STEVE LACHANCE

Creative Director

Steve has worked on A LOT of brands. A whole lot. Here's why: at every ad agency, there’s an 80/20 rule. And the 80/20 rule says that there are a few people in that agency who account for 80% of the ideas and the work it produces. By the way, those are the people you want on your team. (There’s no charge for free advice.) Steve is in that group. He always has been. Because Steve is what we call a natural. Art direction is how he thinks. It’s how he sees the world. How he processes information. As a result, everything about Steve has been art-directed. Every piece of clothing, every flourish in his email signature, every background image on his phone, every facial hair and shaving decision he makes: it’s all art direction.

Now, I ask you: is that not exactly what you'd want from any art director who might be working on your business in the very near future? See, art directors are like rock stars. You don’t want them to be normal. You don’t want them to be the everyday dudes you down chicken wings with during a football game.  

The secret about Steve—the thing he doesn’t want you to know—is that he’s both. (Trust me, I’ve watched many football games with him.) And more than a few clients have learned his secret too. From Discover Card to HBO, TD Bank to Maidenform to Puma, Welch’s and Sam’s Club, Steve has been making the art direction decisions behind award-winning brand campaigns for more than 25 years. In particular, he’s created, defined and overseen the implementation of brand identity launches—including guidelines, internal systems and rollouts—for Fortune 500s like State Street Global Advisors, nonprofits like Safe Passage and retailers like Sweetbay Supermarkets.

Take Sweetbay, for instance. Steve led everything from their new advertising to exterior signage to the redesign of 200 stores across the Southeastern US. Even the product design. His is a portfolio defined by visual range, by free and far-reaching styles, all underpinned by consistently awesome craftsmanship. Steve's work has been recognized for excellence in broadcast and identity design. He is a graduate of the Portland School of Art, which technically no longer exists.