New York
Cole Nielsen
Senior Director, Experience Strategy


As Senior Director of Experience Strategy, Cole combines equal parts design and strategy to deliver world-class solutions for some of the best brands in the world.
Driven by a desire to instill meaning and impact into people's lives, he finds creative inspiration among the people, streets, and culture of Brooklyn.
- In your own words, what do you do at Lippincott?
I try to make strategy bleed: I do everything I can to ensure that our work comes alive in the real world, and doesn't die in a deck. I try to infuse work with all the human emotions, real-world insights, viable creativity and actionable steps that beg ideas to become tangible.
- What's your favorite thing about the place you call home?
In Brooklyn, I feel like I get to experience the vanguard of creative culture; there’s a certain energy in the air and the richness of humanity is all around. It’s not an easy place to live or raise a family, but I know that it’s shaped my life and the lives of my kids in ways no other place could.
- What do you find most fulfilling about your work?
One of the great things about being a creative professional is that my work often gets to intersect with my passions: producing music, directing films, creating art and all things basketball. Every project I work on is exciting and engaging because they allow me to embrace different aspects of my occupational endeavors.
- When did you decide you wanted to be in this business? Why?
Cliché as it may be, I always wanted to make things that could touch people’s lives in some meaningful way. I was straddling a dual major in college (and multiple minors and hobbies) for my first few years before realizing a career in design might be the solution; it was the combination of visuals and typography—art and story—that drew me in initially. Over the years, however, I realized collaborating with clients towards 'Some Future Good' has allowed me to embrace my initial objective in a powerful and multi-faceted manner.
- What did school actually teach you?
How to work hard, take criticism in stride and obsessively revise until I get to a better place. That, and to never track letters out past 50.
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Education
B.F.A. Graphic Design, Brigham Young University
B.A. English, Graphic Design, Brigham Young UniversityWork Experience
Director of Design, SYLVAIN
Creative/Strategy Consultant, Cole Nielsen DesignConnect