Brian Essen – Art Director
West Side Story: Brian was born and raised on “the best side”. A graduate of Cincinnati’s own Elder High School, Brian obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design from the College of Mount St. Joseph. His move to the far off lands of Sharonville shocked his west side family and friends, but he has since crossed back over the Mill Creek to rejoin his kind.
A HyperDrive Veteran: Brian started in design as a “one-man” graphics department for the Business Technologies Division at Cincinnati State. In 2001, Brian was wallowing as an assistant manager at Pier One Imports when he was contracted as a freelance designer for a start-up company called HyperDrive Interactive. He soon became the company’s first full-time employee, and before long was handling print-media like it was going out of style! Eager to dip his toes in the big agency waters, Brian left HyperDrive in 2005 for a design position at Cincinnati’s HSR Business-to-Business, working mostly for brand giant, Kodak. Finding those waters to be far too frigid for his taste, he returned to HyperDrive a year later as the firm’s lead designer. Brian is now our Creative Director, responsible for everything visual and many things conceptual.
A Grower and a “Show”-er: Brian has developed himself and his team over the years to efficiently produce amazing visuals, for a wide range of clients/products/services, to make our leading-edge marketing media look phenomenal on screen… and occasionally in print.
Making His Second: Brian is currently captain of the Cincinnati Buckeyes Vintage Base Ball Team (www.cincinnatibuckeyes.com), which plays baseball as it was played in 1869. “Butta”, as he is affectionately nicknamed, has been playing first base for the Buckeyes since 2004. When he’s not striking cans of corn high into the sky, he’s having himself launched high into the sky as an amusement park aficionado.
Essentricities: Perpetually single, Brian has a half-bathroom dedicated to Barry Larkin, frequents Jungle Jim’s root beer isle, and can occasionally be found wherever the Rusty Griswolds are playing.
