Hugo Tavares
Creative Director | Brand Strategist
me@hugotavares.us
(407) 446-8830
Tampa, Florida · Remote-available
linkedin.com/in/hugotavares
www.hugotavares.us

Professional Summary

Creative Director with 20+ years of experience leading brand strategy, design teams, and high-impact marketing campaigns across healthcare, finance, and technology sectors. Expert in visual identity design, design systems, and creative direction using Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and AI-assisted workflows. Proven track record building and mentoring design teams, streamlining creative operations, and delivering measurable business results.

Professional Experience

Creative Director
2024 – Present
Levo Health, Tampa, Florida
  • Lead creative strategy for 40+ healthcare and wellness clients, managing visual consistency across all touchpoints
  • Established design standards framework, reducing creative cycle time by 35% and enabling faster time-to-market
  • Managed and mentored multidisciplinary design team, collaborating with cross-functional partners
  • Directed vendor relationships and production, maintaining 98% on-time delivery rate
  • Pioneered integration of AI-assisted tools (Midjourney, Runway), increasing creative output capacity by 40%
Design Manager
2022 – 2024
Boatsetter, Tampa, Florida (Remote)
  • Refreshed brand identity across digital channels, repositioning marketplace as premium leader and increasing brand awareness by 25%
  • Led cross-functional creative initiatives for 6+ major product launches
  • Directed design team of 3-4 designers, improving user engagement by 18% and conversion rate by 12%
  • Managed design budget allocation and vendor partnerships to optimize costs
Senior Marketing Designer
2022
TraceAir, Tampa, Florida (Remote)
  • Created marketing assets across digital and print channels, supporting company positioning and launch initiatives
  • Produced 20+ social media campaigns, contributing to 35% increase in engagement
  • Designed interactive product mockups and wireframes in Figma to support product development
Senior Graphic Designer
2021 – 2022
Ideal Agent, Tampa, Florida
  • Led design and video production for television commercials, digital campaigns, and platform interfaces
  • Edited and color-corrected video content, applying UX-informed design principles to enhance engagement
  • Managed project timelines and coordinated external production vendors
Design Manager
2017 – 2019
Eleven Financial, São Paulo, Brazil
  • Evolved brand's visual identity and messaging across marketing campaigns and digital platforms
  • Directed YouTube channel strategy, increasing subscribers by 45% and viewer engagement by 60%
  • Conducted A/B testing on marketing materials to enhance campaign performance and conversion
Senior Art Director
2013 – 2015
PremierPet, São Paulo, Brazil
  • Designed catalogs, brochures, sales kits, and technical specification sheets for veterinary audiences
  • Directed creative for 8+ major trade shows, producing event booths and on-site collateral
  • Produced magazine advertising campaigns aligned with seasonal launches

Recommendations

"Hugo is a great creative talent and personality to have on a team. At Boatsetter, he was known for bringing optimism to work every day and approaching every new creative challenge with curiosity and enthusiasm."

Michael Farb, CEO, Boatsetter

"Hugo always provided clarifying suggestions and incorporated feedback in a constructive way. His optimism and open-mindedness in the creative process are as valuable as his design prowess."

Luke Campbell, Director of Operations, Boatsetter

Core Competencies

Strategic Leadership Brand Development, Creative Direction, Art Direction, Visual Identity, Product Strategy, Design Operations, Team Building
Design & Visual UI/UX Design, Design Systems, Prototyping, Motion Design, Data Visualization, Packaging & Print
Marketing & Content Voice & Tone, Messaging, Content Strategy, Conversion Optimization, Storytelling
Tools & Technology Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, After Effects, Asana
Project Management Design Ops, Agile Workflow, Vendor Management, Budget Administration, Remote Leadership
AI & Innovation Midjourney, Runway, Sora, Firefly, DALL-E, Veo 3, AI-Assisted Workflows

Additional

Languages
English (Fluent), Portuguese (Native/Fluent), Spanish (Conversational)
Citizenship
Brazilian-American
Experience
5+ years remote team leadership; 6+ years international experience managing cross-cultural teams; 15+ years in creative leadership

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design
Estacio de Sa Universities, São Paulo, Brazil
Graduated: April 2011
Foundation in typography, layout, branding, color theory, packaging, and print production with design thinking principles.

Professional Development

UI Design Bootcamp
Memorisely, Tampa, Florida (Remote)
January 2024
UX research, wireframing, high-fidelity prototyping with Figma, accessibility standards, and usability testing.
Animation with After Effects
Impacta School, São Paulo, Brazil
June 2018
Keyframing, easing curves, typography in motion, compositing, and export workflows for social and web.
Advanced Photoshop
Opa! Escola de Design, Fortaleza, Brazil
May 2011
Color correction, retouching, compositing, RAW processing, and CMYK preparation for print.