Creative leader, and builder of things that work.

I'm Toby Riley, a Creative Director with over a decade of experience connecting brand, design, and business strategy. I've led global teams, launched campaigns for Twitter, Google, MIT, and National University, and turned creative strategy into measurable growth.

Great creative should move the needle. Mine does.

A young man with short brown hair and a septum piercing, smiling while looking slightly to the side, standing in front of a yellow spotlight on a dark background.
Stylized beige and black logo for 'Toby' with an registered trademark symbol.
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Based in Phoenix. 10+ years of brand building. Taking long hikes. Listening to loud music.

Based in Phoenix. 10+ years of brand building. Taking long hikes. Listening to loud music.

What I do best

  • Building and directing high-performing creative teams across markets, disciplines, and time zones - and keeping them aligned to the business.

    • Team Development & Mentorship

    • Cross-Functional & Stakeholder Alignment

    • Executive Communication

  • Connecting creative decisions to measurable outcomes like enrollment, leads, engagement, and revenue.

    • Funnel & Conversion Strategy

    • Paid Media & Campaign Performance

    • Data-Informed Creative Optimization

  • Building the systems, workflows, and frameworks that let creative move faster without losing quality.

    • Workflow & Production Systems

    • Design Systems & Scalable Frameworks

  • Taking brands and products from positioning to market. Developing identity, messaging, naming, and coordinated launch assets.

    • Brand Identity & Guidelines

    • Identity Systems & Toolkits

  • Designing digital experiences where usability and craft reinforce each other, not compete.

    • Web & Mobile Interface Design

    • User Journey Mapping

    • Prototyping & Product Design

  • Orchestrating creative across digital, print, and paid channels in service of a unified strategy.

    • Integrated Campaign Direction

    • Content & Creative Strategy

    • Social & Paid Media

  • Modernizing how creative teams work: Building AI-powered tools and workflows that expand what's possible.

    • AI-Assisted Creative Workflows

    • Custom Tools & Automation

    • Emerging Tech Adoption

Featured Projects

A collage of various university and online course promotional posters, featuring diverse individuals and topics like leadership, AI, cybersecurity, data science, and marketing.

Creative direction for one of the world's largest online learning platforms: Leading a global team of 20+ creatives and delivering campaigns for 100+ university partners including Harvard, MIT, and Oxford.

2U / edX

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A bus stop advertising display with black and white photos of soldiers in uniform, some smiling, along with text about National University. People are standing behind the display, partially visible, with trees and a building in the background.

A complete rebrand of a 50-year-old university — new identity, website, and national campaign — delivered in seven months and driving student leads from day one.

National University

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A group of five people in a room while a woman presents a digital diagram on a large screen. The diagram is related to Google Jamboard, shown with colorful notes and sketches. One woman is standing and pointing at the screen, while others are seated, some using tablets and smartphones.

Launching Google's all new Series One hardware. Product naming, digital experience, sales enablement, and marketing material creation.

Google Meet Hardware

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Promotional image for the Winable app featuring two smartphones displaying the app interface, a smiling woman giving a high five to another person, and a banner with the tagline 'Turn everyday moments into milestones—make today a win'.

A win-tracking app I co-founded and designed from concept to App Store in 12 months; built on habit science, powered by AI, and rated 5.0 on iOS.

Winable

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A collection of black and white logos for various brands and organizations, including Rising Doors, Goglucose, Mirror Image Dental, La Reina Chile Company, M, Andrea Arnold Aesthetics, Impact Junior High Ministries, Filson, Bilt, Turf, Sunstate Equipment Co., and Life Creations.

A strong mark doesn't just identify. It defines. Selected brand identity work spanning tech, healthcare, education, and consumer products.

Brand Identities

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Got a brand challenge worth solving?

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