Creative Director. Writer, filmmaker, photographer, builder.

One creative mind that turns complexity into clarity - and work that people.

25+ years of ideas, identities, campaigns, films, books and experiences. I see the possibilities other people miss, then lead the team and still make the work myself.

See the work Read the CVshawn@shawnvandaele.com

Signature winsFull CV →

Nearly 30 yrs
Across design, brand, marketing, communications and fundraising - maker to leader, never stopped making
$3B+
Fundraising campaign ecosystems supported across nonprofit + healthcare platforms
18+ brands
Household consumer brands under one creative direction - Crock-Pot, Coleman, Sunbeam, Oster, FoodSaver
$140K+ net
Chai Lifeline's inaugural Rosh Hashanah Meal Program campaign - against a $40K goal
3x+ goal
Virtual Hike for Hospice pivot during COVID-19 - the program's strongest year
$7.5M+
Annual fundraising supported at Chai Lifeline Canada across 26+ programs

What I bring

Full CV →

Capabilities

Primary capability

Creative Direction + Hero Work

Leads creative from platform idea through final asset: campaigns, launches, web, photography and film. Has art-directed global work for 18+ household brands — Crock-Pot, Coleman, Sunbeam, Oster, FoodSaver — across packaging, retail, POS and integrated campaigns. Ships high-stakes hero assets personally when the moment demands it, and uses AI-assisted concepting, rapid iteration and pragmatic design systems to keep quality high across markets, channels and fast-moving teams.

See selected work

Team Leadership & Mentorship

Builds and leads multidisciplinary teams - from four- and five-person in-house marketing and creative teams to a 20-person studio at peak. Has led or mentored 50+ creatives and communicators across in-house teams, agencies and vendors through hiring, coaching, standards and creative direction.

How I build teams

Communications & Stakeholder Relations

Counsel to CEOs and Boards on executive messaging, speeches, reports and presentations, plus stakeholder, media, internal and issues communications - including full-cycle COVID-19 healthcare communications. Leaves behind messaging frameworks and editorial standards other people can run.

Comms track record

Film, Animation + Motion

Directs, produces, art-directs and edits motion work end to end: campaign films, donor stories, animation, motion graphics and social cutdowns. Writes scripts, runs shoots, cuts edits, scores music and delivers channel versions - now with AI for boards, previz, generative shots and sound design.

Watch the reel

Music, Songwriting + Production

Writes, records and produces original music - songs, hooks, beds and score - and uses it the way a creative director does: as the emotional spine of a film, a campaign or a launch. Comfortable writing to picture, directing music videos, briefing and editing sound, and building AI-assisted scratch tracks and sound design that survive a final mix.

See the music + motion work

AI Workflows + AI-Enabled Design

Builds AI into the creative process from research and concepting through first-draft copy, image generation, localization and QA - then documents the workflow so the team can run it without me. This site is the working proof: it retunes itself to whoever is reading it.

See how this site tailors itself

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