Hi! My name is Kelly Knaga (she/her). I’m an Art Director, Creative Producer, Designer, and Illustrator passionate about creating captivating visual experiences for brands, products, events, and other rad stuff. Get in touch! kel.knaga@gmail.com
I bring brands to life through products, books, events, digital experiences, activations, and more. A few of my clients include Live Nation, Lollapalooza, NBC Universal, Adobe, Target, Chicago Bulls, Property Brothers, City of Chicago, Design Museum of Chicago, Design Museum of Chicago, Evermade, HGTV, Pressed Juicery, Rimowa, USA Network, Daily Rounds, Wilco, HomeGoods, Sweet Reason and more.
Art Director
I drive projects through the creative process by working with writers, designers, marketers, localization teams, and other cross-functional teams across the company to help drive marketing programs and campaigns. I work quickly and efficiently to lead creative production on new and ongoing campaigns, optimizing how the creative team works to maximize efficiency and quality.
Creative Producer
As the Senior Manager of Design at ActiveCampaign, I lead the in-house design team that brings the AC brand to life through product, website, and integrated campaigns across various channels, including TV, social, event activations, interior design, and digital. I partner with cross-functional leadership across the company to help drive marketing programs and campaigns that deliver solutions in an evolving environment.
ActiveCampaign
In my role as Director of Operations at Firebelly, I oversaw operations, organizational development, and human resources for the studio. I managed the studio’s social accounts, creating and optimizing content to maximize engagement, build brand awareness, and drive new business leads. I coordinated studio events, special projects, and exhibitions like Typeforce.
Firebelly Design
As Director, I supported the organization’s mission to embrace, amplify, and advance designers and the role of design in our community. Initiatives provided affordable and accessible design education opportunities, including the annual summer Chicago Design Week. My work included collaborating with various agency partners on design collateral for 30+ events a year. Collaborations included Leo Burnett, Design Museum of Chicago, One Design, Firebelly, Someoddpilot, Ogilvy, VSA, Multiple, and more.
AIGA Chicago
Design Education
I’ve always been passionate about design education. I’ve taught design processes, research, and methodology as part of the creative process at various institutions. As Director of the Design Program within the School of Fine Arts at IU Northwest, I developed a new design curriculum for several degree programs for the Department of Fine Arts and Department of Computer Information Systems.
