Ryan Trenhaile

I make complex things make sense.

Creative Executive

Creative leader.
I build the system,
build the team,
and stay in the work.

Keep going.

Open to VP or Head of Creative roles, remote or in California, and select fractional work.

Proof, not adjectives

  • $6MBusiness co‑founded,
    annual revenue
  • 25+Years of creative
    leadership
  • EmmyEmmy Award,
    Outstanding Commercial
  • 132Page brand book,
    developed and authored
  • 5-10→2-3Revision rounds lowered
    before and after
Awards
  • Emmy Award, Outstanding Commercial
  • 48 Hour Film Project, Best Special Effects (2016)
  • 48 Hour Film Project, Best Title Sequence (2015)
Open Big Brand Book mockup
CalVEBA
Foresight Sports software interface
Foresight Sports
Stadium tug of war game on phones and big screen
Game Changer MVP
Unconventional Awards title card
T-Mobile
Film still from Prometheus
Film and VFX
Ford Tug of War stadium game
Game Changer MVP
Foresight studio mode tiles editor
Foresight Sports
Stadium scoreboard graphics
Game Changer MVP
T-Mobile phone advertising
T-Mobile
Wall of stadium game screens
Game Changer MVP
Greenscreen to final composite
Film and VFX
Foresight room setup screen
Foresight Sports
Bud Light stadium game
Game Changer MVP
Compositing node graph
Film and VFX
Flashpoint game control tool
Game Changer MVP
Foresight shot tree overview
Foresight Sports
Game On trivia on a phone
Game Changer MVP
Turbo Trivia game sheet
Game Changer MVP

Selected clients, studios and teams

  • Microsoft
  • Qualcomm
  • Illumina
  • Rockstar Games
  • Capcom
  • PlayStation
  • Nintendo
  • Scott Free
  • T-Mobile
  • UFC
  • Formula 1
  • Puma
  • Dallas Cowboys
  • New York Jets
  • Los Angeles Rams
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Tampa Bay Lightning
Ryan Trenhaile at a broadcast control room switcher
Ryan Trenhaile

The belief

Brands, products and creative teams get complicated. My job is to make them clear, cohesive and shippable. Strategy, design and story in one system, with a team that can run it without me.

Healthcare / Science / Technology / Sports / Gaming / Film / Motion Graphics

Learn more about my story

Recent

Featured work

Client / year / role

Open Big Brand Book mockup

CalVEBA Big Brand Book

CalVEBA / 2023 to 2026 / Art Director, Creative and Brand Lead

There was no creative department. I built it from scratch, starting with two people new to design. We rebuilt about 99% of the brand, I wrote the 132-page Big Brand Book, and revision rounds fell from 5-10 to 2-3. A team of 4 now delivers 100+ projects a year.

View the Big Brand Book (PDF)
Foresight Sports golf simulator interface

Foresight Sports

Golf technology / 2020 to 2023 / Senior UI/UX Engineer

I led UI/UX direction for an aging golf technology ecosystem and modernized it through the company's acquisition by Vista Outdoor.

View selected screens
Stadium tug of war game on phones and big screen

Stadium experiences

Game Changer MVP / 2011 to 2020 / Co-founder, Creative Director

I co-founded the company and led 20+ artists directly. We turned fans' phones into stadium game controllers for Ford, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and others, and grew the business to about $6M a year.

More stadium videos
BatRX on desktop and tablet

BatRX

Baseball Pros / UI/UX design

I designed the learning systems for a batting technology that helps professional baseball players choose the right bat. I studied how players and instructors work together, defined the swing and ball-contact measurements that mattered, and built the pipeline for player profiles and batting data. Players review detailed metrics after each session. Professional players use it today, and it is making a difference in the game.

View selected screens
T-Mobile keynote and campaign work

Keynotes and campaigns

T-Mobile / 2020 to 2024 / Creative Consultant

As a creative consultant I led creative for executive keynotes and campaigns across motion, UI/UX, video and advertising.

Film and VFX work

Film and VFX

Studios and productions / 2009 to 2013 / Compositing Lead, VFX Consultant

Selected film credits.

  • The Avengers
  • Captain America
  • Fast and Furious 6
  • Godzilla
  • The Green Hornet
  • Gulliver's Travels
  • Hansel and Gretel
  • John Carter
  • Kung Fu Panda
  • Prometheus
  • Shrek 1, 2 and 3
  • Spider-Man
  • Thor
  • Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland
  • Walking with the Enemy VFX BreakdownsVFX Supervisor
  • White House Down
  • and more...
Diagram of the Legend3D artist pipeline

Rebuilding a pipeline for 100+ artists.

Legend3D / Dec 2009 to Oct 2010 / Compositing Lead

At Legend3D, a major film conversion was on a tight deadline when our artist pipeline began producing artifacts in the final deliverables. I traced the problem to how our proprietary software handled the work, designed a new process and changes to the software, and presented the approach to DreamWorks. I worked with developers to build it and moved a team of 100+ artists onto the new workflow. We delivered a very large project on time at DreamWorks quality, and the process became how the company worked from then on.

Read the full story
Scientific visualization still

Scientific visualization

BioNano / Regulus / REGIO Biosciences
Illumina / IRRAS / Receptos

Videos for major science and life sciences brands.

How I lead / one of three

Build the system.

I turn scattered brands and products into one clear system people can actually use.

CalVEBA: rebuilt about 99% of the brand and wrote the 132-page Big Brand Book the whole company runs on.

How I lead / two of three

Build the team.

I hire well, teach what I know, and set a standard people can hit.

CalVEBA: built the department from scratch, revision rounds cut from 5-10 to 2-3. Game Changer MVP: 20+ artists reporting directly.

How I lead / three of three

Stay in the work.

I am the executive in the room and still the one with hands in the file.

Led creative for T-Mobile keynotes. Software interfaces for Foresight Sports. Stadium experiences for pro sports.

Said about the work

In their words.

Ryan played a pivotal role in leading the creative vision and execution of our full organizational rebrand. This was far more than a visual refresh.

Any organization would be fortunate to have a creative leader with Ryan’s talent.

Madeleine BaudoinDirector, External Affairs and Public Engagement, CalVEBA

Ryan was the creative energy and genius essentially behind our company. It was his vision and creativity that enabled our market differentiation with our clients.

Ryan partnered with the development team to translate his vision and design into incredible market disruptive solutions.

Aaron CohnExecutive VP, Xcite

He is an amazingly talented designer, and as well, a tremendous people person.

Ryan’s a born collaborator. He gets people involved, makes them feel like they are #1 and knows how to get the most out of people.

Jakob OllénMotion Graphics Designer

Last year we had 12 weeks to turn the assets around and this year, with the same scope of work, we only had 6 weeks!

A huge thanks Ryan… you were a bloody champion mate and we certainly couldn’t have got there without you.

Alex FraserTLA Worldwide, Australia

Ryan has been a godsend, he is a very talented creative artist as the stylus seems to be an extension of his hand and fingers.

He makes the most difficult effect easily obtainable, interesting, and exciting.

Karl DeitchPost Production and Technology Supervisor

Story

I started as an artist. I kept the artist and added the operator.

  1. 1996Rockstar Games

    2D/3D artist on Midtown Madness 1 and 2, Resident Evil 2, Savage Quest, Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest, and more.

  2. 2003Nutshell Digital, LumenVox

    Founded a studio, then grew into running UI/UX and brand for software.

  3. 2009Film and VFX

    Compositing lead, then independent work on The Avengers, Thor and Prometheus. Emmy winner.

  4. 2011Game Changer MVP

    Co-founded, built to about $6M a year. Turned fans' phones into stadium game controllers.

  5. 2011+Game Changer MVP / Two clients, one render farm

    Two major clients landed with nearly overlapping deadlines while our render farm and pipeline were still growing with a small company. I split the 20+ artists into two groups, gave each its own render window, tightened review cycles, and kept the team's workload balanced. We delivered both projects, and both clients were happy.

  6. 2020Foresight, T-Mobile, CalVEBA

    Modernized a product ecosystem through acquisition, led creative for T-Mobile keynotes, built a brand and a department from scratch.

Ways to work together

Pick the shape.

Product

Creative systems

Brand, product, campaign and pipeline systems: the identity, standards, templates and team that make creative work every time.

See how I build systems
Service

Creative leadership

Full time VP or Head of Creative, or fractional for teams that need a first creative leader, a rebuild, or a launch.

Contact

Let's build
the next one.

If you need a creative leader who can set the vision and run the machine, I would like to talk.

Open to VP or Head of Creative roles, remote or in California, and select fractional work.

Download resume LinkedIn
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