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My name is Mateo.

I build trust through design.

About

Every generation gets new tools. Every generation still has to earn trust.

That was true in 1912, 1943, 1987, and it’s still true today.

For as long as there’s been commerce, businesses have wrestled with the same question: How do you get someone to trust a brand enough to buy from it, invest in it, or come back to it again?

For more than twenty years, I’ve helped answer that question through brand strategy, digital experiences, creative leadership, and design. I’ve worked across financial services, e-commerce, healthcare, nonprofit, and sports, leading creative teams, building brands, designing websites, and partnering directly with founders to help their businesses communicate with clarity and confidence.

Style changes. Technology evolves. But judgment endures.

Letterpress didn’t replace judgment.

Television didn’t replace judgment.

Photoshop didn’t replace judgment.

AI won’t replace judgment.

Judgment is what creates trust.

Sometimes that judgment is choosing a typeface. Sometimes it’s simplifying a message. Sometimes it’s deciding not to follow the latest trend. AI can generate a hundred ideas in seconds, but someone still has to recognize the one that fits the brand, the audience, and the business.

That’s the work I enjoy most.

Today I work as a Fractional Creative Director and Brand Strategist, providing experienced creative leadership without the commitment of a full-time hire. Whether I’m helping define a brand, redesigning a website, or guiding a growing creative team, my goal is always the same:

Build trust through design.

Services

  • Custom Website Design & Development

  • Brand Strategy & Identity

  • Digital Marketing

  • Fractional Creative Direction

Client Experience

Brands I've worked with.

  • Accenture
  • BB&T
  • Belk
  • CocaCola Consolidated
  • Consumer Reports
  • Curtiss Wright Controls
  • Gold Pride
  • GSK
  • MetLife
  • National Gypsum
  • North Carolina Tourism
  • NC State University
  • Novant Health
  • Carolina Panthers
  • Simpson
  • UNC Charlotte
  • Wingate
  • Zippo

Let's work together

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