Mike Rivers
I design brand systems that have to survive contact with the real world — a menu board read at dinner rush, an investment packet a buyer opens once, a timer read in peripheral vision while the film keeps playing.
Current Work
Right now I'm COO and Brand Creative Lead at Alexandria Realty Group, where I own creative across an active listing portfolio: investment packets, social templates, print collateral and presentation decks for luxury clients. Alongside that I take on identity and print work for restaurants and small brands, mostly in Dallas.
I also ship my own products. OnCue is an iOS stopwatch for athletes that I designed, built and marketed solo — it runs in Control Center and the Dynamic Island so you can time a rep without leaving your film. Designing something and then having to defend every decision against real users changed how I approach client work.
Background
B.A. in Graphic Communication Systems from North Carolina A&T, M.A. in Strategic Communications from Troy. Before design I punted professionally in the UFL, which is where I got comfortable performing to someone else's clock.
Background
B.A. in Graphic Communication Systems from North Carolina A&T, M.A. in Strategic Communications from Troy. Before design I punted professionally in the UFL, which is where I got comfortable performing to someone else's clock.
Tools
Illustrator, InDesign, Canva, Photoshop, After Effects, Figma, Xcode
Illustrator, InDesign, Canva, Photoshop, After Effects, Figma, Xcode
Currently open to remote design roles — michael.c.rivers@gmail.com