“I’ve been coaching leaders in their organizational contexts for 15 years. Very rarely, I say to myself, ‘I’d go work for or with that person in a heartbeat.’ That’s my experience of Micah—wanting to be on his team.”
Sarah Murphy Kangas,
M.A., Organizational Psychologist
Hi, I’m Micah,
I’m a dedicated leader, designer, and strategist with two decades of experience focusing on driving brand impact.
I call the beautiful Pacific Northwest my home and I love spending time with my wife, our 4 kids, and our friends and family, exploring and living in this wonderful place.
I bring the joy, curiosity, and passion from my life into my work and will continue to pursue the hope that we can shape our world for the better by putting good, meaningful, considered, and beautiful things into it.
“Micah’s love of brand work and its impact, his ability to connect with and distill input from colleagues, and his unyielding industrious nature helped him deliver in a few short months what would take others years.”
Brigham Eckrich, VP of Design
Experience
I've had the privilege of leading and mentoring top-tier design teams to do their best work, orchestrating and contributing to transformative brand development, and ensuring that creative output always aligns seamlessly with business strategy and objectives.
Capabilities
Brand design
Brand development, consultation, & strategy
Visual brand design systems and artifacts
Design research
Naming / Products, company, services
Facilitation
Design leadership
Presentation & public speaking
Micah Ellis, Sr. Brand Strategist
Owner/Designer
2003 - Present
Kinsa Health - 2yrs
Director of Brand and Creative Design
2022 - 2023
Brand and Creative Design Lead
2021 - 2022
Faithlife - 8 yrs
Head of Brand Marketing Design
2017 - 2021
Design Director
2014-2017
Graphic Designer
2013-2014
Pica Design - 6 yrs
Senior Graphic Designer
2011-2013
Graphic Designer
2007 - 2013
Education
BFA, Graphic Design
1999-2003
“Micah is a brand/design/culture/leadership powerhouse. He leads from a deep level of conviction and courage at a level that I've never experienced before.”
Nick Kelly, Executive Creative Director
Approach
Building a brand really just means practicing what you promise.
Your brand is an honest expression of values that are consistently expressed, both internally and externally. That’s why the design process always begins with finding, making sense of, and meaningfully expressing those values.
01 _ Truth
In the discovery phase, I work with you to understand the scope and objectives of the project and, most importantly, the values your project is meant to express. Whether we’re meeting in person or collaborating in a Google doc, the goal is the same: get it all out on the table so we know what we’re working with.
02 _ Clarity
Once we have all the information on the table we can start to sort through it and make sense of it. What can we change or what can’t we change? What are the parameters? What’s possible, feasible and relevant to the objectives that were identified in the Truth phase? What are the weaknesses we need to minimize and the strengths we need to maximize?
03 _ Meaning
Once we’ve identified the truth and made sense of it, we work to make our findings meaningful and relevant to our internal and external audiences. This where we start to see visuals and artifacts emerge. Sketches, mock-ups and more finalized work make their way into solidified elements, systems, and standards that are applied appropriately to the various touch-points and contexts.
“Micah is a natural creative leader. He understands people and is a gifted facilitator, mentor, and leader. Micah sees the big picture. He understands how creative work can help drive business results and build a powerful brand.”
Michael Collins, VP Marketing
