Role

Associate Creative Director
Creative Lead and Visual Design Lead

Creative Team

Led the day-to-day core creative team across art, copy, and motion.

Partnered with the SVP Creative Director and account team as lead art diretor for employer platform development

Partnership

One year

From Rapid Response to a Bigger Need

The account began as a high-volume assignment focused on rapid-turn motion and digital recruitment work. I led the creative team from brief through delivery, directing the work and keeping creative and account partners aligned through complex healthcare reviews.

As the work grew, it became clear that more individual assets would not solve the larger problem. UnitedHealth Group and Optum needed one employer platform that could support quick-turn communication without losing either brand’s identity.

Expanding the Creative Partnership

The assignment became more strategic as the client moved toward real employee stories and introduced new communication pillars. I recommended stepping back from individual headlines to define the larger employer-brand logic first.

The platform needed deeper strategy and copy leadership, so I brought the SVP Creative Director back into the process. I provided the account history and cross-brand requirements, then continued leading the visual direction as the platform developed.

Centering the Platform on Employee Voice

The Copywriter and I developed a direction built around authentic employee voices and warm, real employee imagery. The SVP Creative Director shaped the final copy structure and the Defined by You platform line.

The first word could change with the story, allowing the platform to move from Purpose to Growth, Innovation, or Autonomy while retaining a recognizable voice.

One Idea, Two Brand Experiences

I designed the complete visual platform for the selected direction. UnitedHealth Group used bold blue fields and rounded container shapes. Optum drew from its newly refreshed identity through a warmer system of color and form.

The employee voice and underlying idea remained consistent, but each execution felt native to its enterprise brand. I developed the visual logic so one approved story could move efficiently between the two without making them interchangeable.

Employer Guidance Within Enterprise Brands

The existing consumer guidelines were extensive, but they did not explain how to create a recognizable employer expression inside each system. I designed one comprehensive guide covering both UnitedHealth Group and Optum.

The guide documented how the employer platform should behave while preserving the flexibility of the larger brands. It gave future teams a practical framework without reducing the work to rigid templates.

Earning Brand-Team Confidence

Once the talent-acquisition team saw the platform take shape, the need for an employer-specific system became clear. The work was then presented to senior brand reviewers, including the team responsible for Optum's recently refreshed identity.

They responded positively to how closely the platform respected the enterprise standards while creating an ownable candidate-facing expression. I completed the approved multi-brand guidelines before my involvement ended.

My involvement ended after the multi-brand guidelines were approved and before the market launch. This case study therefore focuses on the platform, its governance, and the leadership required to move the work from rapid production to an approved system.