CREATIVE DIRECTIONBRAND STRATEGYCULTURAL INTELLIGENCE

Cultural understanding,
directed into brand impact.

IMAGE BY GRANT LEGAN

I’m Dennis Haynes, a creative director and brand strategist with 15+ years of experience across global brands, independent ventures, campaigns, content, and live experiences.

I help ambitious teams clarify their position, shape ideas people can feel, and move from strategy to execution.

Start a project Explore services

SELECTED CLIENTS + PARTNERS

A24APPLE MUSICAPPLE TV+HBO MAXMETASOHO HOUSETHE GRAMMYSYOUTUBE MUSIC

01THE APPROACH

Creativity without culture is just noise.

Cultural Intelligence/ noun /

The ability to understand what people are feeling, valuing, sharing, and responding to, then translate those signals into brand decisions that feel relevant, distinctive, and human.

HOW I READ CULTURE

Culture lives in the details. I read it through language, imagery, entertainment, aesthetics, behavior, communities, spaces, and shared experiences.

BRANDINGPOSITIONIMAGERYVISUALSEXPERIENCESENTERTAINMENT

HOW WE DEFINE IMPACT

Impact depends on the brief. We define it through the response the work is intended to create, whether that means attention, connection, participation, conversion, cultural resonance, or movement toward a larger business goal.

UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU BELONG.KNOW WHAT YOU CAN OWN.SHOW UP WITH PURPOSE.

02WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER

Strategy with somewhere to go.

I connect the big picture to the details required to make it real. Advise the team, lead a defined project, or build the right group around the work.

Cultural Intelligence & Brand Strategy

Clarify the audience, context, position, message, and strategic path forward.

POSITIONINGAUDIENCEMESSAGINGLAUNCH STRATEGY

Creative Direction & Campaigns

Turn strategy into an idea people can feel, with a connected story and creative system.

CONCEPTSSTORYTELLINGART DIRECTIONCONTENTPRODUCTION

Experiences, Talent & Partnerships

Shape how people encounter the brand through live moments, guest journeys, and cultural connection.

EXPERIENCEVIPTALENTPARTNERSHIPS

Embedded Creative Leadership

Add senior creative and brand direction to a founder, agency, or in-house team for a defined period.

FRACTIONALROADMAPSALIGNMENTOVERSIGHT

03THE RIGHT FIT

I’m worth your investment when…

Your brand has grown, but its story has not kept up.

You are building a new brand and need a clear position, world, and path to launch.

You are preparing for a launch, campaign, experience, or new chapter.

The work needs cultural relevance without trend-chasing.

Your team needs senior direction, alignment, or an outside point of view.

You need someone who can shape the strategy and understand execution.

04SELECTED WORK

Culture, with context.

Each project connects cultural signals to a business need: what was happening, who it needed to reach, and why the experience mattered.

CASE STUDY 0101 / 04

APPLE TV+
LAUNCH

APPLE TV+ LAUNCH

CREATIVE DIRECTION • PRODUCTION • EXPERIENTIALApple TV+ needed to establish a new entertainment platform from day one, so the launch brought the distinct worlds of The Morning Show, For All Mankind, Dickinson, and See into premieres and after-parties that made the service feel culturally legible, immediate, and worth showing up for.

CASE STUDY 0201 / 05

APPLE MUSIC
LIVE

APPLE MUSIC LIVE

CREATIVE DIRECTION • PRODUCTION • GUEST EXPERIENCE • VIP STRATEGYApple Music Live needed to make a live performance platform feel intimate and globally relevant, so artist-specific worlds, guest experience, and production worked together to turn a room with world-class performers into a moment audiences could carry beyond it.

CASE STUDY 0301 / 05

FASHION TRUST
U.S.

FASHION TRUST U.S.

PRODUCTION • PARTNERSHIPSFashion Trust U.S. needed to turn support for emerging designers into a visible cultural moment, so the award show brought together talent, partners, and an art-directed guest experience that made the mission feel immediate and worth participating in.

FOUNDER-BUILT

Brands and worlds I’ve built from the inside.

AWDEYEWEAR

A self-funded eyewear brand built around bold design and self-expression. Dennis founded and creatively directs the brand.

Visit AWD

OSTBAHNHOFQUEER CULTURAL PLATFORM

A queer music and arts platform Dennis has built and led in Los Angeles since 2016, growing from a party into a larger cultural experience.

Explore Ostbahnhof

05THE PROCESS

From question to clear direction.

Diagnose

Define the need, audience, context, constraints, and desired outcome.

Direct

Shape the strategic and creative approach, scope, team, and path forward.

Deliver

Guide the approved work from concept through the right level of execution.

Learn

Capture what worked, what changed, and where the next opportunity lives.

06ABOUT

Big picture. Real world.

I’ve worked inside global organizations, alongside ambitious teams, and as an entrepreneur building ideas of my own. Approximately four years at Apple sharpened how I think about creativity, clarity, detail, and the experience surrounding the work.

My wider career taught me something equally important: the strongest ideas have to make sense with real people, budgets, timelines, collaborators, and cultural context.

Part strategist, part producer, part human Rolodex. Always paying attention.

07START A PROJECT

What are you trying to make possible?

Tell me what you are solving, launching, or changing. I’ll review the brief and follow up with the right next step.

Cultural understanding,directed into brand impact.