Brand Systems Design

Brand systems design work isn't just a discipline—it's a calling. When you set out to build the foundation of a brand, you quickly realize the system becomes much bigger than any single designer or team—it becomes the connective tissue that holds everything together.
Each decision, from a color token to an icon grid, carries weight. It defines how the brand speaks, moves,
and shows up in the world.

Creating these frameworks requires patience, empathy, and precision. The reward comes in seeing clarity take shape—watching scattered efforts align into a shared language that empowers every designer, marketer, and storyteller to create with confidence.

For me, building brand systems has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my career. There’s nothing quite like witnessing the transformation—seeing how one consistent system can unify everything from ads and presentations to data visuals and environments. It’s the kind of work that quietly shapes everything around it—and reminds you why design matters.

Iconography Program & Library

In 2022, I led a two-year initiative to create Morningstar’s iconography program—an ambitious, cross-company effort uniting designers, marketers, and stakeholders. What began as a fragmented collection of assets became a unified system of 800+ unique icons 9,000+ deployed assets and comprehensive usage guidelines.
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I directed every stage from building accessible libraries to aligning global teams around a shared visual language. The result is a scalable system that not only serves today’s needs but sets the foundation for future brand systems—one that now stands alongside the iconography standards of leaders like IBM and Google.

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Team:

Jonathan Peterson
Justin Woo
Teresa Abbate
Richard Johnson

Developers:

Dan Ciupuliga
Daria Anikanova

Program Partners:

Carl Barr
Lisa Itzkowitz
Seth Lucas

Morningstar Brand Motion & Guidance

Building on the Iconography Program, I created Morningstar's Brand Motion Guidelines. I set the tone, principles, and methods that guide how motion is applied across the company.

By leading this initiative, I built a framework that unifies products, marketing, and experiences—making motion purposeful, consistent, and easy to execute. The outcome is a practical system that simplifies execution while elevating the brand.

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Team:

Justin Woo
Teresa Abbate

Developers:

Dan Ciupuliga
Daria Anikanova

Morningstar UX Motion Framework for Products

Expanding on the Brand Motion Guidelines, I built Morningstar’s UX Motion Framework to bring consistency and purpose to product motion. The framework sets clear standards for interaction design—covering transitions, feedback, and micro-moments—while giving teams reusable tools to work faster and stay aligned.

The UX Framework ensures motion isn’t just decorative, but a core part of how users experience and trust the brand.

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Team:

Justin Woo
Noor Abdelrahim
Seth Lucas

Developers:

Dan Ciupuliga
Nadhim Orfali

Automation & Templates

Automation is problem-solving at scale. I’ve always been drawn to finding patterns in complexity—breaking down challenges and rebuilding them into frameworks that make creation faster, smarter, and more consistent. There’s a detective-like process to it: uncovering pain points, understanding user needs, and engineering solutions that quietly remove friction.

I’ve developed systems that enable global scalability—building templates, workflows, and frameworks that empower both designers and
non-designers to create high-quality, on-brand content effortlessly. It’s deeply rewarding to see how automation not only saves time, but also unlocks creativity on a massive scale.

Research Marketing Motion Framework & Template

In collaboration with Morningstar’s Research Marketing team, I built a scalable ad system that turned the company’s research into high-impact weekly campaigns. I started by developing a motion framework and playbook, rooted in the brand guidelines that I authored, that provided the structure for animation and engagement in ready-to-use templates. Together, these systems established a streamlined workflow, accelerating time-to-market while elevating design quality.

The After-Effects template was designed to be user-friendly with no animation expertise required. The template balances control and flexibly while strictly adhering to the systems guidelines created for social media ads.
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Template Features:

Auto scaling compositions
Auto formatting for all text, built-in line height adjusments
36 animated campaigns, with color control
7 cover options, with 10 color types
3,000+ possible combinations

Together, these systems established a streamlined workflow, accelerating time-to-market while elevating design quality.

RMS Team:

‍Vanessa Reu
Ryan Van Gilst
Marnie Vosper

‍Jaime Lyn Aitken
Marco Grittani

MIC Events Automation (APS)

The Morningstar Investment Conference (MIC) is an annual global event series spanning seven continents, each requiring a fully branded video package that delivers a seamless, engaging experience customized to its region and content. My goal was to produce thousands of tailored assets while also accommodating live, last-minute changes—all without breaking brand consistency.

To this end, I developed MIC Events Automation (APS) generating complete and custom video packages in minutes from a single input. Updates cascaded instantly, keeping every asset consistent while enabling real-time edits without design or technical support. Automation was used over a four year period delivering 5,000 assets and saving countless hours in production time and delivery.

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Team:

Renee Benz - Design Manager
Micheal Pettit - Creative Director
Barry Warren - Senior Designer

Graphics Package Examples

Video Package Assets:

Branding loop (Editable: logo)
Count down clock
Conference introduction (Editable: logo)

Lower Thirds (Editable: logo, name, company)
Session Titles (Editable: logo, title, speakers)
Annoucments (Editable: logo, text)

Opening Theme

An eye-catching opening sequence to kick off the conference.

Event Branding Loop

Interstitial loop played in between sessions with event branding.

Session Title Sequence

Played to introduce the keynote and its speaker. incorporating the opening theme with editable text element of each region.

End Tag

A quick hit to reinforce the event branding that signals the end of session or event.

Motion Design

Motion design has always been my first creative love. From the moment I discovered the magic of movement—the way it can inform, inspire, and captivate—I knew it would be a lifelong pursuit. With over 15 years of experience, I’ve explored nearly every corner of motion design: from product videos and social ads to long-form explainers and broadcast campaigns. The examples below showcase that range—each one a reflection of my passion for storytelling through motion.

Model Marketplace for Morningstar Direct

Producer, Lead Designer, Motion Designer / Product Marketing

A product marketing video highlighting Morningstar Direct’s new tools for scaling personalized portfolio strategies.

As Lead Creative and Motion Designer, I transformed a complex, hard-to-explain product into a clear and engaging story. I directed the creative vision, designed storyboards, and built all motion assets—bringing energy and clarity to the brand. The video highlights the product’s streamlined portfolio tools and built-in security through seamless transitions, morphing, and eye-tracing techniques that keep viewers engaged from start to finish.

Contributors:

Scott Halver - Producer
Alexandria Parks - Producer

George Castady - Sound Designer
Adam Verner - Voice Over

Morningstar Premium Offerings

Producer, Motion Designer / Social Media Ad

Social media ad from a 2018 campaign, highlighting the benefits of Morningstar premium membership.

This campaign was created to promote premium sign-ups through short, high-impact YouTube pre-roll ads. The goal was to highlight key product features with clarity and simplicity. As Lead Motion Designer, I crafted clean, minimal animations that complemented the streamlined visual design. Working closely with the design team, I ensured every motion reinforced the product’s modern, intuitive feel while keeping the message focused and engaging.

Contributors:

Brian Addison - Producer
Scott Halver - Producer
Teo Gomez - Art Direction

George Castady - Sound Designer
Adam Verner - Voice Over

Save our Savings

Producer, Creative Lead, Motion Designer / Long Form Explainer

A video series promoting financial literacy and guiding investors on saving for retirement.

This long-form explainer video guides viewers through the modern challenges of saving for retirement and how to overcome them. As Lead Creative, Producer, and Motion Designer, I shaped the overall concept, structure, and visual flow to make a complex topic approachable and engaging. Partnering closely with the illustrator, I developed a playful design language and crafted motion that maintains energy, clarity, and visual rhythm throughout.

Contributors:

Brian Addison - Producer
Ashley Bailey - Illustrator / Designer

Wesley Slover - Sound Desinger
Adam Verner - Voice Over

Steelseries - Enter The Unheard

3D Motion Designer / Commercial Campaign

A commercial campaign for steelseries Serbia Elite headphones.

This campaign highlights my 3D expertise developed early in my career. Collaborating with a large team of creatives, directors, and clients, I helped bring a captivating series of ads to life—combining technical precision with strong visual storytelling to deliver high-impact, cinematic results.

Contributors:

Dave Wasserman - Creative Director
Julian Gallo - Associate - Creative Director

Tyler Jay - Executive Producer
Bryan Haney - Producer

Bruce Long - Modeling
Jake Thomas - Animator