I am Ashish Kumar, a Design and Creative Director with 16 years of experience in the industry.
I believe that design is simply put- Art with a purpose, and I am always thinking about creating user-centered experiences that are both visually appealing and functionally effective. I am also skilled in leading and managing design teams, and I have a proven track record of delivering high-quality work on time and within budget.
I started my career as an intern at TBWA, where I worked on global brands such as National Geographic, Michelin, Adidas, and Pedigree. As an intern, I wrote a copy which got approved by Adidas and as well my design for the tee based upon that line. I then moved to Leo Burnett, where I was a dedicated resource on the Uninor team. I helped to launch the brand in 17 circles nationwide, and I also won an agency pitch for Samsung.
After Leo Burnett, I worked at McCann, where I produced designs for brands such as Reebok, MasterCard, Nescafé, and the country’s biggest newspaper brand. I also started dabbling in digital campaigns during this time, and I realized that people are more likely to recall what they experienced and how they felt, over what they see or read..
In 2013, I took a study break and went to Hyper Island for a Digital Media course. This experience was a turning point in my career, and I learned how to solve problems digitally. I also learned that the best learning is learning by doing, which is something I had been practicing since the day I started working.
After graduating from Hyper Island, I was picked up by Wieden + Kennedy as Digital Creative Lead for the Make in India initiative. I took forward the brand design language, designed the digital experience for the MII website, and worked on numerous print campaigns. Together with the team, we successfully conceptualized and executed global events like the World Economic Forum, Hannover Messe Fair, and the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. In a span of two years, ‘Make in India’ became the biggest global brand from India.
After spending 12 years in building brands and learning from some of the best minds, I was offered to build a consumer brand from the other side of the table. I joined as brand designer for a first-of-its-kind vegan gummies in India. We successfully took the vegan candies to US markets too, but unfortunately, we had to wind our operations due to lack of funds.
Post this, I served as an Independent consultant for a venture capital firm Lightspeed India. This experience gave me a great exposure on how venture funds market themselves. I developed various branded properties for reaching out and engaging the Indian startup community.
As a freelancer, I also developed brand identity and design system for a speciality coffee brand, and helped a sustainable lifestyle brand with their social media campaigns. During this, I also provided mentorship to a student startup project at Hyper Island.
Since 2021, I have been serving as Head of Design for a Series A, web3 startup- Coinvise. At Coinvise, I really enjoyed building the brand from scratch! I designed the logo-identity, Coinvise brand personality and the visual systems for brand communication. I also developed the ui/ux for product through all the iterations to what its today.
I am passionate about Web3 and the future it holds. I believe that the new models of transparency, ownership, and decentralization offered by Web3 have the potential to revolutionize the internet and create a more equitable and democratic society. I am also impressed by the emerging apps and brands that are building on Web3 like Seed Club, Zora, Mirror, Sound, Rainbow, Interface and Base by Coinbase. I am excited to be a part of this emerging field and to help build the next generation of web applications.
Here’s the link to my Resume (Last updated 11 August, 2023)
And yes, I agree. I am working on a new portfolio site!
