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I would love to work with you

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My name is Jon Bader, and I am a partner, a father, an adventurer, a corporate professional, a mentor, a student, an artist, and a bunch of other things I didn’t know I’d be so lucky to be. Originally from Baltimore, with decades in Atlanta, I now live in Kalamazoo, MI with my wife, 2 daughters, and 2 super needy french bulldogs. The “arts” have always been part of my life, with skateboarding and graffiti-writing at an early age introducing me to graphics and graphic design, though it wasn’t until pursuing a degree in Drawing that I realized I would make a career out of it. I landed a full time job as a staff designer a couple of months after switching to design school, and since then I have worked my way from “scrappy, outspoken graphic artist” to “scrappy, outspoken creative director and design leader”.

I look forward to connecting, and discussing how my unique set of skills & experience could benefit your business and culture.


Thanks again,

Bader

brands I have supported

I've had a chance to work on some of the largest share brands in CPG, major retailers, and agencies, collaborating and negotiating with executive leadership and their teams, leading Visual Brand Refresh, Sub Brand Creation, Visual Brand Refresh again, Global Visual Brand Strategy, and more.

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Wynnona Francis

Creative Director

I hope you know how many lives you changed, how many brands you impacted, and how much you meant to so many. By seeing me for me, you changed the trajectory of my life and career in the most positive and magnificent way. Thank you for that!

Jeremy Nyboer

Marketing Strategy Leader

Without question, the best creative
leader I’ve ever worked with

Nate Young

SVP Design / ACSD Provost

He is a gifted designer, a collaborative creative professional and a person that holds high the value of team culture.One of the benefits of Jon’s unique skill set is his ability to understand the constraints of business while at the same time balancing those against any number of creative solutions and options. He can look at any design proposal with the pragmatism of a marketer and vision of an innovator. He has an astute ability for critique and decision making.

Nick Dalsin

VP System Design/Software

I highly recommend Jonathan Bader as an exceptional business partner. He has consistently supported me across a wide range of initiatives—from building impactful presentations and designing stunning graphics to providing thoughtful feedback on product ideas. Jonathan is not only incredibly creative and timely in his work, but he also leads his team with clarity and collaboration.

Alexandra Harcha-Montes

Visual Design Strategy Leader

Best creative leader I’ve ever worked with and an amazing human being. Thank you for taking a chance on me years ago. So grateful to life to have had the opportunity to work together, for your mentorship, your empathy, authenticity, and being someone to look up to. You changed the lives and career paths of many

Tracy Kretz

Innovation & Design Leader

Thank you for taking a chance on an Art Director with zero packaging experience. You were instrumental in igniting my career and true love for design and innovation.

Leticia Desiano

Events & Customer Engagement Lead

Jon’s ability to deliver thoughtful, well-executed creative concepts is unmatched. His work is not only visually compelling but also deeply aligned with the purpose and goals of each project. He is consistently timely, responsive, and solution-oriented, all while keeping the team engaged and inspired throughout the process. What stands out most to me is Jon’s unique blend of creativity and professionalism. He brings the most innovative design thinking I’ve seen in the company in years, all while maintaining a deep respect for the brand and for the people he works alongside. 

Julie Sheeran

Creative Director

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that you are always willing to take the time to help when I need it. You make the people around you feel important and valued because you never act like you are above the rest of us.

key accomplishments

  • Found cost savings and volume gains YoY, through unlocking efficiencies and future planning, instead of increasing headcount and resources, and received increased engagement scores every year. 

  • Led an enterprise team of 70+ through a global pandemic, with no missed launches and no reduction in volume, while maintaining a 2.4% attrition rate 

  • Over two years, created, vetted, and won executive sponsorship of an enterprise architecture combining my organization with the Digital org, into Communication Design – a global network of internal and external content supply and strategy

  • Without adding resource or reducing workload, carved a 12 person team out of the structure, and eliminated $2.2Million in external production costs, saving over $15Million over my tenure

  • Reduced average production error rate from 20% to 3.8%, in one year, while producing over 20,000 pieces of production artwork

  • Managed $2.5Million/year in Agency provided Photo/Video content, and $1.2Million/year in internal Photo/Video volume, across two major agencies and 2 internal studios

  • Developed, created, and maintained Positioning, Branding and Design guidelines for a $12Billion brand portfolio, avoiding millions in agency spend, and through an agile approach, could go from concept to production release of a brand refresh in 6 months

  • Early AI adoption for character development of Elmer’s Squishies, and part of a team that was creating AI personas that reflected the brands’ consumer segmentations, testing early concepts against their needs

  • Written and developed brand positioning and activation campaigns, and developed key visuals & test stimuli for 100s of new innovations

  • Innovation Panelist for a futures building workshop for Miller Coors

  • Co-developed products as part of the Innovation “board” for the brands, and as part of the Leadership team on VA/VE, found over $400Million in Packaging supply chain savings, feeding $$ back into marketing initiatives, and keeping or improving the brand quality perception

  • Panelist and Speaker for AIGA Chicago “Managing Remote Teams”, providing insight on challenges of working through Covid and how our teams stayed connected and productive 

  • Coauthored and co-led 6 cohorts of a multi-week course in developing presentation/pitch skills 

  • Awards for Branding from IDSA, How, Red Dot, and DIM 

  • Harvard Business School Leadership Training 2018

  • Harvard Business School Executive Mentoring Program 2021

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