Jon Setzen
Creative Director
& Brand Strategist
Hi, I’m Jon, a Creative Director who has spent the past 25 years building brands and the teams behind them. My experience spans startups, technology companies, agencies, nonprofits, and creative communities, from grassroots initiatives to global brands. My work has helped launch companies, support acquisitions and IPOs, raise millions of dollars in funding, and create campaigns that have reached audiences around the world.
Beyond my day-to-day work, I’ve spoken at conferences around the world including SXSW, Future of Web Design, Smashing Conference, and Agile Iceland. I also founded and led the Los Angeles chapter of CreativeMornings, producing nearly 75 events and helping grow one of the world’s most influential creative communities. Whether through mentoring, speaking, or community building, I’ve spent much of my career helping shape the next generation of creative leaders and fostering environments where creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking can thrive.
Work History
1Password, Sr. Director, Creative & Brand
I’ve led the Creative & Brand team at 1Password since 2022. My team of brand, interactive, and motion designers have been instrumental in 1Password’s transformation from a consumer app to a cybersecurity leader trusted by more than 185,000 businesses.
I was hired as Kandji’s first Creative Director to refresh their brand as the company began its global expansion. In my time there, Kandji opened offices in the U.K., Australia and raised a Series C round of $100m.
Kandji, Creative Director
Bluebeam, Sr. Global Creative Director
I spent close to five years leading Bluebeam global brand design team through a period of global growth throughout EMEA and APAC. My team produced countless global campaigns, customer events, and increased company revenue by more than $150m.
Media Temple, Sr. Creative & Brand Director
Working closely with the company’s CEO and Founder on a rebrand that would aid in Media Temple’s eventual acquisition by GoDaddy who later IPO’d. My team developed an updated brand, a new website, and countless events including SXSW.
Something Massive, Creative Director
As Something Massive’s first Creative Director, I designed the agency’s branding, build design teams in Los Angeles and Buenos Aires, pitched, won, and led projects for Toyota, Disney, Yahoo!, Telcel, Kartell, and Facebook.
Standard Motion, Creative Director
I founded a small agency in Brooklyn, NY called Standard Motion. What started as an agency specializing in work for record labels like Sony, RCA, and Columbia grew into a full service studio working for brands like Nikon, Budweiser, and the City of New York
CreativeMornings, Los Angeles Chapter Founder & Host
I founded a small agency in Brooklyn, NY called Standard Motion. What started as an agency specializing in work for record labels like Sony, RCA, and Columbia grew into a full service studio working for brands like Nikon, Budweiser, and the City of New York
Selected Works
Below is a small collection of work I have created or led over the years. More complete case studies are available on request.
The Small Hours
Still Frames for Restless Times
In the Summer of 2025, in an effort to defeat the algorithm to actually share, view, and enjoy imagery again I launched The Small Hours–a monthly journal of 35mm film photography. I’ve been carrying a 1994 Pentax ESPIO 140 point and shoot camera that belonged to my Grandfather. It’s not a great camera, but he was a great photographer who would capture beautiful moments with this camera. Carrying a film camera again has had a clear connection to a drop in my screen time . The images are merely snapshots and memories I took for myself. There’s an emotional side of film photography that I am not finding in digital. When I look at these less than pristine images of mundane moments, I am immediately transported back there. I can remember the moment vividly than a digital image, at least that’s what it seems like. Doing this regularly for the better part of the year is rekindling my love of photography.
Client List
ACLU, 826LA, 826NYC, Alicia Keys, American Photo Magazine, Arista Records, Black & Decker, Budweiser, Columbia Records, Disney, Dockers, GenArt, Insound, Jive Records, J Records, Kartell, (mt) Media Temple, Municipal Arts Society of New York, New York Magazine, Netquote, Nikon, Oregon Symphony, Razorfish, Reaction Commerce, RCA Records, Redux Pictures, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Public Library, Scion, Sony Music, Sony Pictures, Swrve, Target, Telcel, Timeout New York, UCLA Department of Art, Universal Pictures, Westinghouse, Whitman Hart, X-Prize, Yahoo!
Speaking Engagements
South by Southwest–solo talk (Austin), Generate (NYC, London, Las Vegas, Prague), Smashing Conference (Oxford), Future of Web Design (NYC, London, SF), Agile Iceland (Reykjavik), MX Conference (SF), CreativeMornings (LA).
Featured Press Placements
Apartment Therapy, Brooklynites (Powerhouse Press), Daily Candy, Design*Sponge, Gothamist, How Magazine, Herman Miller, How Magazine, New York Magazine, Paper Magazine, People Magazine, Print Magazine, Swiss Miss, TimeOut NY, Urban Cookbook (Thames & Hudson), Vanity Fair, Web Design Index Best Websites of the Year Vol. 3 & 4 (Pepin Press)
Press Interviews & Podcasts
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The Great Discontent
A very long interview I once did with the creative magazine, “The Great Discontent.”
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The Noun Project
A chat about iconography, inspiration, and the ACLU with the good people from The Noun Project.
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Use All Five
A conversation about CreativeMornings and the power of bringing people together.
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UI Breakfast Podcast
I spoke to Jane Portman about meetups and the design community for her wonderful podcast.
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Morning Person
A profile interview with the content team at CreativeMornings.
