Photo taken at the Adobe Campus in San Jose.
Who Is Kenn?
I am a creative from New York City living in Europe. Over the past few years, I have worked with the marketing and public relations teams at international companies such as Adobe and Wacom.   My experience falls in the following areas: Advertising, Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Community Development (online and offline), Content Creation and Copywriting.  My additional experience in Production Management, Art Direction and Graphic Design has allowed me to create highly visible content.

I am the type of person that is motivated and dedicated.  When I take on a project, I own it.  For me, it is important to produce quality work that drives the business forward of the company, studio or agency that I am working for.

I am also a gamer and a streamer, which is why I am highly interested in the Marketing and PR side of the Games Industry.

What is Düssel York City?
Having lived in New York City from 2000 to 2012, I will always have a place in my heart for the city.  When I moved to Europe I found a second home in Düsseldorf.  After living here for a few years I believe that my creative process combines the style of NYC with the trends of Europe.  Thus, being a global citizen... and the idea of Düssel York City became a way of life.

LIFE IN NEW YORK CITY
In NYC, I began my career in film, television, commercial and print production.  This is where I developed my management skills working on set as an Assistant Director and in the production office as Production Coordinator. Additionally, I took on other roles such as Talent Coordinator, Art Director and even Director.

While working at MTV Networks and Nickelodeon, people began to notice that I was a highly skilled creative.  As a result, I began creating graphics for various productions.  This included creating special graphics for Nickelodeon's U-Pick Live for a cross-over event promotion for Jimmy Neutron and Fairly Odd Parents (aka Cosmo & Wanda).  I also created began creating artwork for on-air promos and to be used as set pieces on various productions.  This opened the door to the advertising world.

Because I have an energetic personality it did not take long for me to begin crossing over to the other side of the camera.  A commercial produced by Grey Worldwide led to me joining the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).  I have appeared on Saturday Night Live, HBO's Boardwalk Empire, Gossip Girl, etc.

LIFE AFTER NYC
Moving to Europe was a game-changer.  Knowing that the only way to move forward in advertising, marketing and public relations I had to focus on new media and social media.  

One of my first steps was, founding the Behance NRW Community (now the Behance Dribbble NRW Community).  
Because of this, I formed a close relationship with Adobe.  In 2014, I was asked by Adobe if I would be interested in speaking at their Create Now Conference in Berlin.  I agreed... the event was held at Radial System with around 1000 people in attendance and 2000 viewers streaming on Adobe.de.  After the event, Adobe asked if I would enjoy co-organizing an event in Düsseldorf.  The event took place on July 1st at the Capitol Theater and that night I took the stage as the moderator.  We had a total of 825 creatives in attendance.  I have since helped Adobe promote other events.  As a result, I became part of the Adobe Influencer DACH Program and Adobe Community Professionals Program.  

In July 2016, I went on to produce a second conference for Adobe.  The new conference included an Adobe Creative Jam, an expanded art gallery, the Adobe Make It Area, Germany's largest Behance Portfolio Review and several interactive areas.  According to Adobe, the Creative Jam was the highest-profile Creative Jam in Adobe's history.  It featured BBDO, Havas Worldwide, DDB, Ubisoft and three other teams.  DDB won both the jury prize and public vote.  The interactive area showcased Samsung's 4D VR Chairs.  The two Adobe conferences that I produced can be considered a live influencer marketing event.  The idea was not to sell Adobe but to inspire creators to utilize Adobe products.

While forming a relationship with Adobe, I also established a bond with Wacom and their Public Relations team.  Because of my Community Development and Social Media skills, they asked if I would like to work on projects with them.  In 2014, I was tasked to create original content for the Wacom InfoChannel.  This included writing articles that featured the artists of my choice.  I also became the curator of the Wacom Gallery on Behance. Since then I have worked with the Social Media Manager to create engaging contests that tapped into their community of users as well as the international Behance community.  In November 2017, I produced a new community event at Wacom's European Headquarters entitled Portfolios & Pints.  The event was multi-streamed live on Instagram, Twitch, Mixer and YouTube.

As my name and network began to grow I began to take on additional writing assignments.  This included being a featured guest writer for the online version of the Lürzer's Archive.  I was also picked up by the editor of Imagine Publishing's magazine Advanced Photoshop.  Originally this started out as writing a five-page feature on an artist... however, the editor at the time, April Madden, took note that my network was growing on LinkedIn.  She then asked me if I would also like to write an additional two pages of news.   Because of my work in Advertising and PR, I found it quite easy to connect with the right people to write feature news articles regarding the digital art world.
Later I went on to write a special on the 'Art of the Gaming Industry' and to write a feature for one of their other titles, Photoshop Creative.

My role working in Social Media began putting me in the spotlight.  I was a keynote speaker at the Behance Event in Pescara, Italy,  The event was partnered with the Festival Delle Letterature dell' Adriatico.  It was a two-day festival with over 200 attendees each day.  In November 2016, I was asked to be a keynote speaker at the What's Next? Conference in Vilnius, Lithuania.  This conference was also a two-day event with over 2000 attendees per day.  I took to the main stage and did a keynote entitled Socialopoly... where I compared Social Media to board games.

In 2017, I returned to Lithuania to speak at the Supernova Kuanas Creative Innovation Festival.  My speech was entitled Player Of The Game: Winning At Social Media And Community Development.  In my lecture not only did I talk about traditional Social Media but also streaming content.  This included coverage of YouTube, Twitch and Mixer.  It was also relevant for me to briefly touch upon influencer marketing and eSports.

MY CREATIVITY
What you will learn quickly is I am a creative that should not be stereotyped.  I have the ability to adapt and learn, in fact I enjoy mastering new forms of art.  This makes me a viable and strong asset to have on any team, because I have the ability to look at projects from different angles in order to come up with the best possible solution.  I also can come up with ideas for a multi-channel campaign, create a strategy for production and follow the project through fruition.

With my personal art, I really enjoy experimenting.  I believe you never know if you are good at something until you try it.  For me, it is better to attempt something new if you are interested in doing so.  This is why I am a very versatile creative.  I could be hired to work at an advertising agency, publishing company or even in the gaming industry.  I am one of those unique individuals who can simply fit in anywhere and prove myself to be a valuable team member.

INSPIRATION
It may be cliche, but I find inspiration everywhere in life.  This is also why I believe being an international creative really comes into play.  No matter where I go, I will always find something interesting.  I also have training in film, television and advertising I am always looking at things... architecture, culture and the people.  This gets translated into my work.  I can find a spark of inspiration in even the simplest things that people take for granted.  

Technology and innovation play a big role in my personal life.  In 2019 while working for a German company as Marketing Director, I had the opportunity to meet with the development team at Apple Park in Cuppertino.

SKILLS
I am very fortunate to have an arsenal of skills and abilities.  I believe that is important to continue learning and developing new skills, especially in an ever evolving world.  Mastering new skills is what keeps a person marketable and viable.  When you combine your skill sets it allows you to really get creative.  A good example of this can be seen in the two full scale creative conferences that I produced for Adobe.

My skills include, but are not limited:
Advertising/Marketing
Influencer Marketing
Public Relation
Growth Hacking
Social Media/Community Development
Content Creation: print and online media
Event and Conference Producing
Art Direction/Graphic Design/Traditional Illustration
Writing/Copywriting
Public Speaking

AFFILIATIONS
Adobe Influencer DACH Program
Adobe Community Professionals Program
Lecturer and instructor for Adobe Generation Professional / the Adobe Education Exchange
Wacom Evangelist
BenQ Influencer
XP-Pen Influencer
Clip Studio Paint Influencer
TechSmith Influencer
Screen Actors Guild / AFTRA

INTERESTS
I am a gamer, so naturally I am interested in the marketing of the video game industry.  This has lead to me creating my own streams for fun on Twitch, Mixer and YouTube.  I am also intrigued by eSports and the potential there is within this realm for marketing.

As a creative, I enjoy creating.  This has lead to experimentation in illustration, graphic design and even writing.  Whether it be for fun or for work... creating has become a way to express myself in various mediums.  

I am also a dog owner!  I have a Whippet named Roo.  It is relaxing to go on long hikes with him and he has even attended a couple of conferences with me.  Playing frisbee with him on a warm sunny day is something that I really enjoy.
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