Creative Director Brand · Design · Campaigns Available for consulting

Michael Arguello — Creative Director

Selected Work

Gusto · Brand Campaign

Dream Small

This story is about Tony, an ambitious small business owner building something that might seem small to others, but is actually big.

Case study coming soon

Personio rebrand campaign photography
Personio · Rebrand

The future of HR

Rebuilding Personio to look, feel, and function as one cohesive brand.

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Infosys brand campaign featuring a multi-sport athlete
Infosys · Brand Campaign

Champions Evolve

A global campaign for the Australian Open featuring tennis icon Iga Świątek.

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Personio out-of-home poster for an HR audio series
Personio · Campaign

Gut feelings

An audio series about HR before data, when gut instinct was everything.

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Cinematic still of honey drizzled over a cheese board
Square · Product film

Making it by hand

A cinematic product film built on warmth, craft, and detail.

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Experience

Creative director
focused on brand

I’ve spent the last 18 years building things. My career started at global ad agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi, AKQA, Huge, and R/GA, and since then I’ve led in-house teams for tech companies like Square, Airtable, and Gusto.

I thrive on doing work that goes beyond one function, one discipline, or one room. My ability to understand how the whole thing connects has led me to do a wide range of work, from 360 campaigns to brand, web, product, and experiential work.

Throughout my career, I’ve never wanted to be one thing. And this has given me a breadth of experience that has shaped my creative point of view, and the people around me.

I’m a firm believer that the best work happens when people feel empowered, so I’ve focused my career on both honing my own craft and helping creative teams do their best work. Whether it’s a global brand campaign, a digital product, or a physical experience, I love the challenge of taking a big idea and making it real.

18
Yrs Experience
50
Brands Shaped
12
Agency Roles
4
In-house Roles

Michael worked with me at Google. In his role as creative director, he helped shape our creative strategy for Google Ads online acquisitions. Not only did he produce experiences that delighted and connected with users, he also helped drive tangible growth for the business.

He is a natural, empathetic leader and you see it in action when you watch him jam with his team. His value add is not just his talent, but also how he brings the best out of the designers that report to him.

Mohammed Alcodray, Head of AI Growth, Meta

I had the pleasure of working closely with Michael on several Personio campaigns. Michael is a talented creative director with vision and great taste. Watching him architect concepts that truly live and breathe from a simple idea was genuinely inspiring.

I would thoroughly recommend him if you are seeking a powerful storyteller, creative director or brand strategist.

Alex Venus, Growth Marketing Director, Personio

Michael combines both strategic rigor, deep creativity, and has a fingertip pulse on many cultures. But above all, what an enormous pleasure to collaborate with him. It takes a few seconds to click into an instant flow, a few hours goes by, dozens of ideas on a Figma board, and endless possibility. He brings fresh air and new perspectives into everything he does, challenging the status quo and eager to go beyond the edges. This is a rare kind of creative talent that doesn’t fit into a box. That’s precisely why his work has resonance.

Paul Jun, Creative Director, Ramp

Michael is an incredible talent. As a creative, he is problem solver first and foremost. He has a way of boiling down a seemingly complex problem into something that seems almost obvious. As a leader, he is relentless in finding a way to inspire those around him to achieve a higher level of performance. It was a privilege to work alongside Michael, and I only hope to do so again in the future.

Alan Roll, Senior Creative Director, LinkedIn

Working closely with Michael at R/GA was such a privilege, he’s an immensely talented creative leader. His distinct creative vision, attention to detail, and positive attitude make him a joy to work with.

He very quickly won over our clients when he first joined the Google account and had them singing his praises. Michael’s cross-channel experience makes him a unique asset to any brand he touches, as he always views the work from a holistic perspective. I look forward to working with him again one day!

Divya Reddy, Global Brand, Netflix

FAQ

Turning a simple idea into something that lives and breathes across every touchpoint. I find the through-line between brand, product, and campaign, then build the system (and often the team) to carry it. After 18 years leading creative, I'm at my best making ambitious work that people actually want to spend time with.

Brand campaigns and rebrands, art direction, design systems, and digital product experiences. I'm happiest on work that needs one clear, bold idea carried through every touchpoint.

Yes, selectively. I’m a full-time Creative Director, and I take on a limited number of freelance and contract projects on the side, provided there’s no conflict of interest with my current role. These are usually focused sprints or well-defined scopes rather than open-ended commitments. If you have something in mind, let’s talk and see if it’s a fit.

I'm based in New York and work with teams remotely across time zones. For the right project, I'm open to traveling or working on-site.

Strip the brief back to the single idea worth keeping, pressure-test it, then push it further than expected. Clean on the surface, fearless underneath. I keep it collaborative the whole way, with the team and the client in tight feedback loops, so the best idea wins no matter where it comes from.

Both, honestly. I've spent years on each side, and they offer different things. On the agency side you get to focus on the creative work and move between a range of brands and problems. In-house, you get to go deeper: you live with the brand, build the system and the team behind it, and watch the work pay off over time. I value both, and the right fit really depends on the problem.

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