Kristin Lenz
A creative leader and compassionate listener who helps teams distill complex ideas into focused outcomes across product ideation, design and delivery, content strategy and execution, storytelling and data visualization.
Product Direction
Creative Direction
Data Visualization
About
Inc. magazine
A Day in the Life: Creative, data + content direction • Photo direction: Ernie Montiero • Illustration: Michael Hoeweler
The Design Issue: Creative + content direction • Photo direction: Ernie Montiero
National Geographic
The Washington Post
We merged pride and caution in the role we were playing in providing and shaping content larger discussions of current events. My first week on the section, we had a piece by Mikhail Gorbachev. I got to shake Obama’s hand. I cried when Elton John wrote about the passing of Ryan White (growing up in Indiana, Ryan White was a key cultural figure growing up).
As a team, but 100% prodded by me, we strived each week to have at least ONE visual story in a section that was otherwise dense with read-thru after read-thru. We were, a newspaper afterall. In the beginning it was me shaping a lot of what was needed from the reporter, then the editor, then the copy editor, to make a visual piece come to life.
Over time, editors and writers didn’t need any prodding. They would come to me and other art directors, designers and say, “Hey, I think we can have more fun with this piece.” Fun = visual and I jumped at every opportunity to craft really important content in new ways.