MATTHEW CURRY
Creative Director · Visual Strategist · Artist & Designer | Washington, D.C.
PROFILE
Creative Director and Artist with 25+ years of experience shaping visual strategy, brand systems, and multidisciplinary creative across print, packaging, digital, and multimedia platforms. Known for blending fine art, illustration, and design strategy to build distinctive, scalable visual languages that balance cultural resonance with business clarity. Proven leader across agency, consultancy, and in-house environments. Two-time Grammy® nominee and recipient of the Art Directors Club of Washington, D.C.’s Gold and Silver Awards for design excellence.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Creative Director · Consultant · Artist | 2000–Present
Define and lead creative vision across brand identity, campaigns, packaging, editorial, and multimedia initiatives, guiding projects from concept through execution.
Develop scalable visual systems and narrative-driven design strategies that align creative output with organizational and business goals.
Partner closely with executives, marketing, product, and communications teams to translate abstract ideas into cohesive, high-impact visual languages.
Lead, mentor, and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams while maintaining rigorous standards of craft and consistency.
Oversee agencies, vendors, and production partners, ensuring quality, efficiency, and cohesion across long-term and complex initiatives.
- Case study
SELECT CLIENTS
Sheryl Crow · Jeff Koons · Adobe · Intel · AT&T · Wired · National Geographic · Department of Public Libraries of Washington, D.C. . · The Smithsonian · Smithsonian Folkways · Sony Music · Pokémon USA · Thievery Corporation · The Corcoran School of Design
ASHBY DESIGN — WASHINGTON, D.C., ALEXANDRIA, VA
Art Director | 2005–Present
Provided art direction, graphic design, animation, HTML/CSS, and illustration for an early-stage internet startup.
Collaborated with internal product teams on customer-facing digital applications during the early evolution of web services.
9YARDS MEDIA — WASHINGTON, D.C.
Multimedia Designer | 2001–2012
Provided art direction, graphic design, animation, HTML/CSS, and illustration for an early-stage internet startup.
Collaborated with internal product teams on customer-facing digital applications during the early evolution of web services.
LOST ORIGINS PRODUCTIONS— WASHINGTON, D.C.
Multimedia Designer | 2001–2012
Provided art direction, graphic design, animation, HTML/CSS, and illustration for an early-stage internet startup.
Collaborated with internal product teams on customer-facing digital applications during the early evolution of web services.
COAST 2 COAST COMMUNICATIONS— WASHINGTON, D.C.
Multimedia Designer | 2001–2012
Provided art direction, graphic design, animation, HTML/CSS, and illustration for an early-stage internet startup.
Collaborated with internal product teams on customer-facing digital applications during the early evolution of web services.
WEST + ASSOCIATES — TYSONS CORNER, VA
Multimedia Designer | 2001–2012
Provided art direction, graphic design, animation, HTML/CSS, and illustration for an early-stage internet startup.
Collaborated with internal product teams on customer-facing digital applications during the early evolution of web services.
AMERICAN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (AMS)— FAIRFAX, VA
Multimedia Designer | 2000–2001
Provided art direction, graphic design, animation, HTML/CSS, and illustration for an early-stage internet startup.
Collaborated with internal product teams on customer-facing digital applications during the early evolution of web services.
ROCKETWORKS — GAITHERSBURG, MD
Graphic Designer | 1999–2000
Provided art direction, graphic design, animation, HTML/CSS, and illustration for an early-stage internet startup.
Collaborated with internal product teams on customer-facing digital applications during the early evolution of web services.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Grammy® Nomination, Best Record Packaging, Radio Retaliation, Thievery Corporation, ESL Music.
Grammy® Nomination, Best Record Packaging, Versions, Thievery Corporation, ESL Music.
Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Gold Award, Best Packaging, Versions, Thievery Corporation, ESL Music.
Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Silver Award, Best Packaging, The Corcoran College of Art + Design Interactive Brochure.
Communications Design Annual 47, Audio/Visual Packaging, Versions.
STEP Inside Design, 50 Best of Web Design, personal portfolio Imagefed.com
SPEAKING & TEACHING
Guest Lecturer, Rhode Island School of Design, Alumni Talk and Studio Tour
Guest Lecturer on Graphic Design, The Grammy Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Guest Lecturer, The Art Directors Club, Washington, D.C.
Artist Talks for solo exhibitions such as ALTARS, Late Stage Mythology, MIXTAPE, and The Phantom Arena
Invited speaker and consultant in collaboration with VICE Media and Comex Group on color forecasting (New York, NY)
Guest Lecturer & Critique Advisor, Corcoran College of Art + Design, Washington, D.C. (2009–Present)
Presentations for AIGA Design Conference, American Institute of Graphic Arts, Denver, CO
ART PRACTICE, EXHIBITIONS & PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS
Monster Imagination — Permanent public installation (32-piece painting & sculpture), Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Washington, D.C.
Solo Exhibitions: Boy vs Dragon (Black Whiskey, Washington, D.C.), Late Stage Mythology (Lost Origins Gallery, Washington, D.C.), MIXTAPE (Lost Origins Gallery), The Phantom Arena (Lost Origins Gallery), and Matthew Curry (Ritual Roasters Gallery, San Francisco, CA)
Numerous group and two-/three-person exhibitions in galleries and festivals nationally and internationally, including Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Detroit, Denver, San Diego, and more
SELECTED FEATURES & PUBLICATIONS
Caketrain Journal, cover artwork, Issue 07, December 2009, Pittsburgh, PA.
Music Graphics, reproduction, art direction by Clifford Stoltze, Rockport Publishers Inc., 2008, Beverly, MA.
Simply Packaging, reproduction, viction:workshop ltd, 2008, Hong Kong, China.
WEB Design Notes: Making Magazine of Web Design, “The World Site Gallery” by Egami Kaori, feature & reproduction, Issue No. 2, 2007, Japan.
STEP Inside Design: The 100 Winners of State of Design, “Ashby Design/Imagefed” by Tiffany Nicole Slade, feature & reproduction, Vol. 23, No. 2, March/April 2007, New York, NY.
IDN International Designers Network: Crime & Ornament, “It’s an Ornamental World/Matthew Curry,” interview & reproduction, Vol. 14, No. 02, Hong Kong, China.
Post Modern Bible Stories: Sunday School Never Looked Like This, Relevant Books.
Digital Arts (Digit), cover artwork, Issue 95, London, UK.
Canceled Flight: 101 Tried and True Pigeon Killin’ Methods, edited by A. V. Jones, Throckmorton Press, original contribution, New York, NY.
The Drama: The A to Z Issue, reproduction, Issue 5, Richmond, VA.
XFUNS Creative & Design Magazine, “SOHO,” interview & reproduction, No. 21, Taiwan.
STEP Inside Design: Special Annual Issue—The Hottest Website Designs, “Best of Web Design” by Michelle Taut, review & reproduction, Vol. 21, No. 5, New York, NY.
Taschen: Best of Web Design Portfolio, reproduction, Taschen.
Blond Magazin: Arbeit, feature & reproduction, Hamburg, Germany.
Color: A Skateboard Culture Magazine, Faesthetic editorial, reproduction, Issue 3.2, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
EMPTY Design Magazine, “Ninja Who? Matthew Curry” by Rory Woods, feature & reproduction, No. 02, Darlinghurst, Australia.
étapes: graphisme design image création, feature & reproduction, Issue 114, Paris, France.
étapes: international, feature & reproduction, Issue 02, Paris, France.
Katalogue: New Art, reproduction, Vol. 01, London, UK.
Digital Arts (Digit), feature & reproduction, Issue 79, London, UK.
Kmag (Knowledge Magazine), “Art: Ninjacruise” by Rahul Verma, review & reproduction, Vol. 2, Issue 49, London, UK.
Impress Web Design Magazine, interview & reproduction, Vol. 53, Seoul, Korea.
WIRED, editorial guest illustration, New York, NY.
Faesthetic, reproduction, Issue 4, edited by Dustin Amery Holstetler, Toledo, OH.
.net Magazine, “Gallery: Net’s Best Digital Artists,” original contribution, Issue 112, Bath, England.
Urban Calligraphy and Beyond, reproduction, Markus Mai & Arthur Remke, Gestalten Verlag, Berlin.
Semi-Permanent: The Book, reproduction, Design is Kinky, Sydney, Australia.
EDUCATION
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Illustration
1993–1998
Independent Studies in Graphic Design