ABOUT ME

Greg Huntoon

My design career has spanned three decades, from building 800×600 pre-“dotcom” era websites to building brands and apps in the multi-platform universe we live in today. I am passionate about user experience in all forms, and believe that concept and intention drive the best designs. Many can make something look pretty. Fewer can make things that mean something.

I believe in being as hands-on as possible. Teams are work families. We spend more time with our fellow designers, developers, and producers than we do with our own children during the week. It’s essential to surround yourself with great people who are also talented. Humanity over talent every day of the week.

DEFY MEDIA VP, CREATIVE SERVICES

From 2010-2018 I led the Creative Services department at DEFY, built an award-winning family of (incredible) designers and producers, and created an obscene amount of design.

I started as a team of one, and over nearly eight years grew to fifteen strong. In the course of the last 4 years alone, we were responsible for 50+ show identities, multiple brand redesigns (for channels with millions of subscribers and billions of video views), 50+ motion packages, countless photoshoots, and 25+ sizzle reels; add to that, an unbelievable amount of presentations, decks, and daily thumbnails. We built a well-oiled machine that churned out stellar work, day in and day out.

TESTIMONIALS

I’ve had a chance to work with some of the best people in the game…

…can’t wait to work with each of them again soon!

Greg is an absolute pro in every sense of the word. He's a creative visionary and natural leader who's built out an equally talented team of artists and producers. By defining and implementing clear processes and best practices within his group, and solidly employing and broadcasting them across the company, Greg has created a bold, cohesive visual language that speaks loudly across all of DEFY's diverse brands. As a fellow creative executive, Greg's presence and envelope-pushing work inspires me to continually set and then raise the bar.
I had the pleasure of working with Greg for almost 3.5 years at Defy as my direct supervisor. He brought me on as a young and inexperienced Brand Designer but was patient, always had my back, mentored me through many of my projects, and has defined the way I approach design. Greg is a natural-born leader, excelling at bringing the best out of his designers and urging them to practice design thinking and understand the importance of concepts before execution. His passion, energy, and tenacity for outstanding design have become the cornerstone for how I work and elevate every project I work on. I can’t give Greg enough credit for how much of an influence he has on me as a person and creative professional and can’t wait for the opportunity to work with him again in the future.
In all of the ways you want someone in a VP of Creative/Creative Director position to be, Greg knocks it out of the park and then some. His years of experience in the industry coupled with his progressiveness towards exploring new design inspires confidence in those around him. Greg’s passion and drive to produce exciting work is met with his ability to empower his team; this earned us the reputation of being one of the highest performing departments in the company.
Greg is one of those rare leaders who is equally passionate about the people on his team and about the brand that they are developing and designing for. He combines his pixel perfect design with a solid technical background, allowing him to lead and contribute to multiple areas of an organization.
Greg brings a ton of enthusiasm and passion to everything he works on and that enthusiasm spreads throughout his team. Whether putting out a fire or tackling a new design project, Greg always comes to the table with a great attitude and mindset. Greg has a great deal of empathy which he brings to bare in his professional life. I think this is one of many attributes that make him a very incisive and keen leader. He's sensitive and receptive to other points of view and works hard to find common ground and solutions. One of the lessons I took away from Greg after working with him for a couple of years was how to see opportunity in a problem. Rather than look at something as an obstacle, or as a negative, Greg faces each challenge and problem as a unique building block and way to learn and grow.
Greg's boundless creativity, work ethic, versatility and adept execution skills have played a key role in driving our business forward. Greg is one of the few people I've worked with that has regularly astounded me with his ideas - many of which have turned into tangible, value-creating products. He's a designer, writer, manager, mentor, team mate, and above all voice of reason, integrity and drive. Greg is always one of the brightest lights in the room, never afraid to speak up but always seeking consensus with those around him.
Greg is a passionate design thinker with a clear and tenacious vision. During my two years with the DEFY Media family, Greg was my direct manager. He encouragingly guided the brand design team to be apt problem solvers with concept at the forefront of process. As a designer fresh out of college, he was a mentor to me and I never felt like I couldn't go to him for advice or clarification. Projects turned into learning experiences, no matter how small or large the design job was. He had a knack for turning stressful situations into enjoyable ones.
A talented and meticulous visual artist, Greg is equally skilled at executing beautiful, detailed design and prototyping powerful user experiences, while keeping in mind both the needs of the audience and the needs of the company. He displays an uncommon ability to focus narrowly on the smallest details, getting them just right, while simultaneously keeping in mind the big picture needs of every project. Greg's also a strong team leader who constantly inspires his art director and designers to to their best work, even under stressful circumstances. I'm fortunate to work with him on a daily basis.
In my time working with Greg, I found his ability to inspire and innovate always brought out the best work from everyone contributing to a project. With a keen eye for design and laser focus on user experience, his handiwork evolved concepts and ideas into something memorable. He's a pleasure to collaborate with, a great leader, someone who's got your back and an all around great dude.
Greg is sharp like a knife, and nice like a kitten, fast as a bullet and cool as a cucumber. I rec' him any day, and twice on Sunday.
Greg is a fantastic Creative Director, but he's more than that, really. He consistently brought new ideas - not just crazy ones, but solid, doable ideas - that always made the end product better. Plus, he's got a great personality and is super cool under fire - which he was, always, when he worked on projects with us.