About

Hi, I'm Alex Austin. I am a creative director and illustrator based in Austin, Texas. Originally from the land of kickflips and microchips: San Jose, California. My art school days were spent in San Francisco where I attended the San Francisco Art Institute and the Academy of Art University. I have also lived, loved, and worked in Los Angeles, New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

I built and led a strong creative team at Restore Hyper Wellness as Creative Director. I got to solve the problem of how to tell ‘the Restore story’ of why and how they help people feel better. Brand elevation, website redesign, improved customer journey experience, company growth, team mentorship, and leading creative think tank problem solving were among my passions and grateful accomplishments there. Being authentic, compassionate and clear was my team’s ethos, and I believe it aided our cause to make real connections with our audience in our work. People can feel it if you’re not being authentic. You have to walk your talk. It was an honor and pleasure to be a part of that.

As Senior Art Director in charge of branding B2B marketing agency Bulldog Solutions (now Hero Digital) I addressed the challenge of updating their brand, web presence and drove marketing campaigns that exceeded engagement expectations. It was a thrill and an honor to be recruited by such an incredible agency filled with people as intelligent and talented as they are.

For four years I was the Art Director for the über hip startup software company People Pattern located on the East side of Austin. Ken Cho (People Pattern’s CEO) loved my Vespanaut t-shirt design and wanted to know if I could build their brand around the Vespanaut. Of course I was in. The look and feel gained in sophistication over the years while staying true a certain sense of irreverent fun. I also had the pleasure of also designing the current UI/UX of People Pattern SaaS platform. Let me tell you drawing and animating astronauts for a living was just as fun as it sounds. Read my blog posts that share my thought process regarding branding and design.

Prior to Bulldog and People Pattern, I was an award winning graphic artist for Whole Foods Market for seven years and the lead graphic designer for the flagship location / global headquarters leading a team of seven artists for three years. Throughout my career I have worked with many clients creating brands, digital illustrations, web design, chalk art, apparel print design, editorial print design and fine art paintings. I am strongly influenced by modern design trends, pop art, film, music and comic books.

When I'm not on the job, you can find me skateboarding, hiking and having art time with my kids, Ruby and Elvis.