Available for senior leadership and consulting roles to drive High ROI Creative
I build the conditions where creative work actually moves the business.
Creative Director and Design Operations leader with 20+ years turning creative functions into scalable, measurable, AI-integrated business drivers. Trusted partner to CEOs and founders.
70%
Cost reduction achieved
$100K+
Monthly revenue driven via CRO
$50M+
Acquisition supported
01
The receipts.
Design Operations
2025 - 2026
Transforming a creative department into a scalable, AI-integrated revenue function
At WISE Digital Partners, the creative function lacked operational structure, consistent output, and alignment to business performance metrics.
Problem Space
I architected AI-integrated creative workflows across design strategy and production, restructured team composition to scale billable capacity, and unified Design and Copy under a Human-Centered model — securing executive approval for a full Q4 Creative Roadmap.
My Approach
2.6×
Capacity growth in 3 months
~1,000
Monthly billable hours scaled
50%
Labor cost reduction
In-house Studio Build
2020 - 2025
Building a globally distributed design studio with 70% cost reduction
Semiologie needed a high-caliber distributed creative team capable of delivering at agency quality — without agency costs or timelines.
Problem Space
I built and led the team from the ground up, implemented scalable workflows, embedded generative AI into production timelines, and player-coached creative strategy through a $50M+ SaaS acquisition — managing stakeholder reviews, asset readiness, and brand cohesion at every stage.
My Approach
70%
Cost reduction achieved
$50M+
Acquisition supported
CRO & Revenue Growth
2015–2018
Scaling creative-led revenue growth from $0 to $100K+ per month
Reviews.com needed to validate and scale a CRO program that connected creative execution directly to revenue performance.
Problem Space
I launched the CRO program with a lean team of three, generating $60K in early revenue. Then I scaled the cross-functional team — engineers, designers, analysts — and built an 18-month creative growth strategy that secured C-level approval and sustained measurable performance gains.
My Approach
2×
Team scaled from three to six
$100K+
Monthly revenue increase
+20%
Revenue growth delivered
Content & Brand Reach
2012–2015
Leading a visual journalism team to national media placements and SEO dominance
Highereducation.com needed creative content that could compete for organic traffic in a crowded vertical — and break through to earned media at scale.
Problem Space
I player-coached a nine-person visual journalism team — AD, designers, writers, analysts — to operationalize an infographic content strategy with viral reach. The work secured placements in Scientific American, Fast Company, Mashable, and TechRepublic, driving measurable SEO gains and category leadership.
My Approach
9
Person team led
4+
Tier-1 media placements
02
Case studies coming soon.
03
The feedback.
"Sam's strength is strategy — the ability to map out a complex situation so it can be understood simply and acted on. Managing teams, developing talent, and above all: execution. High level, fast, and painless. Sam thrives where he has clarity on the value he can provide, proving he could be effective within various cultures — a rare thing."
CEO, Stripes39
"Sam's been the tip of the creative spear for the most demanding CEO I've worked with in 15+ years, and he's successfully driven multiple brands from scratch to new heights. Even among the tens of thousands of design and creative leaders at Amazon, I never encountered someone so deeply skilled and multi-faceted."
Founder, Storytellers.ai
"Sam brings a rare combination of creative leadership, operational thinking, and business awareness that is hard to find. During his time with us, WISE grew 28% and saw meaningful improvements in profitability. Sam's leadership and execution were an important part of that progress."
Founder & CEO, WISE Digital Partners
Let's make your creative function unstoppable.
Open to Director and VP-level creative leadership roles, advisory engagements, and conversations about building high-ROI creative organizations. Based in Seattle — available globally.
Email:
sdfranada@gmail.com
Text:
LinkedIn:
+1 (206) 354-7343
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