Karat Financial
Building a financial brand for the creator economy.
Role: Founding creative → Creative Lead → Creative Consultant
Scope: Brand identity, art direction, web, campaigns, merchandise, events, and team development.
The challenge: Give a growing fintech company a visual identity and brand experience that felt connected to the creators it served.
My contribution: I evolved the identity, directed its application across digital and physical channels, and partnered with leadership, product, growth, engineering, and sales. Alongside the work, I helped grow the creative team from one person to ten.
01 — Brand system
I refreshed the logo, color palette, and brand guidelines to bring Karat closer to the visual culture of its cardholders. The system established a shared direction for how the brand could show up across web, marketing, and physical experiences.
02 — Bringing the brand to the web
I directed the website’s visual design as part of the refresh, translating the identity into a digital experience through brand direction, layout, and graphics. The before-and-after work below shows how the new visual language came together.
Website before joining the company
Website Version 1 (Credits: With ALL-HANDS Studio - Webflow implementation)
Website Version 2 (Credits: With ALL-HANDS Studio - Webflow implementation)
Website Version 3 (Credits: With ALL-HANDS Studio - Webflow implementation)
03 — A brand people could wear
I extended the identity into merchandise designed to build recognition and community beyond the product. My role covered design, material sourcing, production, and distribution.
The hoodie became a recognizable expression of Karat’s brand, supported by creator photography and content that could live across marketing channels.
Merchandise F/W 2022
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(Credits: Photography by Skylar Wagoner)
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(Credits: Photography by Skylar Wagoner)
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(Credits: Photography by Skylar Wagoner)
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(Credits: Photography by Skylar Wagoner)
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(Credits: Photography by Skylar Wagoner)
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(Credits: Photography by Skylar Wagoner)
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(Credits: Photography by Skylar Wagoner)
04 — Building a creator community
I built Karat’s events program from the ground up, connecting its community positioning with experiences for creators. I led creative direction and design alongside vendor coordination, site planning, scheduling, budgets, photography, and video.
The goal was to balance the quality of the brand experience with acquisition costs and the long-term value of creator relationships. As the program grew, I brought on a community lead and event coordinator to support its next stage.
Photography: Skylar Wagoner.
Supernova - EP 1
Supernova - EP 1
Casino Night x Team RAR
Casino Night x Team RAR
Casino Night x Team RAR
Casino Night x Team RAR
Casino Night x Team RAR
Supernova - EP 2
Supernova - EP 2
Creator Food Night
Creator Brunch
Creator Night
Creator Brunch
Creator Barbie Party
Sam and Colby 20M Subscribers Party
Creator Food Night 2
Karat x Discord Event
05 — Turning creators into the campaign
I proposed an outdoor campaign that put Karat’s creators on billboards in Los Angeles and New York. The idea treated creators as businesses worth celebrating and gave them a brand moment they could share with their own audiences.
The strategy paired the visibility of outdoor media with the potential reach of creator-led social distribution. I worked across teams on the concept and delivery, coordinating vendors, graphics, and photography.
Photography: Beige Productions.
Billboards - New York
Billboards - New York, Times Square
Marketing / Socials
Character Archetypes
06 — AI-assisted visual storytelling
I developed tarot-inspired character archetypes to turn customer insights and different creator revenue streams into a distinct visual language for product marketing.
I used Stable Diffusion through AUTOMATIC1111, with custom LoRA and model workflows informed by tarot references and my own artwork. The work combined generative tools with a defined art direction and a specific communication goal.
Social Proofing - Instagram
Ad Creatives
Socials - 3D
07 — Growing the creative team from 1 to 10
I helped build a multidisciplinary team spanning design and art direction, copywriting, product and web design, social, community, video, events, and content.
My role combined hands-on creative work with team development and cross-functional collaboration. That growing capability supported a broader brand presence across the product, campaigns, and creator community.