Top Designer Brad Hansen

Brad Hansen is a seasoned Illustrator and Graphic Designer with a passion for meaningful design and authentic illustration. As Creative Director at Lindenwood University, he leads a dynamic creative team within the marketing department, comprising of graphic designers, photographers, and videographers. Brad is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of designers, instilling in them not only technical skills but also a deep passion for creativity and innovation. With experience spanning agency roles at Brandmuscle, Artspeak, and Henning Communications, along with in-house positions at Richmar and currently Lindenwood, over the course of his career Brad has collaborated with esteemed brands such as Target, Danger Jones, and DailyOM, as well as many other small and large business clients.

Hi Brad! Tell us about yourself - how did you get to where you are today and when did you first become interested in design?

Hi! I live in the St. Louis Metro area and have lived in the Midwest my entire life. I have an awesome wife and two beautiful daughters. We like to say they are our best creations, which I completely agree with. Drawing started for me at a very young age, but not just drawing; I had the urge to create something. I pictured myself as an inventor as a kid but was fascinated with creating something where there was nothing there before. I like to say we create because our Creator created us out of nothing. I’m a Christian and a believer in Jesus, and He’s changed my life through a rough season of life and depression, more on that later.

As I continued into my teenage years, specifically my sophomore year of high school, in English class, my teacher had lighthouse pictures scattered across her room. And I mean lining the top of all four corners of her classroom. So, while I wasn't the perfect English student, I did find a love for drawing in that room. I drew every single one that year. This led me to take more art classes, then study art and design in college (I would draw through all those classes too), and the rest is history. Every time I see a lighthouse, I'm reminded that one moment can change the course of your life. It's ironic it was a lighthouse that navigated my path because as most know, they lead ships away from rocky shorelines. And I believe God (my true lighthouse) led me to a career path I LOVE, and I believe there is a purpose in all of this.

For all of the reasons above, I like to say “create more than you consume,” meaning the world will be a better place when you share your story and creativity with others rather than taking from it. I’ve realized stories are what connect us. And only being a consumer is a dangerous path. Consuming and not creating it leaves a blank hole to be filled, and nothing can fill it but you. The world would be a better place if we listened more than we spoke, gave more than we received, AND created more than we consumed.

**Designer Brad Hansen**

“Create more than you consume. Listen more than you speak. Give more than you take. Plant more than you destroy.”

How would you describe your aesthetic and how has your design style changed over time?

It depends on the project I am working on. In fact, I’d say I am a function-over-form (almost minimalistic) designer because my main goal is simply to communicate a message. And it’s often said that good design shouldn’t even be noticed. However, in illustration, I’d flip the script to form-over-function. I try to capture beauty in simple geometric forms with complimentary color palettes, subtle textures, and interesting compositions. And if I’m honest in my career, it’s been hard to tie the two together because they are different fields and have different expected outcomes and goals.

In terms of my style changing, I’d say with time, patience, and practice, my skills have grown. I’m not the designer I was when I graduated college. I’ve learned over the last 11 years in this field the foundations and the fundamentals of good design. It’s changed me, but the passion to get better has not changed.

Are there particular themes you like to explore through your work?

I’ll highlight three that are currently at the top of mind for me.

ONE: The most important to me is exploring how to tie in my faith, design, and illustration. I call myself a faith-based creator, but the mindset behind it is more powerful. One of my favorite Bible verses is Colossians 3:23: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." It’s comforting knowing I will never please everyone, but I can work for the Lord and be satisfied. Not only that but working with all my heart. This is where my passion for Art and Design comes from, and why I will never stop pursuing excellence in this field. The hunger to become better, but also realizing the pressure is taken away to not have to please every person is the KEY to the success I’ve had in the fields. And in all reality, if you try to please everyone, you’ll never find happiness. In fact, if all my work appeals to the masses, I would think something is wrong. This is also a journey and I’ll always admit that I am still learning how to do this. This is an endless exploration, and you’ll find some faith-based themes in my artwork and storytelling.

TWO: Right now, I am VERY curious about exploring the overlap of design and illustration. People oftentimes confuse art and design, and well I don’t think design is art, but art can be used as an avenue to communicate a message as well. BUT even though they are different fields with different skillsets, there are overlaps. And I’ve found some very interesting results. Especially in my bento scape and landscape collage series. Using grids, that are typically used in design/photography/web design and sometimes illustration. Like the rules of thirds, root 2/3 grid, column/baseline/hierarchical design grids, and bento grids. I like the irony of using something intended for another field and using it for my own intentions and exploration. But the overlaps are never-ending. Hierarchy, composition, contrast, balance, repetition (I use clouds in everything, obsessed and also a part of my brand identity), alignment, proportion (the list could go on).

I am also fascinated with creating illustration series. This is typically digital landscape art, but I LOVE sharing my process of going from sketch to final product on my social channels (@bhansendesign is where I share most of these processes). I treat these series almost as individual brand identity systems. Using similar colors, textures, shapes, forms, compositions, and now even typography to tie pieces together. These are usual 6–12-piece series of illustrations, and I’ve learned a lot in the personal explorations.

Throughout your career, you’ve worked both agency-side and in-house, and you’ve worked with a variety of clients including Target, Danger Jones, and DailyOM. What’s your approach to creative collaboration with your own team and with brand partners?

Listen more than you speak. Listen to understand and become a problem-solver. If you can solve problems for clients, they will come back for more. If you can listen as a leader, collaboration will skyrocket. If you listen as a coworker, projects will become clearer, and expectations will be met. Truly listening can also be one of the hardest things to do. It’s a skill to be learned and not something that will come naturally to everyone.

Collaboration begins with understanding. Whether it’s your client, boss, team, coworker, listening is the beginning of understanding expectations and knowing how to provide better outcomes. On the flip side, clear communication is one of the most underrated soft skills. What I mean by clear communication is, after listening, being able to ask the right questions, set expectations, and come to an agreement on the road ahead. You also can’t be afraid to speak up and communicate what you need to know. But learning when to speak is still a work in progress for me. Realizing this life is a long journey of slowly becoming better at simple things like listening and communicating is a huge step. Identifying the problem is the first step and where the learning begins.

In addition to running your own design practice, you’re currently the Creative Director at Lindenwood University. What does a day on the job look like for you?

First, I must give a shoutout to my marketing team, and the leader of the pack, our AVP of Marketing, Peter Colombatto (who is one of my mentors). Without these people and the teamwork it takes to be in Marketing, I would not be successful. Being a small (but mighty) team, we truly count on each other. So, a typical day involves leading a small team of creatives (photographer/videographer, graphic designer, student workers, and interns). I work off a flexible/hybrid schedule, which during the academic year is 2 days in the office a week. As the director of the university's creative strategy, I lead the evolution of our brand by emphasizing contemporary design trends, but also remembering the deep-rooted history of Lindenwood. On many days, I’m generating a wide array of marketing materials, ensuring consistent branding across both print and web platforms.

I also collaborate with our team and agency partners on large-scale marketing campaigns including Paid Digital Advertising/Social, lead generation to drive enrollment, and out-of-home signage and billboards, ensuring our campaign is cohesive, consistent, and follows our brand identity guidelines. Additionally, I provide creative direction for photography and videography projects, coordinating staff involvement to tell stories for the university.

Leadership is something I don’t take lightly and another trait I think is a developed skillset. I have a lot of fun at Lindenwood with my creative team and student workers/interns. I try to instill in them the passion I have for this career path and equip them to be successful, especially the students who come through our office. Teaching them things I wish I knew when I was in their shoes.

How do you find a balance between creating personal projects and client work?

I’ve learned the hard way, and sometimes that’s what has to happen. In 2022–2023, I found myself working my 40 hours/week at LU and then working another 3-4 hours a night on client projects and trying to do personal projects. This led to severe burnout and was a large contributing factor to going through a year-long depression. It’s odd to look back at that year and be thankful for it today. I learned more in that season than I have in 33 years of life. So long story short, I didn’t have balance. But I did find balance after coming out of a tough season. I realized my body, brain, and creative side needed some rest. And that it's okay to take breaks in a world that tells you the opposite.

Balance now is being content with where I’m at, spending time with my daughters and wife at night, drawing, or working on client projects a couple of hours a week, rather than a it being part-time job. And the most important thing for me is pursuing personal projects. Even though I know I could do client work and pursue all of that again, my personal projects/endeavors/explorations have kept me away from burnout for the last year. To sum it all up, balance for me is finding a place you love to work (whether it be freelance, agency, in-house, hybrid approach, etc.), spending time with those you love, getting much-needed rest (and sleep), and pursuing what you love to do. Spend time doing those things and the rest (no pun intended) will fall into place.

Lastly, if you or someone you know is going through a rough season, know that you are loved, it’s normal to go through hard times, it matters and that it will end. Like my dad always says “This too shall pass” and it does. I wish I would’ve known that while going through it. Check on your family and friends; depression is oftentimes hidden in plain view. A verse that helped me through that season of “lack of balance” is Psalm 40:1-2, a verse of hope. It gave me hope when I didn’t have any.

What’s been one of the biggest career lessons you've learned so far?

Well, the above lesson is hard to beat, but I’ll share a couple more thoughts. The overarching theme here is to seek community in things you are passionate about. I wasted a lot of time at the onset of my career being narrow-minded and isolating myself from collaboration and the design community. Only recently did I find out that if you want to get better at your craft, you should seek out those that you look up to in the field. Get comfortable in uncomfortable situations; it’s where you learn the most.

Find a mentor; I have a couple I really look up to and have meetings with, and can call and text, and they answer. In fact, one of my mentors (Eric Hungerford) taught me a lesson I’ll never forget: to ship at 90%, meaning it takes just as long to get from 0% to 90% as it does to get from 90% to 100%. Basically, your work can always be improved upon, and sometimes you just have to let something go. Another mentor of mine (Uriah Fracassi) has taught me processes and thinking geared towards becoming a better art director. Find those who are willing to critique your work and be open to feedback. Looking back at the early stages of my career, I would often find myself designing for myself or what I thought "looked cool" and honestly being afraid of critique. An awful mistake, but again, mistakes are how you learn.

Design with intent and purpose, realizing you have a target market. Put yourself in their shoes and think like they might think. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and seek answers. It will only make you better. Where community, teamwork, and passion overlap is where you’ll often find the best outcomes, products, and services.

Where do you find creative inspiration? Do you have any favorite design resources?

Well, Dribbble is really where it all started for me. I had a Dribbble account before I had an Instagram. I’ve been consistently posting there for about 12 years now. It’s been a community I will forever be grateful for and would be my #1 recommendation for a website to not just follow but contribute to! I’ve built relationships on there and I’m even friends with some of those designers I looked up to 12 years ago. Dribbble is usually the first place I go to find inspiration. Instagram is a great place too. But also keeping in mind that you can’t compare yourselves to others on a different journey than you. Comparison is the thief of joy. Social media is great if you can remember my tagline, create more than you consume 😜

ChatGPT has also become one of my best friends. Talking to a robot is interesting. I use it for nearly everything. Emails, social posts, I’ll have it proofread this very sentence. And it also knows my tone of voice and how I write. I don’t use it to write FOR me. I use it to help me check my grammar, punctuation, and with help ideating. It’s become a tool I use daily.

I also do freelance work for an amazing company called ArtSpeak Creative, and being in their slack channels is inspiring for me. They have such a refined process/strategic approach to their work. And they really care about their clients. Great company I have the pleasure to work a couple hours a week with.

But really, I think the best resource is people. If I admire someone’s work or have a question, I send them a message, email, text, and even have a couple I can call. Let it be a dialogue. Ask them their story, share yours. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your favorite designer or illustrator. They are just humans, and if they are anything like me, they would absolutely love to talk about design and illustration with you. It’s a lifelong passion for me, and I love a good conversation on all the nerdy things. And I love to learn from others.

Some of my favorite designers and illustrators are Von Glitschka, Chris Do, and the Futur Team, and James Martin. I’ll speak more on each below.

If I had to list some other resources that have made a large difference in my career, CHRIS DO and THE FUTUR YouTube channel changed my mindset on this industry. I’ve even purchased their typography class on their website. Understanding the foundations of type will change your career. I could not recommend that type class more. Ironically enough, it also inspired my grid-based landscape collage series when they get to grid-based layouts.

Another fantastic resource if you are into vector-based illustration/logo design is Von Glitschka (a guy I message quite often). In college, we did his vector basic training courses, and it made me fall in love with Adobe Illustrator. Von’s intricate process is mind-blowing and very inspiring. He also shares it for free on his PPLove YouTube channel. And he is also just an awesome human.

Following James Martin planted the idea in my mind that I should share my story. And he is right; it has led to me creating some of my best art and design. Communicating my story through artwork and design is a powerful tool. And everyone can relate to a struggle you’ve faced because you can’t get through this life without pain and suffering.

What advice would you give to designers who are just starting their careers?

Being in higher education, this is the sweet spot for me. I work with design students just about to start their careers on a daily basis. Those who are just about to enter this field. I have so much advice on the subject; I actually wrote a very long-winded LinkedIn post on this subject. I still keep in touch with many of them and would call most of them friends. In fact, I typically learn just as much from them. I am fortunate enough to be in a position to have an impact in this area. Here are some that have helped me the most. I learned more in the first year of working in the field (about graphic design) than I learned in 4 years of college. In my first agency position, my art director (Dave Lewis) taught me things about design that I couldn’t learn any other way than by working with real clients. But the fundamentals I learned in college are still with me today. I had some amazing professors in college as well that made a big difference in the direction I took post-graduation. I’ll highlight some of the best advice I could give to someone entering the design and illustration field. Stay humble [this may be the hardest], learn the fundamentals, then learn when to break the rules. Learn something new every day. Mistakes and failure are where the learning starts; we all make them, and failure molds us. Never claim to be a master in any program (I'm definitely not); you could get called out (I have), especially on your resume.

Always pursue creative projects outside of work; this ironically prevents me from burnout. You may never get your creative “fix” completely fulfilled at your job, at least in my own experience. Design is not always glamorous, but beautiful design is simply communicating a message. In fact, I’d argue design isn’t art unless that is the intention of the design itself. Rather, art is one of the avenues you can use to communicate a message through design. Design and illustration can also be subjective and should be; you're communicating to a target market who have different values, beliefs, and needs. But the fundamentals are the solid ground. Function should be allowed to come before form in design [unless you're going for an art piece, mentioned above]. Study your audience. Sketch out your ideas; you’ll find inspiration in unexpected ways. Think of yourself as a problem solver; clients love this. Branding and Brand Identity are not the same thing. Just tune in to Marty Neumeier content. He explains this better in his books than I can.

And I always have to end with this:

Create more than you consume.
Listen more than you speak.
Give more than you take.
Plant more than you destroy.

When you look to the future, what are you excited about?

I’m most excited about the journey I’ve found myself on. It took 33 years, but I can finally say I’m proud of who I am today. I’m not ashamed of who I was created to be. I feel like my life has a purpose and a plan ahead. And I know God’s plans are better than mine. Taking things one day at a time and not worrying about the next. Asking myself how I can get better and make the most impact in this very moment. Living in the moment is something people mention a lot. I think I sort of understand what it means now. I struggle every single day to live in this mindset, but I am confident in the road ahead and the One who is guiding me. I’m excited to see where this career takes me, to meet new people, to share my story, to collaborate with others, and to try to enjoy the ride.

In terms of the creative field and pursuing my craft, I am really looking forward to learning calligraphy, specifically blackletter typography. There is something to those letterforms that inspires me. The thing I am most excited about pursuing, though, is finding the sweet spot of my design skills and illustration skills overlapping. I don’t think there will be some sort of magical moment where they connect, but I won’t give up and will continue learning, remembering the journey never ends and you can always learn something new.

Thank you for sharing with us Brad! To view more of Brad’s work, visit his website and follow him on Dribbble and Instagram.

Brad was nominated by Dribbble. All images courtesy of Brad Hansen.

Brad Hansen