Over the past few years, Will and his team at RAIN have pioneered the emerging world of Voice and Assistive AI. They created the first skill (Amazon’s name for voice applications), and have built multiple industry-defining products. He serves on Google’s Agency Council for Assistive AI, Forbe’s Agency Council and was named one of the top 44 leaders in creative AI by VoiceBot.

Will loves the big and the messy. He believes that design can change the world, and that good ideas benefit from scale and reach. This is how change happens.

Accordingly, he’s worked with Walmart (the Fortune 1 company) on green initiatives, the effects of which measurably lowered America’s carbon footprint. He’s worked with GAF, the largest roofing company in the world, to reimagine their ecosystem, saving millions globally. He even worked with Alibaba to help build their go to market narrative, which resulted in the largest IPO in the history of the stock market. Ever. The subsequent funds and innovation from that one day are reshaping an entire continent. Innovation can start small, but transformation needs scale. Think. Big.

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Will started his career in NYC at Chopping Block when they were a thing, where he animated music videos for They Might Be Giants, and worked on several interactive projects for top clients like LEGO, TCM and Dave Matthews.

From there, he landed at Pop & Company where he spent the next five years making 400+ games for amazing clients like Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Nintendo and the like. Games are one of the most complex things to design; the foundations of system thinking, design, UX, concepting, code and sound design inform his work to this day.

Most notably during this era is the work that he did for Adult Swim. Will and the team at Pop helped develop the brand early on, and created 40+ properties for Adult Swim, resulting in hundreds of millions of views and countless awards through the years. Will still quotes Squidbillies more than he cares to admit… he doesn’t see this stopping anytime soon.

After a series of viral successes, a Spongebob Squarepants credit and numerous accolades (including being named the “winner” of Pinterest... yes, there’s a story here), he landed at the influential design company Honest as an Associate Creative Director. There he learned how to direct (they were rep’d by Ridley Scott’s RSA at the time), build treatments, construct compelling narratives and design complex interactive experiences — most notably, reimagining ESPN’s fantasy sports platform. He also got to collaborate with Chip Kidd once, which made him giddy... because graphic design. As a director, he’s worked on countless productions, ranging from Super Bowl ads to 30 for 30 shorts for ESPN.

Continuing to blend technology, design, interaction and storytelling, he contracted with the seminal architecture firm Rockwell LAB. There he made interactive architecture for Google and YouTube’s offices, working with blended teams across all disciplines. This interdisciplinary approach to problem solving has become the cornerstone for his subsequent creative departments.

When not working, Will can be found traveling and speaking at conferences and colleges all over the world. He has a deep passion for helping others find the fulfillment that he’s been able to experience in his work; this same passion led him to teach at NYU.

Will’s work has been recognized by Cannes Lions, the One Show, the Art Directors Club, the Clio Awards, the Effies, the Webby Awards, FastCo’s Innovation by Design Awards, AIGA’s 365, 50 Books/50 Covers, Nickelodeon’s Kid Choice Awards, and countless publications.

His mom still has no idea what he does.

Do be in touch:
will@showpony.org


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