HEAD OF
DESIGN

HEAD OF
DESIGN

Design leadership meets hands-on craft. I set the vision, build the team, and still do the work myself, across product and brand, powered by an AI-native workflow made for speed.

Based in Lexington, KY

Past Teams

About

Driven and detail-oriented Head of Design building clean, considered digital products that serve both users and the business. With 12+ years of experience across product design, design systems, and team leadership, I've been a founding design hire before, building product and brand from the ground up, along with the teams that scale them.


I've been a trusted design partner to founders and executive leadership, not just a service function brought in after the decisions are made. I build the systems, standards, and AI-native workflows that let a whole team move faster without losing craft, and I stay close enough to the work to keep that bar high myself. My focus is thoughtful, user-centered design that communicates clearly, builds trust, and holds up as products scale.

Experience

Company

role

Year

Journey Rewards

Head of Design

MAR 2025–PRESENT

Journey Rewards

Head of Design

MAR 2025–PRESENT

AddShoppers

Princ. Product Designer

JAN 2024–MAR 2025

AddShoppers

Princ. Product Designer

JAN 2024–MAR 2025

Red Ventures

Sr. Director of Design

Mar 2022–Dec 2024

Red Ventures

Sr. Director of Design

Mar 2022–Dec 2024

Red Ventures

Director of Design

Feb 2018–Mar 2022

Red Ventures

Director of Design

Feb 2018–Mar 2022

Red Ventures

Sr. Web Designer

Feb 2016–Feb 2018

Red Ventures

Sr. Web Designer

Feb 2016–Feb 2018

Capabilities

Design expertise spanning brand, product, and team leadership, with an AI-native workflow woven through all three.

Branding

Strategic visual identities and design language systems that give brands a clear, consistent point of view, and the modernization work that keeps them current.

Brand identity

Design language systems

Visual storytelling

Brand modernization

Typography

Asset production

Branding

Strategic visual identities and design language systems that give brands a clear, consistent point of view, and the modernization work that keeps them current.

Brand identity

Design language systems

Visual storytelling

Brand modernization

Typography

Asset production

Product

Clean, systems-driven digital products with obsessive craft, taken from ambiguous 0-to-1 problems through to polished, scalable experiences.

UX / UI DESIGN

Prototyping

User Research

Design systems

0-to-1 Product Design

Motion Design

Product

Clean, systems-driven digital products with obsessive craft, taken from ambiguous 0-to-1 problems through to polished, scalable experiences.

UX / UI DESIGN

Prototyping

User Research

Design systems

0-to-1 Product Design

Motion Design

LEADERSHIP

High-craft design teams, coached hands-on, kept aligned with business and executive goals, and equipped with AI-native ways of working.

Player-coach Leadership

Career Development

Cross-functional influence

Team Building & Hiring

Exec. Stakeholder Alignment

Roadmapping

LEADERSHIP

High-craft design teams, coached hands-on, kept aligned with business and executive goals, and equipped with AI-native ways of working.

Player-coach Leadership

Career Development

Cross-functional influence

Team Building & Hiring

Exec. Stakeholder Alignment

Roadmapping

What colleagues say

Real feedback from managers, leaders and colleagues who've worked directly with me. Read more on my LinkedIn profile.

Noah miles

John Sutton

Co-founder and CEO, Journey

Dustin is an amazing asset to the Journey team and has led Journey to be considered one of the most creative and forward leaning brands in a luxury hospitality industry obsessed with visual appeal. Beyond his taste and eye for design, Dustin has leaned in fully to leveraging the latest in AI for Journey and helped our teams benefit...

Noah miles

John Sutton

Co-founder and CEO, Journey

Dustin is an amazing asset to the Journey team and has led Journey to be considered one of the most creative and forward leaning brands in a luxury hospitality industry obsessed with visual appeal. Beyond his taste and eye for design, Dustin has leaned in fully to leveraging the latest in AI for Journey and helped our teams benefit...

Noah miles

Colin Mutter

CTO, Journey

As an engineering and technology leader, I’ve worked with many designers over the past 20 years and I can proudly say Dustin is one of the best I’ve worked with. Highly recommend - you’ll be in good hands.

Noah miles

Colin Mutter

CTO, Journey

As an engineering and technology leader, I’ve worked with many designers over the past 20 years and I can proudly say Dustin is one of the best I’ve worked with. Highly recommend - you’ll be in good hands.

Whitney Wolfe

Zach Busekrus

Head of Growth, Journey

I've had the privilege of working with world-class designers throughout my career, and Dustin is second to none. He's obsessed with deeply understanding the problem he's solving before touching a single pixel — and the decisions he makes along the way are remarkably thoughtful. He's a designer disguised as a product manager, product marketer, and QA engineer all in one. He's both ridiculously thorough and fast — something I've genuinely never been able to say about any of the great designers I've worked with before (usually it's one or the other).

Whitney Wolfe

Zach Busekrus

Head of Growth, Journey

I've had the privilege of working with world-class designers throughout my career, and Dustin is second to none. He's obsessed with deeply understanding the problem he's solving before touching a single pixel — and the decisions he makes along the way are remarkably thoughtful. He's a designer disguised as a product manager, product marketer, and QA engineer all in one. He's both ridiculously thorough and fast — something I've genuinely never been able to say about any of the great designers I've worked with before (usually it's one or the other).

Whitney Wolfe

Jill Bressler

Design Leader & Creative Partner

Dustin is a leader of leaders. He is incredibly empathetic and knows how to coach the best performance out of his team. Dustin’s ability to translate business needs into actionable insights for the team unlocked our ability to positively impact business metrics and revenue. As a manager he provided crucial coaching that helped me improve team process and efficiency, assess and fill talent gaps, and create individualized plans for career development for everyone in my downline.

Whitney Wolfe

Jill Bressler

Design Leader & Creative Partner

Dustin is a leader of leaders. He is incredibly empathetic and knows how to coach the best performance out of his team. Dustin’s ability to translate business needs into actionable insights for the team unlocked our ability to positively impact business metrics and revenue. As a manager he provided crucial coaching that helped me improve team process and efficiency, assess and fill talent gaps, and create individualized plans for career development for everyone in my downline.

Whitney Wolfe

Ryan Muth

Visual Design Principal, Red Ventures

I worked with Dustin for close to a year after he stepped in to oversee the Creative Department at Red Ventures Education Vertical. Before his introduction, the team had been fragmented, unorganized, and without a clear direction. He quickly established himself as a trusted, communicative, and approachable leader who brought a sense of unity and purpose to the team.

Whitney Wolfe

Ryan Muth

Visual Design Principal, Red Ventures

I worked with Dustin for close to a year after he stepped in to oversee the Creative Department at Red Ventures Education Vertical. Before his introduction, the team had been fragmented, unorganized, and without a clear direction. He quickly established himself as a trusted, communicative, and approachable leader who brought a sense of unity and purpose to the team.

( Values )

Create with excellence

Earn and keep trust

Lead with humility