Design Leader in the Chicago design community. Most recently at Digitas for over 10 years where I was promoted three times while building and scaling a multi-disciplinary Experience Design capability. Led enterprise-scale product, platform, and design-systems work for Fortune 500 and global brands, delivering measurable business impact through design thinking, product design, team scaling and AI-integrated design methodology.
4 top hits about me:
Focused on Design Strategy and Intelligence
Hands-on Design Leader
Product, Platform & Design Systems
Scaling & Mentoring Design Teams
I also produce and host a monthly design podcast called A76, which I’ve created to explore the ever-changing shift in the design industry, synthesizing surprising connections and speculating on the future of design. I do this through thematic seasons, showcasing talented designers and adjacent makers who all share my desire to have deeper design conversations.
When I’m not designing, I’m running marathons, cheering Arsenal FC on and spending time with my wife, 3 daughters, 3 cats and 2 dogs in the historic district of Sycamore, Illinois.
noel@noelchilds.com
linkedin.com/in/noelchilds
Work experience
DIGITAS
SVP Group Experience Design Director
January 2016—September 2026
Experience Design Capability Lead for the Chicago office.
9INE
Director, Designer & Founder
September 2013—December 2015
Creative strategy, branding & positioning, innovation & experiential design
MADDOCK DOUGLAS
VP of Innovation, Creative
September 2008—March 2013
Innovation, branding and design of new products, services and business models from concept to launch.
FUSION IDEA LAB
Creative Director
September 2002—August 2008
Branding, design & broadcast advertising.
LEAPNET
Associate Creative Director
October 2000—September 2002
Branding, online design of integrated campaigns.
GOLIN/HARRIS INTERNATIONAL
Senior Art Director
September 1999—September 2000
Branding, design & advertising of integrated campaigns.
VSA PARTNERS
Graphic Designer
September 1997—December 1997
Art Direction & design for print campaigns and annual reports.
PETERTIL DESIGN PARTNERS
Art Director
January 1998—August 2000
Branding & design of integrated campaigns.
TANGENT DESIGN
Graphic Designer
October 1995—September 1997
Art Direction & design for boutique design studio.
BOOM
Designer and Co-founder
September 1994—September 1995
Small startup focusing on design for music industry in Chicago.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
BFA, Graphic Design
1989—1993
AI PLATFORMS
Publicis GenCanvas Agentic Platform
Claude/Claude Design
ChatGPT
ElevenLabs
Google Gemini
RunwayML
Nano Banana
Adobe Firefly
DIGITAL
Figma
Prototyping
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Marketing Cloud
Multiple CMS Platforms
SPECIALTIES
Experience Design
AI Empowered UX
Design Thinking & Innovation
Product & Platform Design
Visual Design
Branding & Positioning Strategy
iOS Design
R&D Methodology
Workshop Facilitation
PERSONAL
Runner
Supporter of the Arts
Arsenal FC fan
Ferocious reader