
Clear
Direction
Working with teams to
shape strategic creative
and move in new ways
Work
In Motion
Past Work: Remixed
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Small Case Studies
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Client: Global Aerospace & Defense Firm
Role: Environmental Systems LeadChallenge
Preserve design intent while identifying cost savings across a campus-wide environmental graphics and wayfinding system.Strategy
Reconsidered materials, production, and sequencing as an integrated whole. Prototyped quickly, failed fast, and refined through iterative mock-ups.Impact
Achieved ~$250K in savings (~25% of production budget) without compromising design integrity. Insights informed cost-conscious strategies on future large-scale projects. -
Client: Global Media Company
Role: Strategy & Systems ContributorChallenge
A proposed renovation wouldn't move forward without demonstrating need—visually and quantitatively. Design had to be justified with clear, data-backed reasoning.Strategy
Supported early-stage spatial analysis to understand explosive headcount growth, operational bottlenecks, and behavioral patterns—especially around food service and circulation. Translated findings into a clear narrative that helped leadership connect lived experience to quantifiable strain. Developed supporting decks and documentation to anticipate detailed questions and build confidence. Later, contributed to environmental graphics and wayfinding, aligning brand standards with spatial and code constraints.Impact
Helped create the clarity and confidence needed to advance a major renovation. Provided structure and storytelling that gave decision-makers the tools to move forward. -
Client: Global Investment Firm
Role: Systems Designer for Public EngagementChallenge
Enable scalable, meaningful access to a multi-site public art collection—across varied architectural finishes and long-term facilities constraints.Strategy
Developed a flexible tagging system using clear acrylic plates screen-printed with QR codes (or placeholders), mounted via tailored hardware based on wall type. Designed a templated workflow that automated layout from Excel data for streamlined production with minimal visual disruption.Impact
Delivered a maintainable, low-visibility infrastructure for cultural engagement, adaptable to future content and considerate of both architectural context and operational needs. -
Client: Global Tech Company
Role: Strategic Designer & Program LeadChallenge
Support high-stakes real estate planning with clear, data-informed analysis to aid in lease negotiations and future programming.Strategy
Led program development within a cross-disciplinary advisory team. Used interviews, focus groups, and scenario modeling to surface patterns and explore growth possibilities. Translated findings into visual frameworks and information design that clarified trade-offs and revealed new options.Impact
Equipped decision-makers with actionable insight at a critical inflection point—shaping conversations around headcount, spatial needs, and long-term flexibility without predetermining outcomes. -
Client: Global Financial Firm
Role: Workplace Systems DesignerChallenge
Establish a modular planning approach that balances long-term adaptability with clarity for internal teams and external partners.Strategy
Co-developed a spatial equivalency framework to simplify planning conversations and create consistency across real estate projects. Helped produce a detailed workplace standards guide that articulated this logic with visual clarity and narrative precision, supporting broader decision-making and rollout efforts.Impact
Enabled scalable workplace planning through a clear, design-led system. The standards helped align strategy, design intent, and execution across regions.
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AI_Lab
My Practice
Creative
Multi-Disciplinary
Strategic
15+ years across brand, the built environment, and digital platforms
Focused on clarity, systems, and
stories that move
Working
Together
Whether you’re building,
evolving, or rethinking—
I can help shape creative
systems that move
things forward
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Identity Frameworks, Design Systems, Documentation, Fractional Brand Leadership
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Spatial Graphics, Exhibitions, Branded Interiors, Signage & Wayfinding, Embedded Creative Direction
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Narrative Positioning, Creative Leadership, Brand Architecture, Concept Development, Fractional Strategy Partnerships
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Prompt Architecture, Prototyping, AI-Enhanced Processes, Advisory Roles & Fractional Collaboration
Let’s connect
Have an idea?
A challenge?
A brief?
I’m here to help
Prefer email or phone?
Reach me at steven@scharrer.co
or +1 646 598 8897
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Steven Scharrer is a creative director and systems-based strategist working across brand, architecture, and digital platforms. His work blends design thinking, storytelling, and emerging tools to shape thoughtful, forward-moving solutions.
He holds professional degrees in Graphic Design (BFA) and Architecture (M.Arch) from Kendall College of Art and Design and the University of Michigan. He also earned an AI for Business specialization from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
His work, often created in close collaboration with award-winning teams, has been recognized across brand, design, architectural, and experiential categories. He has contributed to conversations on creative leadership, systems, and process at institutions including the University of Michigan, Virginia Tech, and select industry events.