Ken Tanabe: Resume
Skills
01
Leader of future-facing design teams and projects
Both establishing new teams and managing existing teams
02
New product development and strategic initiatives
In parallel with evolving existing products and driving usage
03
Cross-functional collaboration with diverse stakeholders
Including executives, product, engineering, research, fellow design
04
Mentorship and development of design talent
Complemented by 16 years as a professor of design & management
05
Building community and culture, and sharing it broadly
Enriched by community organizing and 100+ speaking engagements
Work Experience
Visa, New York
Senior Director, Design Forward, 2022-present
Led a design team focused on defining future strategic opportunities and evolving existing products while delivering short and long-term business results. A build on the success of my existing team, I defined an expanded remit to drive innovation in new opportunity areas (e.g. data, AI) and accelerate executive priority initiatives. Established an iterative UX/UI design approach to solidifying new concepts and driving alignment. Multiple team patents.
Design Director, Digital Partnerships & Fintech, 2020-2022
Selected to lead a net-new design team dedicated to growing high-value deals (total net revenue in the hundreds of millions) and securing partnerships with diverse global companies including big tech, social, fintech, digital currency/blockchain (e.g. crypto, CBDC), and more. Established a a highly collaborative horizontal function with diverse stakeholders including executive, business, technology, and fellow design partners across our organization.
Director, Innovation Design (Experience and Engagement), Visa NY Innovation Studio, 2018-2020
Developed engagement frameworks that drive innovation through a human-centered design practice. Facilitated client workshops and presented session content in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams. Prototyped digital experiences and produced media for large-scale immersions.
J&J Design (Johnson & Johnson Design and Innovation Studio), New York
Design Manager, 2016-2018
Integrated design across all of the company’s business groups in service of innovation. Managed dynamic design teams within a matrix organization. Advocated and represented human-centered design within multidisciplinary teams of leaders, scientists, engineers, and other specialists. Combined leadership, design thinking, strategy, and craft.
Gretel, New York
Technical Director, Lead Animator, 2012-2015 (multiple contracts)
Select projects: technical direction for Google Chromebook takeover of multiple Times Square video billboards. Lead animation for Viceland, television network for youth media brand Vice (won awards from Art Directors Club, Type Directors Club, D&AD).
Google Creative Lab, New York
Creative, 2013-2014 (multiple contracts)
Worked on fifteen confidential projects to imagine and develop future Google products. Contributions included concept creation, prototyping, design, and animation. Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams with diverse specialities including creative technologists, developers, engineers, writers, film makers, and fellow designers.
Imaginary Forces, New York
Creative Director, Art Director, Designer, Animator, 2008-2015 (multiple contracts)
Select projects: creative direction of a confidential digital multi-platform project (responsive web, native iOS and Android apps). Results: top five in the App Store, hundreds of millions of website views, 12 minute average visit, and best-ever social and mobile engagement. Art direction for Lincoln Center architectural displays in collaboration with architects Diller Scofidio and Renfro.
Dirt Empire: Beyoncé UN Performance, New York
Art Director, Technical Director, 2012 (contract)
Supervised a creative team and technical pipeline for an immersive large-scale experience featuring Beyoncé’s live performance of “I Was Here.” The event was in honor of World Humanitarian Day. Social media impressions exceeded one billion via Thunderclap.
Freestyle Collective, New York
Senior Designer/Animator, 2005-2007
Select projects: art direction of BET J network redesign, Comedy Central promo design and animation. Select additional clients: American Express, Samsung, Polo Ralph Lauren, AMC, Apple.
AKQA, Washington, DC
Designer, 2000-2001
Select projects: website page design for DuPont, identity and website design for WorldCom, website design and research for Noor (Cairo-based Middle East internet solutions provider).
Ken Tanabe Design
Creative Director, 1998-present
Select projects: design for Pentatonix “PTX, Vol. II” album cover, including Grammy-winning single “Daft Punk.” Identity, website, poster, and print design for Brooklyn Historical Society “Crossing Borders, Bridging Generations” programming series.
Community Organizing
Loving Day (Design-driven Social Change Project)
Founder, 2004-present
Creator of the Loving Day global holiday, created as a design-driven social change project. It commemorates Loving v. Virginia (1967), the U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down laws against interracial marriage. Today, it's the world’s largest multiethnic community observation. The #lovingday hash tag has trended three times on Twitter (once at #3, twice at #5). Extensive global press includes USA Today, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, NPR, CNN, Washington Post, BBC, and many others.
AIGA NY (Professional Association for Design)
Board Member, 2019-2021
With 3,000 members, AIGA NY is the largest of 70 nationwide chapters of AIGA, the professional association for design. Served as chair of the Advocacy Committee and Communications Committee. Co-developed a new mission statement, and contributed to realigning chapter activities to support it.
Teaching & Critique
Parsons School of Design (Teaching Award Winner)
Part Time Assistant Professor, 2003-2019
Distinguished University Teaching Award Winner, granted to 4 in 2000 instructors (0.2%). Faculty in Design & Technology, and Strategic Design & Management departments. Select classes: Managing Creative Teams, Information (Data) Visualization, Motion Graphics (Advanced Techniques), interactive design, print design.
Yale University, School of Visual Arts, Parsons School of Design
Guest Critic, 2003-present
Classes critiqued include Design Research (SVA MFA Products of Design program), Senior Project 2: Capstone (Parsons School of Design), Design for Video and Film (Yale University School of Art), among others.
Public Speaking
Google, HOW Design Conference, Global PR Summit, Harvard, etc.
Public Speaker, 2004-present
Over 100 engagements at conferences, universities, and cultural institutions. Speaker, panelist, and moderator on creating change through design with a focus on innovation and community.
Select Press
Fast Company
The 4 next big things in fintech, crypto, blockchain, and Web3 for 2023
USA Today
What is Loving Day? June 12 marks landmark Supreme Court decision for interracial marriage (2020)
New York Times: Technology
New Emojis Are Coming (2019)
Los Angeles Times
One man’s quest for Loving Day, a holiday for multiracial Americans (2016)
Education
Parsons School of Design, New York
MFA (Master of Fine Arts), Design & Technology master’s degree (2002-2004)
New School University, New York
Individual classes: Business Management, Entrepreneurship, Basic Accounting, The Nonprofit: Idea to Reality (2007-2011)
BA (Bachelor of Arts), Fine Art/Graphic Design bachelor’s degree (1996-1998, early graduation, department valedictorian)
Languages
Fluent in English and French; student of Spanish and Japanese
Skills: Technical
Visual Software
Current hands-on expertise in Figma (including Figjam and Slides) and Adobe Creative Cloud (primarily Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects). Previously worked in Sketch, InVision, Mural, XD, etc.
Code and Scripting
Experienced in HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript and similar; responsive front-end frameworks (e.g. Bootstrap, Foundation); content management systems aka CMS (e.g. WordPress, Drupal).
Communication and Documents
Proficient in industry-standard applications, e.g. Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, Sharepoint; Google Workspace: Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive; Slack; Apple Keynote.