Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Thompson.
Hi Brian, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My love for design started early. I was the kid who cared about how things looked and felt, who paid attention to logos and packaging and the way a good layout could make you feel something. By the time I was studying graphic design I knew this was the thing I wanted to spend my life doing.
The first real turning point came when I was nineteen. I was a graphic design student, and DC Shoes, one of my favorite skateboard brands at the time, offered me a job. That’s a surreal thing to happen at that age. You go from admiring a brand on the wall of the skate shop to helping shape how it shows up in the world. It taught me how identity, photography, and culture all work together, and it set the tone for everything that came after.
From there I went to Nixon, where I got to go deeper on craft. Watches and accessories live or die on the details, so it sharpened my eye for typography, materials, and the kind of precision that separates good work from forgettable work. I learned how to build a brand system that holds together across product, retail, and everything in between.
Later I had the amazing chance to craft the identity for the Huberman Lab Podcast, which was a different kind of challenge. Translating science and ideas into a brand that feels clear and trustworthy is its own discipline. It stretched me to think about storytelling and communication, not just aesthetics.
Then came 805 Beer, a project that quite literally changed my life. The work brought my family and I from San Diego up to the Central Coast, which is now home. There’s something fitting about that. A brand rooted in this place ended up rooting me here too.
Today I run my own creative business, partnering with founders and teams to build thoughtful, effective brand systems. Every step of that journey, from a nineteen year old getting a shot at a dream brand to where I am now, comes back to the same thing: a real love for design.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it hasn’t always been smooth, and I honestly don’t think anyone could tell you theirs has.
One of the biggest challenges has been keeping pace with how fast this industry moves. When I started, the tools, the timelines, and the way work got made looked completely different. Since then I’ve watched the whole landscape shift again and again. New programs to learn, social media changing what brands need and how fast they need it, and now AI reshaping the way we all work.
The other big leap has been going from working in-house to running my own business. For most of my career I had the structure of a team and a company around me. Going independent meant becoming the creative director, the marketing director, a salesperson and the bookkeeper and everything in between, all at once. You quickly learn that great design work is only part of the equation. You also have to find clients, manage relationships, price your value, and keep the lights on. It’s been humbling and a real education, but it’s also pushed me to grow in ways I never would have if I’d stayed comfortable.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At my core, I’m a creative director and brand builder. I help founders and teams create brand systems that are both beautiful and effective. My background runs across identity, typography, photography direction, packaging, digital, social, retail, and experiential, so I can think about a brand as a whole rather than as a single piece. A logo is only the beginning. What I care about is how every touchpoint adds up to a feeling.
If there’s one thing I’m known for, it’s bringing both the art and the strategy to the table. I came up as a designer with a real love for craft, so the work has to be considered down to the typography and the smallest detail. But years of leading identity and campaign work for brands like DC Shoes, Nixon, the Huberman Lab Podcast, and 805 Beer taught me that craft only matters if it’s in service of a clear idea. I try to live in that space where beautiful and effective meet.
What sets me apart is probably that range and that perspective. A lot of people are great designers or great strategists. Because I’ve worked across so many categories and so many parts of the brand experience, I can connect the dots in a way that’s hard to do from inside one lane. I also genuinely partner with the people I work with. I’m not handing over files and walking away. I want to understand the founder’s vision and help build something that can actually carry it.
What I’m most proud of is the through-line. From a nineteen year old getting a shot at a dream brand to running my own studio today, I’ve been able to do work I believe in, for brands I believe in, without losing the love for design that started it all. I still get the same excitement seeing my work out in the wild that I did as a young designer. Spotting it on a shelf, a screen, or a billboard never gets old. Building thoughtful brand systems that help good people grow their businesses is very rewarding to me.
What’s next?
I’m genuinely excited about what’s ahead. I want to keep growing the studio and keep partnering with founders and teams on brand work I believe in, but I’m also pushing myself into some new territory.
The biggest one is podcasting. Having worked on the Huberman Lab Podcast, I got a close look at the medium and the way it can build a real connection with an audience. It pulled me in. For me it’s a natural extension of what I’ve always done. Branding has always been about storytelling, and podcasting is just storytelling in another form. It’s a chance to share ideas, have conversations that matter, and connect with people in a way that’s more direct and personal than a logo or a campaign ever could be. I’m looking forward to learning a new craft from the ground up again, which is a feeling I love.
Beyond that, I want to keep building a business that lets me do meaningful work with good people, stay close to my family here on the Central Coast, and keep following my curiosity wherever it leads. If the last twenty years have taught me anything, it’s that the best things tend to come from staying open and chasing the work that excites you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.btdesignandcreative.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/btdesignandcreative/
