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

The
Creative
Director.

Fifteen years, five verticals, national scale. I close the gap between what organizations build and what their audiences believe.

Brand Strategy Creative Direction Mass Mobilization Section 508 SaaS GTM Film & Broadcast Federal Comms Communication Strategy
// Fast Facts
Location Dallas / Fort Worth, TX
Experience 15+ Years
Availability Full-Time + Fractional
Industries 5 Verticals
Movement Impact $300M+ (KAB)
Movement Reach 11.9M (KAB)
Awards NAGC — 2× Winner
Entity Creative Mind Ventures LLC
// Core Disciplines
Creative Direction
Brand Architecture
Campaign Strategy
Digital Transformation
Team Leadership
Federal Communications
Communication Strategy
Visual Storytelling
The Profile

Most Creative Directors Have a Lane.

Fifteen years across nonprofit, federal, tech, entertainment, and brand — each a different environment, different constraints, different definitions of success. The method holds. The application never does.

The work isn’t done when it launches — it’s done when people change what they do.

At Keep America Beautiful, I led the rebrand of a 70-year-old national nonprofit and the PSA campaign behind it — 160,000+ airings across all 50 states, and a branded Giphy channel that drew 4.5M+ GIF views. The movement it powered mobilized 11.9 million people and $300M in economic impact.

At the Department of Homeland Security, federal communications that took First Place at the National Association of Government Communicators — full Section 508 compliance and real creative ambition, in the same work.

At Ecrion Software, a global SaaS brand rebuilt from scratch — a mascot system that was a first in enterprise document automation, and a web presence built to convert.

I build the systems that make great work repeatable, not just possible once. Available full-time or fractional, through Creative Mind Ventures LLC.

Career Arc

The
Record.

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

2015 — Present IC-CS Group Creative Director

Cross-sector creative direction across nonprofit, tech, government, and entertainment. Communication strategy applied to brand.

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

Led the complete rebrand of a 70-year-old national nonprofit. New identity, affiliate toolkits, digital infrastructure. The “Recycle Like Everyone’s Watching” PSA campaign earned 160,000+ airings across all 50 states. The organization mobilized 11.9M participants and generated $300M in documented economic impact that year.

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

Creative Director for DHS Science & Technology. Led a 10-person team through federal communications, interactive digital experiences, and print — all cleared through a multi-tier compliance pipeline. NAGC First Place. Section 508. Both.

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

Full rebrand and GTM rebuild for a European enterprise SaaS company entering North America. New identity, messaging framework, web architecture, and demand gen from scratch — including a brand mascot system that was a first in the document automation category.

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

Camera crew on the Athens 2004 Olympic Games broadcast — one of the most-watched events in TV history. In-office at Icon Productions during the $40M Mel Gibson feature Apocalypto. Founded One Thousand Voices — eight years of documentary and advocacy creative for humanitarian organizations in the Middle East.

Film & Broadcast Olympics Coverage Documentary Independent
Creative Philosophy

How I
Think About
The Work.

01 // Strategy
Start With the Real Problem

Most briefs describe what someone wants; the real work is figuring out what they actually need. I spend more time on diagnosis than most teams spend on execution.

02 // Systems
Build for the Field

A brand system that only works at headquarters isn’t one. I build for the worst case — no designer, no budget, ten minutes — and if it holds there, it holds everywhere.

03 // Constraints
Constraints Make Better Work

Section 508 compliance. Federal approval pipelines. 20,000 affiliate partners. Every constraint I’ve worked inside produced better work than the unconstrained version would have.

04 // Proof
Measure What Changes

I judge the work by what people actually do after it ships — not impressions. That’s the standard I hold myself to.

"Tim is one of the best creative directors I've ever worked with in my 13-year career. He does a great job of empowering his staff to explore creative solutions and push the boundaries beyond what clients often expect."
Isma'il Rashada
Loch Harbour Group — DHS S&T Directorate

Let’s Figure Out If We’re the Right Fit.

Full-time or fractional. Drop me a line and we’ll know in 20 minutes.

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