About

Creating memorable visual identities in brand and interaction design.

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Art Direction + Design

Carl Bender is a designer and Group Art Director working at Esri, a global mapping and data technology company pioneering GIS. With over 20 years of experience, his work has appeared in numerous professional publications and has been recognized for awesomeness by leading design standards including AIGA, Communication Arts, Fast Company, and Print Magazine.

When not working with designers to bring big ideas to life at scale, Carl obsesses over personal design projects, makes whiskey, and enjoys the outdoors with his special lady friend and two dogs.

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Capabilities

Branding

  • Brand Strategy
  • Brand Evolution
  • Naming
  • Visual Identity
  • Brand Guidelines
  • Design Tools

UX/UI

  • User Experience
  • User Interaction
  • Design System Development
  • Web Design
  • Product Design

Illustration

  • Editorial Illustration
  • Spot Illustration
  • Icon System Development
  • Iconography

Print

  • Packaging
  • Signage + Wayfinding
  • Book + Editorial Design
  • Advertising

Credentials

Clients

  • A3 Ventures
  • Adobe
  • AFAR Magazine
  • AIGA
  • Apple
  • Dwell Magazine
  • The Gates Foundation
  • General Electric
  • MTV
  • The North Face
  • Time Warner
  • Toyota

Agencies

  • AKQA
  • Attik
  • Meta Design
  • I Shot Him
  • Kasman Design
  • LightSky
  • Tomorrow Partners
  • Tuft + Co.
  • Word, Pictures, Ideas

Publications

  • CMYK Magazine
  • Communication Arts Magazine
  • Design & Design
  • The Die Line
  • Fast Company
  • Gallery Magazine
  • HOW Magazine
  • The New York Times
  • Print Magazine
  • Site Inspire

Awards

  • Adobe Achievement Award
  • AIGA Cause & Affect Award
  • National Magazine Award
  • Neenah Unshow Award
  • Spark Award
  • W3 Award
  • Webby Award

What I’ve learned so far

Get feedback often, learn, and improve. The universe rewards the curious and open-minded.

Be tough on standards and easy on people. Meet issues directly and early on.

Discomfort is the price of progress. Being scared usually means you're about to grow.

Great work requires deliberate moments of silence. Define boundaries and enforce them.

Working diligently without concern for rewards is the exact behavior that brings rewards.