Fractional
Industries 6 Verticals
Impact $300M+
Mobilized 11.9M People
Awards NAGC — 2× Winner
Entity Creative Mind Ventures LLC
// Core Disciplines
Creative Direction
Brand Architecture
Campaign Strategy
Digital Transformation
Team Leadership
Federal Communications
Implementation Science
Visual Storytelling
The Profile

Fifteen Years.
Six Industries.
One Method.

I'm a Creative Director with an unusual résumé. Most CDs pick a lane — agency, in-house, tech, nonprofit — and stay in it. I've directed creative work at the highest level across six fundamentally different industries: gaming, entertainment and film, nonprofit and social impact, tech and SaaS, federal government, and brand identity.

That range isn't accidental. It's the result of a methodology I call Implementation Science — a framework for closing the gap between what an organization has built and what its audience actually believes. The application changes with every vertical. The core question never does: what does a human need to believe in order to act?

The best creative work doesn't just reach an audience. It moves them — from passive viewers to active participants, from interested to committed, from aware to changed.

At Keep America Beautiful, that methodology mobilized 11.9 million participants and generated $300M in measurable economic impact — through a complete organizational rebrand, a national PSA campaign with 160,000+ airings, and the digital infrastructure that made it all scalable.

At the Department of Homeland Security, it produced federal communications that won First Place at the National Association of Government Communicators — proving that full Section 508 compliance and genuine creative ambition aren't in conflict.

At Ecrion Software, it rebuilt a global SaaS brand from the ground up — introducing a brand mascot system that was a first in the enterprise document automation category, and a conversion-architected web presence that changed how the company went to market.

I lead creative teams, manage cross-functional production pipelines, and build the systems that make great work repeatable — not just possible once. I'm currently available full-time and as a fractional Creative Director through IC-CS Group.

Career Arc

The
Record.

15+ years. Every role a different challenge. The same standard of work.

2015 — Present IC-CS Group Creative Director

Multi-vertical creative consultancy operating across nonprofit, tech, government, and entertainment. Implementation Science methodology developed and deployed across all client engagements. Available fractional for strategic creative leadership.

Brand Strategy Creative Direction Fractional CD Implementation Science
2020 — 2023 Keep America Beautiful Creative Director

Led the complete rebrand of a 70-year-old national nonprofit — identity, digital infrastructure, affiliate toolkits, and the national "Recycle Like Everyone's Watching" PSA campaign. 11.9M participants mobilized. $300M economic impact. 160,000+ airings. 50 states.

National Rebrand PSA Campaign Mass Mobilization 20,000+ Affiliates
2017 — 2019 Loch Harbour Group // DHS S&T Lead Creative Director

Directed high-compliance creative operations and interactive media for the Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate. Managed a 10-person cross-functional team. NAGC First Place — "Mobilizing Innovation" interactive digital experience. 100% Section 508 compliance.

Federal Communications Section 508 NAGC Award Team Leadership
2015 — 2016 Ecrion Software Marketing Director

Complete brand and GTM rebuild for a global enterprise SaaS platform. New identity, web architecture, brand mascot system — a first in the enterprise document automation category. Conversion-focused UX built to reduce onboarding churn and improve lead quality.

SaaS Rebrand GTM Strategy Brand Mascot Web Architecture
2007 — 2015 Independent Creative Direction Creative Director / Producer

Independent creative direction, production, and brand work across entertainment and media. Credits include content reaching 4 billion viewers at the Athens Olympics, and creative contribution to the $40M Mel Gibson feature Apocalypto. One Thousand Voices NGO — documentary and campaign work.

Film & Broadcast Olympics Coverage Documentary Independent
Creative Philosophy

How I
Think About
The Work.

01 // Strategy
The Brief Is a Diagnosis

Most briefs describe what a client wants. The real work is figuring out what they actually need — and those are rarely the same thing. I spend more time on diagnosis than most teams spend on execution.

02 // Systems
Design for the Worst Case

A brand system that only works at headquarters is a style guide, not a brand. I test every system against the hardest real-world scenario: a local chapter with no budget, no designer, and ten minutes.

03 // Constraints
Constraints Are the Creative

Section 508 compliance. Federal approval pipelines. 20,000 affiliate partners. Every constraint I've worked within has produced better work than the unconstrained version would have. Limitations force clarity.

04 // Proof
Behavior Is the Metric

Impressions are a starting point, not an outcome. The work isn't finished when it launches — it's validated by what people actually do afterward. 11.9M participants. $300M impact. That's the standard.

"Tim is one of the best colleagues and most creative people with whom I have had the pleasure of working. He successfully led the rebranding efforts of the legacy nonprofit and consistently delivers exceptional results."
Helen Lowman
CEO — Keep America Beautiful

Ready to Work
Together?

Full-time or fractional — let's figure out how I can help your organization close the gap between strategy and results.

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