(Still writing it.)

About

The story so far.

I'm Christopher — a Creative Director, brand strategist, systems thinker, and whatever else the moment requires. I've spent 13+ years building brands and leading creative teams — including 7+ years of progressive creative leadership at a Fortune 50 company, where I climbed from individual contributor to leading enterprise brand identity. I don't fit neatly into one category. That's intentional.

Creative Director

Brand Strategist

Systems Thinker

AI Implementer

Visual Designer

Executive Collaborator

🦄 Certified Unicorn

(Still writing it.)

Shadix Records · 2026

Limited Edition LP

Unicorn Hours

Christopher Shadix — Not actually a musician

01Brand Strategy at Scale (feat. Zero Budget)4:32
02Executive Alignment (Acoustic)6:17
03The Deck Was Due Yesterday2:58
04Creative Brief (Director's Cut)8:44
05Actually Ships (Bonus Track)∞

Stream on Spotify

Career Timeline

The journey. It's never a straight line.

Click any year to expand the full story. Some of these are jobs. Some are just life. All of it shaped how I work.

2026

Now

Lead, Brand Identity Creative Director at Humana · Philippines trip

🇵🇭 Philippines. New continent unlocked.

Sep 2024 – Present

Lead, Brand Identity Creative Director

Humana Inc.

Now

Overseeing the evolution of Humana's visual identity — color, typography, illustration, photography, iconography. Partnering with executives across brand, marketing, digital, and research. All in-house. No agency. Just us.

Brand Identity Executive Partnership Research & Testing AI & Tools Agile Pods

2025

ANA Certified Marketing Professional · Mexico trip

🏆 ANA Certified Marketing Professional. Now it's official.

🇲🇽 Mexico trip. Added another stamp to the collection.

🎨 Marketing & Brand Committee, Speed Art Museum.

2023 – 2024

Board of Governors, Speed Art Museum · Figma & AEM certified

2023

🏛️ Joined the Board of Governors, Speed Art Museum. Also ANA Brand Management Committee.

2023

📐 Figma Master Course + AEM Authoring certified. Systems nerd status: confirmed.

2021 – 2022

Senior Brand Manager at Humana · 2x AIGA 100 Show Awards

Aug 2021 – Sep 2024 · 3 yrs

Senior Brand Manager, Brand Identity Art Director

Humana Inc.

Led agile creative teams delivering on brand strategy. Built flexible design systems and brand governance to ensure consistency across a massive enterprise. Where the systems thinking really kicked in.

Design Systems Brand Governance Agile Teams 21+ Skills

Aug 2022

🇬🇷 Third trip to Greece. At this point it's a tradition.

2022

🏆 AIGA Top 100 of the 100 Show — Humana Brand Identity Guide.

2022

🏆 AIGA Best of the 100 Show — Big H Member Stories. Two in one year. Not bad.

Big H Member Stories — AIGA Best of the 100 Show

Aug 2021

🇬🇷 Second trip to Greece. The island life called me back.

2021

✦ Joined AIGA. Finally made it official.

2020

📊 PowerBI certified. Because creatives can be data nerds too.

2018 – 2020

Started at Humana · Co-founded Syndicate · Homeowner

Feb 2019 – Aug 2021 · 2 yrs 7 mos

Creative Development

Humana Inc.

Led creative teams developing multimedia content aligned to brand strategy. Built brand management systems and supported associate onboarding and skill development. The foundation for everything that came after.

Multimedia Content Brand Systems Team Development

2019

🏠 Became a homeowner. Adulting level: unlocked.

2019 – 2020

🏳️‍🌈 Comms Co-Chair, Pride Network Resource Group at Humana.

Jun 2018 – Feb 2019 · 9 mos

Client Services Designer

Humana Inc.

Creative operations, project scoping, and brand standards execution. The foot in the door. Discovered healthcare is actually fascinating. Still surprised.

Creative Ops Brand Standards Project Scoping

Aug 2018

🇬🇷 First trip to Greece. Life-changing.

Jan 2018 – Feb 2019 · 1 yr

Partner & Co-Founder

Syndicate

Co-founded a creative consultancy. Brand strategy, website design and development, office workspace design, and project management. Did everything. Learned what "wearing many hats" actually means.

Startup Brand Strategy Web Design Project Management

2015 – 2017

Graduated UofL · Got Flo · Foxhollow Farm CD

2017

🎓 Graduated UofL. BS, Design Management. Yes, while working full time.

Oct 2016

🐶 Got Flo. Best decision ever. She's the real creative director.

Aug 2016

🐾 Flo was born. She didn't know it yet, but she was about to run the show.

2015

📋 Dean's List, University of Louisville. Turns out showing up matters.

Apr 2013 – May 2017 · 4 yrs

Creative Director / Systems Administrator

Foxhollow Farm

Built new advertising and marketing strategies across all digital channels. Increased Instagram following by 400% through engaging content. Led teams through product launches and events. First real taste of the CD role.

Digital Marketing Social Media Product Launches +400% IG Growth

2012 – 2014

Media Gear Creative Director · The hustle years

Jan 2012 – Jun 2018 · 6 yrs 6 mos

Creative Director

Media Gear

Worked closely with clients on websites, branding, logos, media packets, and photography. Built a 500-photo library for Rainbow Blossom Natural Foods Market. Designed election campaign collateral for Louisville Metro Council.

Branding Web Design Photography Campaign Design

2012

🪑 Assistant to an interior designer. Learning to see space differently.

Aug 2012

🍽️ Started washing dishes. Became shift supervisor in a month. Speedrun.

2008 – 2011

Europe trips · UofL round one · Came out

2011 – 2015

⏸️ College break. Moved to Cincinnati. Got accepted into UC DAAP for Industrial Design. Decided it wasn't for me. Took the scenic route.

2011 – 2012

📖 WKU online from Cincinnati. Keeping one foot in while figuring things out.

2010 – 2012

🌍 First Europe trips. Three summers, 16+ countries. The world got a lot bigger.

2009 – 2011

📚 University of Louisville, round one. Design Management before I knew what it meant.

~2009

🌈 Came out to the world as myself. The most important creative decision I ever made.

The Early Years

Born somewhere in the late 80s · St. Xavier HS · WKU

2008 – 2009

🏫 Western Kentucky University. Freshman year. First time on my own.

2004 – 2008

📚 St. Xavier High School. Did not know yet what a Creative Director was. Had a feeling though.

Late 80s

👶 Born. Somewhere in the late 80s. The exact year is a vibe, not a fact.

What People Say

In their own words

He possesses an eye for design, beauty, and creativity — succinct, organized, and headstrong. He understands the growth and scale-ability of a business. Christopher is the entire package: trustworthy, loyal, intelligent, and exorbitantly creative.

Sarah Stewart

Senior Campus Recruiter, Cherry Bekaert

His depth of brand knowledge and ability to delegate effectively across various lines of business helped keep the team on track. We transformed static PDFs into a dynamic web-based experience enterprise-wide.

Melissa Melnick

Designer, Humana

Christopher is an absolute boon to any project. His sharp attention to design and detail means he always catches what others miss. He is thorough, consistent, passionate and respectful. In short, a tremendous asset.

Jennifer Smith

Strategic Content Marketing Leader

One of the hardest-working and most dedicated people I have ever encountered in 30 years of work. His incorruptible character and commitment to finishing what he starts is his most outstanding quality.

Olga-Maria Cruz

Mentor

Credentials

🎓

BA, Design Management

University of Louisville · GPA 3.8

🏆

ANA Marketing Professional (CAMP)

Certified · 2024

🤖

AI Implementation & Workflow Design

Enterprise Scale · Humana Inc.

🎨

Brand Identity Systems

Fortune 500 Healthcare Brand

⚙︎

Creative Systems & Scaling

Agile Pods · Enterprise Creative Operations

🦄

Certified Unicorn

Multiple Independent Sources · Confirmed

(Still writing it.)

The story so far.

(Still writing it.)

Unicorn Hours

The journey. It's never a straight line.

In their own words

Outside the office

Intrigued? Let's talk.