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  • About
  • Résumé
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    • Overview
    • Branding
    • Web
    • Experiential
    • Writing
    • Print
    • Photo
    • Video
    • Music
  • Connect
  • …  
    • About
    • Résumé
    • Portfolio 
      • Overview
      • Branding
      • Web
      • Experiential
      • Writing
      • Print
      • Photo
      • Video
      • Music
    • Connect
  •  
    • About
    • Résumé
    • Portfolio 
      • Overview
      • Branding
      • Web
      • Experiential
      • Writing
      • Print
      • Photo
      • Video
      • Music
    • Connect
    • …  
      • About
      • Résumé
      • Portfolio 
        • Overview
        • Branding
        • Web
        • Experiential
        • Writing
        • Print
        • Photo
        • Video
        • Music
      • Connect
    •  
      • About
      • Résumé
      • Portfolio
        • Overview
        • Branding
        • Web
        • Experiential
        • Writing
        • Print
        • Photo
        • Video
        • Music
      • Connect
        • Jake Trussell

          Résumé

        • PROFILE

          Listener Maker Communicator

          SKILLS

          • Experiential Marketing
          • Communications
          • Brand Storytelling
          • Creative Direction
          • Strategic Planning
          • Social Media Strategy
          • RFP Development
          • Creative Briefs
          • Relationship Building
          • Program Design
          • Business Development
          • Brand & Marketing Strategy
          • Team Management
          • Agency Management
          • Agile Project Leadership
          • Web Design
          • Content Development
          • Music Curation & Production
          • Graphic Design
          • Writing
          • Photography
          • Public Speaking

          EXPERIENCE

          Founder & Creative Director

          Metabolize

          2018 to Present

           

          A human-centered brand strategy, and communications agency discovering insights, ideating possibilities, and refining solutions in order to help organizations build, test, deploy, and communicate innovative experiences that create value

           

          Work includes:

          • Experiential marketing
          • Multi-channel campaigns. (web, print, social, event, PR)
          • Content development & curation (writing, photography, music)
          • Branding (naming, identity, positioning, messaging)
          • Website design and development
          • Strategic planning

          Founder & Creative Director

          Mashit

          2003 - Present

           

          Record label with over 20 releases on vinyl, CD, and digital formats; URB Magazine described Mashit as “one of the most forward-looking labels,” and legendary BBC Radio 1 host John Peel said their “releases are “killing dance-floors across Europe and the US months before their release” when he featured Mashit as “Label of the Month” on his show along with a session recorded by Mashit founder DJ

           

          Music Producer

          DJ C, Jake Trusell

          1994 - Present

           

          Recording artist, DJ, music curator, and film score composer who has performed at mountain-top festivals in Japan, underground raves in London, and nightclubs in Prague alongside artists including Lupe Fiasco, Four Tet, Rhymefest, Flosstradamus, and DJ /rupture (with whom he founded the Toneburst event production collective); his discography features more than 50 records on labels including XL Recordings, Ninja Tune, and Soul Jazz, sharing production credits with the likes of Diplo, Quincy Jones, M.I.A., and Gregory Isaacs; a Chicago Reader review of his 2021 Do Radly album said that the music “brings life-giving daring to his hybridized dance music;” DJ C has held a series of night club residencies in Boston and Chicago where he also booked artists from around the world

           

          Creative Director

          World Business Chicago

          2009 to 2018

           

          Designed and managed brands, initiatives and experiential marketing campaigns for Chicago's economic development organization chaired by the Mayor; managed the brand of Chicago as a global business destination (#1 for corporate investment 7 years straight); built brands and communications for a number of civic startups incubated there; designed and led programs and initiatives focused on innovation and entrepreneurship

          Key Roles and Responsibilities:

          • Served as in-house marketing leader, design thinker, and digital strategist, collaborating with C-suite, cross-functional teams, and external government, civic, and private-sector partners to lead with clarity through ambiguity; provided strategic direction for marketing and communications campaigns with a focus on human centered experience design and driving measurable outcomes aligned with company vision, mission, objectives, and strategies
          • Led teams using agile project management to design, build, test, and iterate human-centered digital products in collaboration with in-house teams and outside agencies, including numerous websites and the award-winning Site Selector web application; Toolset includes WordPress, Drupal, Squarespace, Strikingly, Jira, Basecamp, Trello, Slack, Creative Suite, G Suite, Office365
          • Managed and mentored internal marketing, communications, and design teams, along with outside agencies to solve problems by collaborating cross-functionally
          • Built plans, and executed measurable campaigns that increased engagement and created value
          • Led teams to design new business processes and systems to improve internal communications and company alignment, including the development of vision, mission, measurable objectives, and company values developed in partnership with a team of organizational psychologists
          • Led the ThinkChicago talent recruitment initiative, bringing more than 1,500 university students of engineering, computer science, entrepreneurship, and design to meet with leaders in Chicago’s tech sector, in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office, Lollapalooza, Chicago Ideas, and the University of Illinois
          • Co-founded and led the ChicagoMade initiative to support the creative economy and elevate the city as a hub of innovation, in collaboration with the City's Department of Cultural Affairs, Choose Chicago (tourism agency), and the Mayor’s Office; activations at SXSW led to 175 media stories; 3,000+ attendees at the ChicagoMade music showcase which included artists like Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, Saba, and Mick Jenkins; 50+ meetings between leaders including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, (now Governor) J.B. Pritzker, Brad Keywell, and executives of companies including Apple, Amazon, Google, and Warner Brothers; led the development of a strategic plan to expand ChicagoMade into a community-focused program supporting creatives in marginalized communities; this included interviews with 40 leaders in the creative industries, SWOT analysis, program design, financing strategies, and the development of an advisory council

          Web Consultant

          MacArthur Foundation

          2008


          Developed content for Annual Report, Digital Learning, and MacFound.org websites

          Webmaster

          Massachusetts College of Art & Design

          1999 - 2007

           

          Designed and developed the College's first website in 1999, coordinating across the organization to develop clear, coherent story-telling while maintaining brand consistency; managed an external agency to develop the award-winning website redesign in 2002; provided branding, communications, and technology strategy for the College President and departmental directors

          BOARDS & VOLUNTEERING

          Vice Chair, Board of Directors

          Arts & Business Council of Chicago

          2018 – Present

           

          Building relationships between Chicago's cultural and business communities; work on emerging issues in the creative industries; design new models to ensure the support of creatives in marginalized communities to help empower a more just and creative Chicago; previously chair of the Strategic Partnerships Committee; led 2020 fundraising with the #ChiMusic35 experiential marketing campaign generating 9 Chicago Reader articles and over 2 million online impressions in order to raise funds and increase awareness and engagement in lieu of in-person events during the pandemic

           

          Braintrust

          GreenHouse Innovation

          2018 – Present

           

          A group of thinkers using the Innovation Dynamics framework to help solve social problems in collaboration with organizations like the Chicago Literacy Alliance, Shedd Aquarium, and Design for America

           

          Advisor

          Year of Chicago Music

          2019 – 2021

           

          Served on 3 working groups with the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (Marketing; Professional Development & Music Industry; Research, Infrastructure, and Cultural Policy) to support and promote Chicago's vibrant music sector

           

          Mentor
          2112 Creative Industry Incubator

          2015 – 2020


          Mentor startup entrepreneurs in design, branding, and marketing strategy at business incubator focused on music, media, entertainment, and other creative industries

          Radical Creator

          Chicago Ideas

          2014 – 2020


          Active in a community of change-makers breaking down silos and sparking connections across Chicago

           

          Advisor
          Year of Chicago Theatre

          2017 - 2018

           

          Worked with Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and the League of Chicago Theatres to support and promote Chicago's theatre industry, leading to the “Year of Chicago Theatre” (2019)


          Advisor
          LakeFX Summit

          2014 – 2017


          Creative industry professional development conference

          Advisor
          Chicago Music Summit

          2013


          Music industry professional development conference

          EDUCATION

          BFA, Media & Performing Arts, Interrelated Media

          Massachusetts College of Art & Design - Boston, MA | Graduated with Distinction

          1998

           

          Blockchain Certificate

          edX (Linux Foundation)

          2018

          Insights for Innovation Certificate

          IDEO U

          2016

          SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

          Thrive Talk
          Havas Life

          2022

          Presented the ChiMusic35 campaign to the Havas Life agency teams in Chicago and New York as part of their Thrive Talk series focused on how to help people thrive.

           

          Psychology of Creativity
          Illinois Institute of Technology

          2020


          Presented to an organizational psychology class on the ways in which the creative process, design thinking, and innovation can be applied across sectors.

           

          Design for America Summit
          Northwestern University's Segal Design Institute

          2019


          Presented on the use of design methodologies to improve employee experience

           

          Leadership for Creative Enterprises
          Northwestern University's School of Communications

          2018

           

          Spoke on building and collaborating with innovative businesses and organizations, in conversation with Melissa Kaufman, Executive Director of The Garage incubator

          Lake FX Summit

          Multi-venue Creative Industry Conference

          2015 - 2017


          Moderated discussions with Kickstarter co-founder Charles Adler, Cards Against Humanity co-founder Max Temkin, Threadless CEO Jake Nickell, Fake Shore Drive founder Andrew Barber, Young Chicago Authors Artistic Director Kevin Coval, and others

          Taste of Chicago
          Grant Park

          2016


          Moderated a discussion on designing experiences across industries with Lupe Fiasco's tour manager, Iridium Clothing Co. Creative Director and rapper Pugs Atomz, and the creative agency for The Second City and Pitchfork Meida

          Grammy Town Hall

          2014


          Moderated a discussion on Chicago’s creative industries at a Recording Academy event

          Visiting Lecturer
          Harvard University

          2000 – 2007


          Lectured on music production and culture

          AWARDS

          Site Selection Magazine’s Top Metro for Corporate Relocation & Investment

          2013 – 2019


          Top industry accolade 7 years in a row for Wold Business Chicago’s work marketing Chicago as a business destination

          International Economic Development Council Award

          2012


          SiteSelector Web Application

          AIGA Web Design Award

          2002


          MassArt.edu

           

        Jake Trussell

        Listener
        Maker
        Communicator

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