Aaron Pettijohn, Brand Lead, Design + Video. 2026 Reel.

As Design Lead at Sei, I helped guide the creative work across brand, campaigns, and digital experiences alongside a talented team. I managed six-figure budgets.

I led branding, marketing, video production, and partner relations for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers, working with external vendors and agencies to produce world-class branding and content. When children can’t come to the Zoo, Wildlife Explorers brings the Zoo to them. From leaping lemurs to precious pandas, the programming spreads laughter, joy, and fun to children who need it most, 24 hours a day.

I worked with authors Diana Kapp and Rebecca Blumenstein to create a cinematic launch trailer for The Last Free Women, following four young women evacuated from Afghanistan in 2021 as they begin again in a new land, language, and culture.

I built a consistent brand system using Claude design skills, then brought the templates into Canva so the marketing team could quickly create on-brand assets.

I co-produced and edited this eight-month global documentary on zero-knowledge technology, which premiered at EthCC in Paris.

I directed this brand film for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, bringing a conservation story to life through live production and wildlife filmmaking.

I create artwork and cohesive visual systems for Kate Schutt’s music, extending each single’s identity from its streaming cover to a coordinated social campaign. Back Home in the Real World and Strange Sounds each have their own visual language, carried consistently across imagery, typography, color, and layouts.

For Back Home in the Real World, I used Claude Design to explore draft concepts, then refined the artwork with Nano Banana and Photoshop. The finished cover is designed for Apple Music, Spotify, and other streaming platforms, with matching social assets built around the same visual system. The process video below shows my earlier album artwork work.

For this a16z explainer on stablecoins, I was given only an audio recording and asked if I could create a video with it. It was a fun challenge, and an awesome team to work with.

I admire how Boys Club engineers its own culture through kickass happenings and trend-crushing content. Making this “smart. but dumb.” sizzle reel with the team was very cool.

I edited this press reel for Janice Bryant Howroyd, founder and CEO of ActOne Group and the first Black woman to build and own a billion-dollar company.

I sketched this design during a branding meeting, and it got an immediate reaction from my friends at KDVR Television in Denver. It became a local viral hit, and you can still spot it around the city today. I judged beard contests, local and online retailers asked for new designs, and most shirts sold through the I Heart Denver Store.