HELLO, I’M
RICH SILIVANCH
CREATIVE DIRECTOR | BRAND STRATEGIST | BUSINESS STORYTELLER ALIGNING STRATEGY, STORY & DESIGN TO INSPIRE ACTION… AND I LOVE WHAT I DO.
HELLO, I’M
CREATIVE DIRECTOR | BRAND STRATEGIST | BUSINESS STORYTELLERALIGNING STRATEGY, STORY & DESIGN TO INSPIRE ACTION… AND I LOVE WHAT I DO.
About
- Name: Rich Silivanch
- Title: Creative Director / Brand Storyteller
- Location: West Orange, NJ
- Pastime: Photography, Paddleboarding, Adventure Travel, Antiquing
- Industry Expertise: Culinary, Tech/AI, NonProfit
- Fav Work Testimonial: “Dat shit is Gold” – Russell Simmons, on reviewing a video I created for his jewelry line
- Seeking: Business relationships with inspiring people
Hello
- Hi, I'm Rich. I'm a Creative Director, Brand Strategist, and storyteller with 25+ years of helping startups launch, established brands evolve, and marketing teams create stronger connections. I believe remarkable businesses deserve remarkable brands—and I love helping them realize their full potential.
MY PURPOSE
- I help organizations uncover what makes them remarkable and transform that into brands people understand, trust, and remember. By aligning strategy, storytelling, and design, I help businesses create clarity, build credibility, and grow with confidence.
MY PASSION
- Storytelling is where strategy becomes human. Whether through branding, photography, film, or design, I'm passionate about uncovering authentic stories that create emotional connections, reveal what makes a business unique, and leave a lasting impression.
CURRENTLY
- I call West Orange, New Jersey home—the hometown of one of history's greatest innovators, Thomas Edison. As President of the Friends of Thomas Edison National Historical Park, I'm honored to help preserve the birthplace of recorded sound, motion pictures, and invention while sharing its stories with future generations.
MOST RECENTLY
- As Founder and Creative Director of GRAVITUDE Brand Lab, I've partnered with startups, nonprofits, growth companies, and established brands during pivotal moments of transformation. Recent work includes launching an AI sustainability initiative, creating fundraising films for a nationally recognized special needs school, rebranding multi-location businesses and law firms, helping launch new consumer brands, and producing year-long storytelling campaigns through photography and video. The variety keeps me curious, the challenges keep me learning, and the opportunity to help great organizations tell their story never gets old.
WHAT I DO
My work centers around these three key client focuses.
STARTUPS + LAUNCHES
Helping founders transform bold ideas into brands that earn trust, attract investors, and inspire customers from day one.
REBRANDING
Helping established companies realign their brand with the business they've become, refreshing perception, reconnecting with audiences, and building momentum for what's next.
MARCOMM TEAMS
An extension of your marketing team—bringing fresh perspective, senior creative leadership, and strategic storytelling to strengthen your brand across every touchpoint.
BRAND STRATEGY
Building the foundation for every decision.
- Brand Audits & Assessments
- Stakeholder & Customer Discovery
- Audience Personas
- Competitive Positioning
- Brand Positioning Strategy
- Core Messaging Framework
- Value Proposition Development
- Marketing & Campaign Planning
- Customer Journey Mapping
- Sales & Investor Storytelling
- Information Design
- Partnership & Growth Strategy
BRAND IDENTITY & CREATIVE
Turning strategy into a brand people remember.
- Brand Naming
- Logo & Identity Systems
- Brand Architecture
- Visual Language Development
- Brand Voice & Personality
- Core Values & Attributes
- Creative Direction
- Moodboards & Concept Development
- Design Systems
- Brand Style Guides
- Presentation & Pitch Design
- Creative Testing & Refinement
STORYTELLING & CONTENT
Inspiring audiences to action.
- Brand Story Development
- Founder & Executive Storytelling
- Customer Success Stories
- Thought Leadership
- Copywriting
- Content Strategy
- Social Media Content
- Video Scriptwriting
- Campaign Concepts
- Case Studies
- Blog & Article Development
- Editorial Content Planning
DIGITAL EXPERIENCES
Every interaction shapes perception.
- Website Strategy
- Website Design
- Landing Pages
- Marketing Funnels
- Email Marketing
- Digital Campaigns
- Social Media Strategy
- Social Branding & Templates
- Interactive Experiences
- Intranet & Portal Design
- SEO Content Planning
- Analytics & Optimization
PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO
Authentic stories deserve authentic visuals.
- Commercial Photography
- Executive Portraits
- Team & Culture Photography
- Product Photography
- Lifestyle Brand Photography
- Brand Films
- Founder Stories
- Customer Testimonials
- Recruitment Videos
- Social Media Video
- Event & Milestone Coverage
- Creative Direction & Production
MARKETING TOOLS & EXPERIENCES
Bringing your brand to life.
- Sales & Marketing Materials
- Investor & Pitch Decks
- Case Studies
- Proposal Templates
- Brochures & Print Collateral
- Trade Show Experiences
- Environmental Branding
- Interior Graphics & Timelines
- Signage Systems
- Interactive Print
- Traditional Advertising
- Promotional Campaigns
AI-POWERED CREATIVE
Faster insights. Smarter execution.
- AI Research & Discovery
- Competitive Intelligence
- Agentic AI Workflows
- Ideation & Brainstorming
- Content / Copywriting Assistance
- Image Creation
- Cinematic Video Generation
- Presentation Development
- Knowledge Organization
- Workflow Automation
- Content Repurposing
- Prompt Engineering
The best brands aren't built in silos. They happen when every touchpoint works together in harmony. My role is to orchestrate strategy, storytelling, design, photography, video, print, and digital into one unified brand experience, saving clients time, reducing revisions, and creating momentum instead of friction.
BODY OF WORK
I live for visual storytelling—whether through client work, fine art, or mission-driven projects. At the core of everything I create is a passion for connection and meaningful expression.
BUSINESS CASE STUDIES
My GRAVITUDE portfolio is more than a showcase of creative work, it's a collection of businesses transformed through strategy, storytelling, and design. Explore how I've helped companies strengthen perception, build trust, and inspire audiences to action.
TELL ME MORE ABOUT GRAVITUD
LOGO + NAMING ARCHIVE
More than 300 names. More than 300 stories. Each one is the result of discovering what makes a business unique and transforming that insight into a memorable, meaningful brand. Naming and identity design remain at the heart of what I love to create.
"Every name begins with an idea. Every logo tells a story."
LOGOS + NAMES
STORYTELLING/VIDEO
Storytelling is where strategy becomes human. From 30-second social stories to documentary-style brand films, I create content that sparks curiosity, builds emotional connections, and inspires people to trust your brand, share your story, and take action.
STORYTELLING
PHOTOGRAPHY - COMMERCIAL
My commercial work serves to create authentic imagery and content that builds trust, captures personality, and strengthens perception - from products and exec. portraits to magazine covers, culinary, spaces, places, social content and personal branding.
COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTOGRAPHY - PERSONAL ART
Inspired by exploration, forgotten places, remarkable characters, and unexpected perspectives, this collection celebrates the beauty, mystery, and emotion found in the world around us.
FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHYEverything above is connected by one belief: great stories create meaningful connections. Whether I'm building a brand, crafting a film, creating a name, or capturing a photograph, each experience deepens my perspective and helps me create work that earns trust, inspires action, and leaves a lasting impression.
Experience
Every role has shaped the way I think about brands, leadership, and human connection. More than a list of titles, this journey reflects a lifelong passion for helping organizations find their voice, inspire trust, and create meaningful momentum.
GRAVITUDE BRAND LAB
Creative Director / Brand Director
2020 - PRESENT Explore how I've helped companies transform their brands through strategy, storytelling, and creative leadership. Each project reflects a unique challenge, a bold solution, and a brand built to inspire action.
Every brand has a story. Every project is an opportunity to strengthen perception, build trust, and create momentum. Explore how I've helped companies move from Static to Magnetic through strategy, storytelling, and creative experiences.
- Directed end-to-end creative across all marcomm touchpoints, setting vision and ensuring cohesive, high-impact brand expression and connection across diverse audiences and industries.
- Led, mentored, and inspired multidisciplinary teams across regions, fostering a high-performance culture rooted in creativity, curiosity, and accountability.
- Spearheaded transformative rebrands and repositioning efforts, evolving established companies into modern, differentiated, approachable, and growth-driven brands.
- Partnered with marketing leadership as a strategic creative director, aligning vision with business goals while improving efficiency and reducing costs.
- Delivered insight-driven, ROI-focused creative grounded in strong concepts, authentic storytelling, and design excellence.
CLIENTS: Staffing Alternatives, Aramark, Securitas, MIT, TEDTalk, IEEE, and dozens of smaller companies making a bold impact.
VISIT GRAVITUDE
MUTANT MEDIA
CoFounder / Exec. Creative Director
2002 - 2019 Led a powerhouse creative team behind award-winning campaigns that drove measurable impact. Built lasting client relationships—some over a decade strong—fueled by trust, results, and word-of-mouth magic. Helped our partners shine brighter with work that resonated and endured.
- Founded and scaled a multidisciplinary NYC-based creative agency, building a high-performing team and leading brand, marketing, and operational strategy to drive sustained growth.
- Served as an offsite Creative Director across hundreds of engagements for global brands and high-growth startups, translating business objectives into compelling creative that delivered measurable impact.
- Led integrated, multi-channel initiatives across identity systems, campaigns, digital platforms, content production, and experiential—ensuring cohesive brand expression at every touchpoint.
- Recruited, built, and mentored high-performing creative teams while implementing collaborative workflows that elevated output, increased efficiency, and improved overall performance. Built focused sales, design and video teams passionate about their talents and focused on delivery.
CLIENTS: Aramark, Reebok, Bacardi, Buddy Media, Bud Light, Paramount Pictures, Givaudan Flavors, SEIKO, Pulsar, Rowan University, BASF and dozens of startups/SMEs.
ZEFER
GUI/Brand Director
1999 - 2002 Creative leadership role at a leading NYC digital consulting firm, driving digital strategy, brand evolution, and enterprise client engagement during a period of rapid expansion.
- Led concepting, visual design, and brand extension across enterprise web, intranet, and branding initiatives in a distributed team environment.
- Directed cross-functional teams (developers, programmers, multimedia) while aligning client needs with defined scope and execution.
- Built strong client and team relationships while spearheading a rapid company rebrand from strategy through launch. ZEFER was absorbed by NEC under the new brand Niteo Partners.
CLIENTS: NEC, Niteo, Citi, Chase, FXall, Morgan Stanley and more.
VOLUNTEER
FRIENDS OF THOMAS EDISON
NATIONAL HISTRICAL PARK
President / Trustee – 2016 - PRESENT Beyond my work as a Creative Director, I'm deeply passionate about preserving the history of innovation. Through my leadership with the Friends of Thomas Edison National Historical Park, I help protect the birthplace of recorded sound, motion pictures, and countless inventions—celebrating the power of ideas that continue to shape how we communicate, create, and connect today. I also led the rebrand and promotion of all events and outreach.
VISIT THE FRIENDS OF EDISONCONNECT
You know that moment when one good idea sparks another? That's my favorite kind of conversation. Let's grab a coffee, meet for a drink, or jump on Zoom… whatever works. I'd love to swap ideas, challenge perspectives, and see where the conversation takes us.
KEEP CONNECTED
Here are my personal socials—be sure to check out my companies for branding, storytelling, launches, and creative work.LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.
Rich Silivanch
CREATIVE.
VISIONARY.
STRATEGIC.
RESULTS DRIVEN.
INFLUENTIAL.