I’m Craig Jamieson. An executive creative leader, director and design professional.
About me
I’ve spent nearly three decades working across design, creativity and technology.
My career has taken me from making things myself to directing creative work, leading multidisciplinary teams and shaping design functions within organisations.
Today, I bring that experience to creative leadership, design direction and advisory work. I’m also interested in how AI and emerging technologies are changing what individuals and teams can create.
I’m based in the UK and work with people and organisations internationally.
My journey
My career has moved through three distinct stages, each building on the last.
I started as a designer, moved into creative leadership and eventually took on executive responsibility for design, people and organisations.
Throughout, I’ve remained interested in the work itself, the people making it and how good ideas become something meaningful.
Maker
I began as a designer, building an independent digital practice and learning through making.
I worked directly with clients, experimented with emerging technology and took ideas from concept through to delivery. That gave me a practical foundation in design, creativity, technology and business.
Leader
Moving into advertising changed the scale of the work.
My focus shifted from what I could make myself to what a team could create together. Creative direction, collaboration and developing people became central to how I worked.
Executive
In executive roles, the responsibility widened again.
The challenge was no longer only the work itself, but the teams, standards and decisions around it. I became increasingly interested in how organisations build strong design capabilities and create the conditions for people to do their best work.
What I do
My strength is creative direction. I enjoy developing ideas, guiding teams, solving problems and helping people produce work they’re proud of.
I’ve worked across brand, content, digital products and services, with experience spanning independent studios, advertising agencies, consultancies, startups and large organisations.
That breadth allows me to approach challenges from different perspectives, whether I’m directing a creative project, developing a product, strengthening a design function or helping a business make better decisions about its customer experience.
I also enjoy sharing what I’ve learned through mentoring, teaching and speaking.
What I’m exploring
Technology has been part of my creative life since the beginning, and I’m as curious about it today as I was when I started.
AI is particularly interesting because it’s changing the relationship between creative direction and production.
For much of my career, bringing an idea to life meant assembling and directing people with different specialist skills. Today, many of those same capabilities are available through tools that allow me to explore, develop and produce work independently.
I’m experimenting with these possibilities across design, development, animation, digital products and brand experiences.
It doesn’t replace the value of working with talented people. It gives me new ways to apply my experience, explore ideas and make things happen.
Recommendations
I worked with Craig on some huge projects and found his knowledge, skills, and approach made for a great combination. His approach to team work and setting direction worked really well. I highly recommend Craig.
Derek Tedder
Craig led the Design Function at MOHARA for three years, bringing a wealth of knowledge and strategic expertise to the role. He excels at leading teams and made significant contributions at both the board and leadership levels.
Richard Sams
Craig turns complex briefs and challenges into beautiful solutions that work, he profoundly gets design thinking and working in a way that makes him a leader in his field and a pleasure to work with.
Dave Duarte
I had the pleasure of working with Craig Jamieson at MOHARA Ventures, and I can confidently say that he is one of the most effective design managers I’ve ever worked with.
Karma Spies
One of Craig’s greatest strengths is his capacity to lead and inspire a diverse team of designers. He fosters an environment of collaboration and innovation, encouraging his team to push boundaries while maintaining a clear vision and high standards of quality.
Yvonne Mason
Craig's emphasis on fostering a close relationship between designers and developers significantly reduced miscommunication and streamlined our processes, leading to higher quality outputs. His leadership and collaborative approach have been instrumental in driving our design infrastructure forward.
Cameron Olivier
He has dedicated himself to mentoring and creating an environment where designers of all levels can thrive and grow. His ability to recognize and build on each individual's strengths is remarkable.
Jason van der Linde
Throughout our time working together, Craig has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, deep expertise in product design, and an unwavering commitment to mentoring and developing his team.
Fernando Scharnick
Craig Jamison has been and incredible leader, teacher and mentor, his design skills and attention to detail are exceptional, but also on a human level he is compassionate and so patient!
Gomez Bakwene
Craig has been an outstanding leader to work with. His dedication and enthusiasm for delivering top-notch design work, combined with his skill in fostering creativity among all team members, have greatly contributed to my growth as a designer.
Simone Formato
Pure talent wrapped up in a brilliant mind. A leader of people. He stands up for what is right, is tenacious and persevering. Loyal, reliable and highly intelligent. Not afraid to have hard conversations and will make sure the job get done.
Shera Deavall
Craig is one of the best creative directors I have ever worked with. His deep passion for innovation and craftsmanship is inspirational, and anyone who has had the pleasure of working with him will feel this contagious energy.
Kyle Bowman
Craig is an extremely talented and creative all-round designer. He is able to operate successfully at both a strategic and implementation level.
Ivone Veiga-Moroldo
Craig is one of the most knowledgeable, inspiring creative minds I have work with on and off over the plus 10 years. At Nedbank, he built and lead strong creative teams to deliver on the digital values and goals that Nedbank is out to achieve.
Lara Lee Templemore-Walters
Having worked with Craig at multiple stages in my career, from an intern to a senior copywriter level, at each of them, an element that remained consistent is that Craig is always willing to teach, to guide and assist.
Ridwaan Goolam Hoosen
He defined the creative vision for design in the corporation and engaged with senior stakeholders to establish it. He helped build a strong and productive design team of over 100 people and created a great culture to work in.
Mike McLeod
He grew a mature design team of over 100 designers/problem solvers from the grassroots up, built a world class Design System and delivered customer centric digital products, experiences for our users.
Angus Ewing
I highly recommend Craig as someone who can lead companies and their teams into forward thinking, solutions driven design that solves at the heart of both the user and business requirements.
Junaid Gaibi
As a colleague, Craig was incredibly generous with his time and expertise. Craig would always guide in a way where his team would feel heard and respected in their opinion.
Louise Salemink
He is a fierce and yet humble leader who has a passion for design and most of all a passion for developing people to reach their full potential.
Leonard Ngobeni
Craig is an amazing leader and creative thinker. Anyone fortunate enough to work or collaborate with Craig will definitely broaden their knowledge of the Digital World and learn valuable tricks of the trade.
Priscilla Tencaramadon
Craig runs a courses and design for us, and his results are superb. His dedication and experience come through in his teaching, as well as his commitment to results. Who else do you know that takes design tutorials for fun?! He's a master.
Dave Duarte
Craig takes his work very seriously and goes beyond the call of duty to produce awesome digital campaigns. He is committed to inspire because he is in touch with the digital world.
Katinka Pretorius
In those two years Craig and his team consistently produced work of high standard, driven by strong ideas, backed by striking design, impeccably executed and fully integrated into the multiple channels that each project required.
Greg Cameron
He is highly skilled in the digital creative, business, client relationships and people management, with an expert knowledge in the area of digital marketing, all of which has been demonstrated through his very successful role as Digital Creative Director of M&C SAATCHI ABEL.
Jason Murison
I have worked with Craig both as a client and provider. Craig's insights into design and strategy have shaped many of my views about creative businesses and his integrity is inspiring.
Paul Jacobson
While working with Craig across our Cape Town & JHB agencies I came to know that Craig has a strong technical background with very high creative standards.
Clair Rivera
Craig is a amazing creative director always supportive and highly skilled in design and website design. His got a great eye for detail and is always up to date with new trends nationally and internationally.
Shameema Lewis
He has the ability to organize and supervise his studio for successful project completion, whilst keeping the morale of the team up and motivating everyone even with an impossible deadline looming.
Gizelle Canavan
As a digital designer, Craig is an absolute perfectionist and a strong conceptual thinker who is constantly pushing digital into new exciting areas. As a Creative Director, he knows how to inspire teams and isn't afraid of collaboration or getting his hands dirty.
Chad Wright
Craig is a great creative and is always pushing boundaries in the digital space. He inspires he's team to ship the best work. He is the best Creative Director, I've even worked with.
Mpumelelo Macu
Craig is highly professional, knowledgeable and efficient. When faced with a challenge, he WILL find a solution.
Steffie Betts
A consummate professional, his passion for the medium, relentless drive to stay abreast of new technology, and love of detail, permeates everything he does.
Michele Sanders
I've used Craig for the last two designs of http://www.flashmagazine.com and I'm very pleased with result. Craig has a great eye for detail / color and he is a pleasure to work with.
Jens Brynildsen
He motivated me to concentrate on my priorities, which clarified my next steps.
Ella ChenLing Hung
Craig gave me clear, practical feedback on my portfolio and helped me think in ways I hadn’t considered.
Sirmind Kumar
He helped me a lot with his experience. Appreciated every minute of our conversation.
Olga Reimgen
A keen observer, patient listener & honest speaker, his advice are rooted in insane amount of experience (both success & challenges). Therefore his solutions are real, nuanced, personalised and relatable.
Saswat Satyadarshi
He gave me honest feedback and go-to action steps.
Fatma Hassan
Craig has an incredible ability to truly listen and understand the problem. He asks the right questions and offers thoughtful, practical guidance that makes you feel seen and supported.
Anirban
His feedback was clear, encouraging, and full of actionable insights.
Vuk B
He’s motivational, thoughtful, and always available to guide and affirm with genuine care.
Harini Rajeshwara Rao
Every conversation has given me more confidence in my capabilities and knowledge. Craig provides thoughtful, actionable solutions.
Jess Wan
Craig was extremely helpful. He immediately dove right in to what I wanted to talk about, was empathetic, gave new ways of approaching the situation and we have even followed up several times.
kelly payne
I learned a bunch from Craig and got an interesting insight into how to present myself and how I need to be more expressive and out there.
AR Paslar
He understood my situation quickly and gave practical advice on portfolios, case studies, and how to leverage my background. His perspective on design systems and the industry was valuable, and he was encouraging without being unrealistic.
Anonymous user
Craig's problem-solving abilities were inspiring, and his motivation kept me energized throughout our conversation.
Yasaman aminian
Craig is the type of person who makes you feel the hype of the moment, the sensation that things will be great.
Pablo
He gave me super helpful advice on my CV, portfolio, and social media, but more importantly, he left me feeling hopeful and motivated to keep doing the work I love.
Sherif Soldatov
Craig guided me through how AI systems screen resumes and gave me very constructive suggestions on updating mine.
Shuli Zheng
His amazing communication skills made it easy to ask questions, and he always provided multiple solutions to my challenges.
Nicole de Beer
Fantastic session with Craig. Really easy to communicate and helped to build confidence ahead of a very challenging interview. Excellent advice and support in preparing for the interview task.
Rebecca Roberts
I just had my second meeting with Craig, he’s really encouraging, and his mentoring gives me the motivation to keep pushing forward with the ideas I have in mind.
maryam karimi
Craig provided a wealth of actionable suggestions, some of which I have already implemented.
Piotr Kmita
He gave me some great insights about my portfolio, my resume and even some extra activities I’d never thought about.
Wojciech Wilowski
I could tell very fast that Craig is very experienced and knowledgeable not only in the discipline of design but also the business aspect of it and the intricacies of corporate culture in relation to my particular niche.
Robin Di Capua
He gave me the very valuable feedback of finding and maintaining a clear 'voice' in my portfolio.
siddhant vernekar
Craig is radical clarity. Craig won’t tell you what you want to hear. He’ll tell you what you need to hear. And somehow, he’ll do it without making you feel small.
Guidione Machava
He helped answer my long-standing questions and provided me with really good recommendations that I could put to use immediately.
Tamanna Sareen
His golden advice was exactly what I needed to gain a fresh perspective and reignite my passion for my craft.
Candice Leicher
Great listener, with great experience, thanks for the guidance and insight!
Gomez Bakwene
His extensive knowledge in the design domain and his resourcefulness have been invaluable to my growth.
Siddharth Kumar
He was very helpful and insightful with all the questions I had on the UX industry.
Jason van der Linde
Awards
Recognised by industry leaders
Sharing
Sharing what I have learned has become an important part of my work.
I contribute through education, speaking, writing and mentorship, using my experience to help others develop their thinking, strengthen their judgement and navigate the changing role of design, creativity and technology.
Teaching
Teaching gives me a way to share the thinking behind the work.
I am interested in helping designers develop judgement, not just technical skill. How to frame a problem, explore an idea, make decisions and explain the reasoning behind them.
Speaking
I speak about design, creativity, technology and leadership.
The subjects closest to my experience are creative leadership, building design capability, moving from maker to leader, and the changing relationship between people, design and technology.
Mentorship
I mentor designers and creative leaders as they move into new stages of their careers.
The conversations are practical. We work through decisions, challenges, responsibilities and the realities of leading other people.
Books
I read across design, leadership, psychology, health, technology and whatever else makes me curious.
My library is a record of some of the books and ideas that have stayed with me.