ABOUT GARY

Who I Am

I’m a Boston-based creative director, brand builder, designer, artist, and music creator. I believe great brands come from clarity, cultural instinct, and worldbuilding. They should create systems that scale, stories that resonate, and experiences that feel real. Whether I’m shaping a digital ecosystem, building an identity system, directing a campaign, designing a physical environment, or creating and producing music, my goal is the same: make something that matters.

My studio is located on the South Shore of Massachusetts and work with clients across Boston, New England, and anywhere making art and design takes me.

Core Beliefs

Authenticity Above All: A brand is everything a person sees, touches, hears, and feels. Good work feels lived-in, honest, and human.

Creativity Is Human Before It’s Commercial: My instincts were shaped by music, subculture, movement, and art. I follow intuition and energy. Craft and clarity bring ideas to life.

Worldbuilding, Not Just Branding: Identity is a universe. Systems should scale, evolve, and carry emotional meaning.

Craft + Intuition Together: I am a maker. The best ideas come from discipline, exploration, curiosity, and trust.

Design as a Modular System: Visual, verbal, digital, and spatial components should be flexible and scalable. Systems create freedom.

Empathy Shapes Experience: Design should welcome people. Clarity, accessibility, and emotional resonance matter.

Stories That Stay With People: The work should connect, resonate, and be remembered.

What I Do Today

I am an Associate Creative Director in Interactive Design at Boston University, helping shape and steward the university’s digital brand across more than 27 colleges and schools. I lead creative direction, brand governance, design systems, UX, interactive design, and large-scale digital storytelling for one of the most recognized institutions in the world.

My role combines concepting, strategy, design, product collaboration, and guiding cross-disciplinary teams. I help build and evolve Boston University’s digital ecosystem, including the Product Base system used across hundreds of sites. My focus is to ensure that every touchpoint expresses the brand with clarity, consistency, and purpose.

Alongside my institutional work, I run Gary Hedrick Creative, where I build brand worlds for lifestyle, retail, technology, and consumer clients.

How I Got Here

I studied Graphic Design at Massachusetts College of Art, shaped by the worlds I grew up in: skateboarding, snowboarding, and music culture. Those early environments taught me about identity, systems, freedom, and the power of culture to create meaning. Those lessons guide my work to this day.

I started designing for musicians and bands. That work became the foundation of my approach to worldbuilding. I learned how to create visual systems, storytelling frameworks, voice, tone, and environments that feel lived-in and emotionally resonant.

Mentorship & Team Leadership

My leadership style is rooted in empathy, clarity, and creativity. I believe the best work comes from teams who feel trusted, supported, and empowered to take risks.

I work to create environments where designers, developers, writers, strategists, and partners can do the best work of their careers. I do this by setting a clear vision, offering guidance, and giving people the space to grow and explore.

Mentorship is central to how I work. I listen first, guide with intention, and help people build confidence in their instincts and craft. Whether I am coaching a junior designer through a concept, aligning partners around a system, or helping a senior teammate step into leadership, my focus is to elevate people as much as the work. Great teams are built through trust, shared purpose, and a culture where curiosity and exploration are encouraged. Creativity thrives when people feel supported and heard.

Design, at its best, is a collective act. Leadership is the craft of unlocking that collective potential.

Beyond Design

My creative practice goes far beyond screens and brand systems. I am also a musician, artist, and builder. These disciplines shape how I see the world and how I approach creative direction.

I have spent years writing and performing music, co-founding bands, and creating the visual and sonic identities around them. That work keeps me connected to instinct, rhythm, emotion, and the energy of real people in real spaces.

I am also a hands-on maker. I co-designed and built The Hideaway, a five-star Superhost rental, from the foundation up. Identity, space, interiors, storytelling, and the guest experience all work together as one cohesive world. Building it reinforced a belief that design is not only visual. It is spatial, emotional, and deeply human.

Whether I am shaping a brand, directing a team, writing lyrics, painting, or building something physical, my approach is the same: create with intention, trust instinct, stay connected to culture, and make something people can feel.