About

Ideas on demand

Hello, I'm Theo—a strategic creative leader who builds and amplifies brands. I've spent my career developing branding, creating advertising, and designing experiences for companies large and small.

An illustrator and filmmaker by design, a designer and copywriter by necessity, I've managed to create a lot of diverse work. I've worked in film, video, print, pencil, and puppets. I've been freelance, client-side, agency-side, and co-founded my own creative shop. I've had a hell of a ride surfing this strange digital tsunami as it collided with my other passions—and I am here to help you do the same.

work

Some of my more recent efforts

Spackle

A few brands I've worked with

Writing

Featured articles & essays

In these lean times of economic turmoil, budgets are being slashed to ribbons yet project scopes continue to be loaded with every new shiny tactic. Sadly, one of the first activities to get the “boot” is good writing.

There is a lot of buzz about what brands are today and what their roles are in society (good or bad). The moniker of “brand purpose” is not a new one, but is one that has taken on new meaning in recent years...

We have all heard the overused maxim “Fast, cheap, good. Pick two,” this colloquial has been driving the very dangerous notion that you can control any two aspects of any project only at the cost of the third.

Speaking

Irreverently relevant presentations

Your First Idea Sucks

Dispelling the myth of creative genius

A revealing look at the creative process, how people think, and why perspiration, iteration, and collaboration are often pushed aside for the dream of spontaneous, singular ideation.

Audience: Creative Leadership | Teams | Students

Duration: 60-90 mins

Building Better Briefs

Making the mundane into moonshots

Every marketer says they know the value of a good brief, yet 81% admit that they are providing bad briefs. Discover the elements of an actionable brief, how to use them, and why briefs are the first step to great work.

Audience: Creative Leadership | Brand Managers

Duration: 45-60 mins

Believe

Magical thinking in the post-truth era

Conspiracy theories. Pseudo-science. Memes. Why do we believe the things we do? Take an unexpected journey where critical thinking and science are misused to convince you to believe in the ridiculous.

Audience: Business Leadership | General

Duration: 45-60 mins

How to Tell Lies & Influence People

An Honest look at Persuasive advertising

Great advertising is all about appealing to both the emotional and rational parts of our brains. Explore the delicate balance of building compelling narratives that persuade action without resorting to deception.

Audience: Leadership | Creative Teams | Students

Duration: 60-90 mins

When it comes to creative leadership, it doesn't get much better than Theo. He's got that special ability to take big ideas and make them digestible. And the best thing...Theo's a good human.

Emelia Rallapalli

Founder - Pebble Strategy

Deeply empathetic and strategic with his approach, Theo has the skills to break down complicated concepts and reimagine them in ways that are accessible—and in work that people love

Renee Crawshaw

Content Strategist - Netflix

Theo is a creative genius, a rare combination of strategic, execution and discipline. Deeply experienced with the ability to articulate complex solutions to clients and grounded enough to mentor creative staff.

Jane E. Barrett

Digital Brand Builder