Hello! My name is Meredith Pahoulis. I’m a Digital Creative Director, design leader and designer with experience running creative teams and building innovative user-centered products. I have enjoyed a diverse background working across award-winning agencies and in-house teams for the past 15+ years.

Throughout my career, I have had the honor of working with prestigious clients such as American Express, United Nations, Pfizer, Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, Penguin Random House, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Shiseido, Novartis, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts to name a selected few.

I’m currently a Director, Experience Design at FCB Health (an Interpublic Group agency), one of the world’s most awarded global ad agencies where I focus on user-centered design and lead a multidisciplinary team specializing in product design, interaction design and user experience design for some of the biggest and brightest brands in pharma.

Before joining FCB, I held the position of Associate Creative Director, Digital at Case Agency where I led the digital creative design team and brought engaging digital experiences to life (e-commerce and branding websites, and more) for clients primarily in the luxury and beauty industries. 

Prior to my role at Case, I designed at Digitas North America (a Publicis agency) on the American Express account, leading creative development for B2B and B2C initiatives. Before Digitas, I was the Digital Art Director at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts where I led website and app design and developed new digital experiences. 

I’ve also designed for the United Nations Secretariat at OCHA at the headquarters in NYC (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) where I oversaw creative for web, campaigns, online advertising and print. I focused on website design and ideation for global humanitarian crises and assistance for countries affected by armed conflict and natural disaster such as South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and many others. I was the lead creative for the Syria Campaign #WhatDoesItTake and for World Humanitarian Day 2015.

Before the UN, I was the Art Director of Advertising at Penguin Random House (Knopf), the most prestigious imprint in the publishing world. I was the lead creative for top ad campaigns that used a wide range of touchpoints including TV, online, mobile, OOH, social marketing and print for best-selling books by authors such as Haruki Murakami, Toni Morrison, Bill Clinton, EL James’ 50 Shades of Grey which helped sell 100 million copies worldwide, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol, and Stieg Larsson’s crime series "Millennium trilogy" which included The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo.

Other clients include: Macy’s Fashion Office, The New Humanitarian in Geneva (formerly IRIN News), Lauren Conrad, Kaplan, Inc. Riverhead, Oxford University Press, and I'm a Dream Team Collaborator at Blurb.

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design, with a minor in Art History from University of Massachusetts Amherst and also studied design in Florence, Italy at the Studio Arts College International.

I was also recently chosen as a mentor for the 2024 AIGA NY Mentorship Program Cohort. The mentorship program is committed to nurturing a vibrant community of designers dedicated to growth. Through the AIGA mentorship program, we champion self-confidence, unlock potential, and inspire mentees to embrace leadership roles on their career journey.

I’m an active member of The One Club for Creativity, AIGA NY, MoMA, The Whitney, and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. When I’m not working, I love traveling to faraway, remote places where I enjoy landscape and wildlife photography and play the cello in an orchestra on the weekends in Manhattan.

Tools: Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, InVision, Zeplin, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Neurons (Predict AI), Stark, Wireframing and Prototyping, Keynote, Workfront, Ziflow, Basecamp, Trello, Jira, Microsoft 365, Basic HTML, CSS.

“An exceptional Art Director, Meredith was a vital, enthusiastic collaborator for my work in marketing, web content, and social media. Whatever idea I had in my head, she was able to translate beautifully into impactful visuals, often bringing innovative solutions to complex concepts. Perceptive and collaborative, she managed to synthesize demands and priorities of multiple internal clients into clean, user facing designs. She is also a truly remarkable photographer. With her broad skill set, innate curiosity, and collegial warmth, Meredith would be an asset to any organization she joins.”

—Amanda MacBlane, Director, Digital and Creative Media, 21C Media Group, Inc.

Amanda and I worked together when she was the Associate Director of Communications at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

“Meredith is an extremely talented and hardworking Art Director. She effortlessly and consistently juggled dozens of projects at a time, and somehow had a smile every time I interacted with her. From fresh, conceptual book jackets to blockbuster bestseller ads in the New York Times, Meredith impressed everyone in the department with her range. She has a keen eye for developing fabulously eye-catching ads and marketing materials within strict textual and formatting guidelines. Meredith is a very warm, friendly person and easy to work with; it was a pleasure and privilege to collaborate on many big projects together at Penguin Random House. She was definitely born to be a Art/Creative Director and I look forward to seeing her future work. Highly recommended.”

—Heather Kirkpatrick, Senior Client Account ManageR, Twitter

Heather and I worked together when she was a Marketing Manager at Penguin Random House

“Meredith is a conscientious Art Director, possessing a natural talent for design and a commitment to using her skills to advance organizational goals. Meredith brings her passion for the performing and visual arts to everything she does, drawing upon varied influences to create exceptional work. She never fails to deliver inspired visuals, balancing innovative concepts with subtle, yet significant, details. In addition to being an accomplished designer, Meredith is also a pleasure to work with. She is a consummate collaborator, always eager to jump in and help, share her perspective, and discuss new points of view to deliver the best possible visual solutions and user experiences.”

—Rebecca Popp, Senior Director, Advocacy and Campaigns, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Rebecca and I worked together at Lincoln Center

“Meredith is an accomplished and thoughtful art director. Working with our Marketing team, she always jumped into design projects with enthusiasm and with impeccable taste and style. I could always rely on Meredith to take a brief and deliver a project that aligned with our strategic vision. It’s been a pleasure working with her at Lincoln Center.”

—John Casavant, Senior Director, Marketing, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

John and I worked together at Lincoln Center

“Meredith was great to work with. As I reported directly to her, she was an amazing boss, both communicative and supportive. She did very well in directing me in the right path with my designs. She managed a lot of direction coming from different avenues and streamlined all the work we needed to get done as easy as possible. With almost ten years at Knopf, she not only saw legends walk the halls of Random House, but she was one herself. I’m glad to have worked with her and have her as a mentor.”

—Elizabeth Leong So, Senior Product Designer, CASH APP

I hired Liz for my team at Knopf, Penguin Random House

“I adored working with Meredith. She can conceptualize what you can verbalize. That’s a great talent and foundation of a highly skilled art director. She’s timely in her work, she’s a great corporate citizen (she’s fun! she’s neat! she’s honest!) and she works very well with others—setting forth measurable goals and generally being pleasant and effective. I’d love the opportunity to work with Meredith at any company—she’s got a great spirit, passion, and attitude.”

—Maureen O'Donnell, FORMER Director, Software Marketing and SaleS, Kaplan

Maureen and I worked on a variety of Kaplan, Inc. projects together

“Meredith and I collaborated on numerous projects during our time at Digitas. She was always efficient, responsive, and had a keen eye for design and aesthetics. I watched her create beautiful work while deftly incorporating client requests, technical considerations, and branding guidelines. She was a pleasure to work with and would be an asset at any organization.”

—Tennessee Grimes, Senior Customer Onboarding Manager, Bluecore

Tennessee and I worked together when he was the Manager of Marketing and Operations at Digitas North America

“Talented, dedicated, and truly professional. It was always a pleasure when I had the opportunity to work on a project spearheaded by Meredith and her team. As a Production Manager, I’ve been fortunate to have worked with dozens of Creative Directors and Meredith ranks at the very top of the field!”

—Raquel Toro, SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER, COSIDLA

Raquel and I work together when she was a Marketing Production Manager at Penguin Random House

“I worked with Meredith back in early 2019 at Digitas. She’s a very detail-oriented designer and made sure that the work we showed clients, whether it was the first round or tenth, was the best it could possibly be. Work ethic like that is hard to come by, and I think Meredith would be an asset on any creative team lucky enough to bring her on.”

—Brandon Ma, Senior UX Writer, E*TRADE

Brandon and I worked together at Digitas

“Meredith works very hard and is quite talented. I definitely recommend her.”

—Chip Kidd, Art Director, Editor-at-Large, Penguin Random House, Knopf, Pantheon, author

Chip and I worked together at Penguin Random House

“Meredith has a great eye for aesthetics and is very passionate about art, design, and culture. Design is not only something she does as her job; she is actively hitting up exhibitions at different museums every weekend or seeing a variety of shows ranging from classical ballet to shoegazer rock to the latest painter documentary. Design and art is intricately interwoven into her life and shines through her work.”

—Amanda Chan, Senior UX/UI Designer, Orion Business Innovation

Amanda and I worked together when she was a UX/UI Designer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

“Meredith is an extremely talented and highly skilled designer. On top of that, she’s generous and kind and a pleasure to work with. I would love to have her on my team if the opportunity ever presented itself.”

—John Fontana, Senior Vice President, Creative Director at Doubleday, PenGuin Random House

John and I worked together at Penguin Random House

“Meredith worked on a number of communications products for United Nations OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) – from graphics for social media to Annual Reports. She is creative, diligent and always delivers, even under our unreasonably tight deadlines.”

—Tomas de Mul, Head, Public Advocacy & Campaigns Unit, The United Nations, OCHA

Tomas and I worked together at the UN

“Meredith is a terrific designer who always came up with some really unique and creative campaigns for our books while we worked together at Random House. She was very timely and always open to any suggestions for improving the final product. I would recommend her highly.”

—Caroline Ziegler, Director, Partnerships and Corporate Development, Indeed

Caroline and I worked together when she was the Consumer Advertising and Promotions Manager at Penguin Random House

“Meredith is a very talented and dedicated Art Director. She does whatever it takes to meet her deadlines and she is unfailingly pleasant even when the pressure is on. She’s a true team player and would be an asset to any organization she joins.”

—Judy Jacoby, Vice President, DIrector Creative Marketing and Advertising Services, Doubleday Books, Penguin Random House

Judy and I worked together at Penguin Random House

“Meredith is a dedicated designer, talented, and a diligent worker. As well, she is a graceful person.”

—Carol Devine Carson, FORMER Senior Vice President and Art Director at Knopf, Penguin Random House

Carol and I worked together at Penguin Random House

“Talented, intuitive and responsive, Meredith was a pleasure to work with. Her designs were spot in for the project at hand and she was always willing to go the extra mile to find creative solutions for the challenge at hand.”

—Hillary Tisman, Associate Marketing Director, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Hillary and I worked together when she was the Advertising and Promotions Manager for Vintage and Anchor Books at Penguin Random House

“I had the utmost pleasure of working with Meredith while I was an Art Director at Pantheon Books. I found her very easy going, and her work was always inspired. She plays a mean cello too!”

—Archie Ferguson, Principal at Archie Ferguson Design

Archie and I worked together when I was at Penguin Random House

“Meredith is a great designer. Because of her many years of experience as an in-house designer for Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and a freelancer for Metropolitan Museum of Art, she has a variety of skills that will make your marketing materials pop. Her friendly personality makes you feel completely comfortable, even when you change your mind a million times. She is always encouraging and positive. If you want a designer with a creative mind and a can-do spirit, hire Meredith.”

—Peggy Samedi, SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER, Penguin Random House

Peggy and I worked together when I was at Penguin Random House

“It was a breath of fresh air to work with someone like Meredith over the years that not only was a big proponent of marketing and production working hand in hand, but being a true professional day in and day out. Meredith would be a big asset to any organization bringing with her knowledge, experience and a respectable presence.”


—Marina Paruolo, Production Director of Marketing, Penguin Random House

Marina and I worked together when I was at Penguin Random House

“Meredith is an excellent Art Director and a great colleague. She is always professional, and very committed to helping internal clients achieve their goals. She is a pleasure to work with.”


—Eileen Willis, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, LINCOLN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Eileen and I worked together when I was at Lincoln Center