Matthew Dugger
Creative Direction About
CV
With over 15 years of experience, Matthew Dugger (aka Hewy) is a multidisciplinary creative director and agency leader with a wide roster, working at the intersection of brand identity, packaging, and advertising—a creative polyglot and dopamine chaser.

Collaborating with clients worldwide, he combines big-picture creative vision with flawless execution, creating beautiful design solutions that resonate with customers throughout their journey, fueling business growth and cultivating lasting relationships.





Client ProjectIndustry
Artly AI Coffee Branding an AI Barista BotTech Startup
Warner Bros. Discovery
American Dad + Green Day (Punk Bunny)Entertainment
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
24/25 Season CampaignArts & Culture
RangeWater Properties
Camino Vibrant LivingReal Estate
Warner Bros. Discovery
#AmericanDrag Entertainment
P&G
Standout Emerging Leaders Conference CPG, Experiential
R.S. Lipman
Heroes Vodka Visual Identity
 Beer, Wine & Spirits
ANA Airlines
The ANA Experience: Japan Elevated Brand Activation
SubwaySubway Series Branding Quick Service Restaurant
CoMADE
Visual Identity for Startup Accelerator  Startup
Kroger
Treasure EmporiYum ActivationCPG
The Brandery
Rebranding a Brand-First Startup AcceleratorStartup
Lightfold
Branding an Independent Animation Studio  Entertainment, Startup
Frameworks
Contracting, With Attitude Startup, Real Estate
RangeWaterLuxury Real Estate Branding  Real Estate
Healthy App
A health app that pays you to be healthy Startup, Tech
Advertising Over The Years
A collection of advertising concepts by me Advertising
Packaging Designs
Various packaging designs from over the yearsCPG
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Northern Kentucky University
2012

Deans Scholarship Recipient


Employment Headword!
Executive Creative Director
2019 - 2026

As Executive Creative Director of Headword, I grew the agency from two employees to fifteen, building a full-service team of strategists, designers, art directors, copywriters, and content producers from the ground up. I led new business through trade events, pitches, and RFPs, taking the agency from a single account to more than 50, including Warner Bros. Discovery, RangeWater, and R.S. Lipman. Across entertainment, real estate, startups and tech, and food and beverage (including beer, wine, spirits, and CPG), I directed multi-channel brand work from identity and campaigns to web, social, content, and UX, including a complete digital ecosystem for an enterprise B2B manufacturer. Along the way I mentored cross-functional teams and earned Webby, Clio, Telly, GEMA, ADDY, Le Book, and Shorty Impact recognition.



AGAR
Design Director
2019

As Design Director at AGAR, I directed a team of designers, producers, social media managers, and copywriters bringing experiential marketing to life for local, national, and global brands through cultural moments like food and music festivals, sporting events, and promotional events. I served as Experiential Creative Lead for Kroger, deploying mobile sampling activations (Treasure EmporiYum) that drove in-store foot traffic and pushed store-brand adoption to an all-time high. I also directed large-scale festival and field campaigns that drove real-time sampling and trial for P&G, Aussie, Pantene, Old Spice, Pizza Hut, and Ivory Soap, and spearheaded end-to-end event production and environmental design for ANA Airlines' fleet launch with Steve Aoki. On the brand side, I art-directed a new commercial photography library and launched integrated retail campaigns across social, sales enablement, and end-caps.



LPK Brands Inc.
Design Director / Senior Designer
2015-2018

As Senior Designer and Design Director at LPK Brands, I managed a $4M-$5M ongoing corporate retainer, directing packaging design, product innovation roadmaps, and organizational change. I served as lead design director for LPK's Service Design team, delivering accelerator programs, product design, branding, and digital fluency capabilities for CPG, non-CPG, and startup clients. I also led the effort to modernize the agency's digital capabilities, hiring a six-person team across digital strategy, UX design, and digital copywriting and establishing ongoing developer partnerships. On the CPG side, I steered multi-million-dollar product roadmaps for P&G Personal Healthcare, launching ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs, Scented VapoRub, VapoShower, VapoCOOL, and the core Vicks portfolio, and I executed product strategy, packaging innovation, and brand expansion for Kellogg's (Special K), Smucker's, and Hershey. I was also appointed to the Corporate Transformation Board, advising legacy parent companies Serta-Simmons and Emerson on re-engineering portfolios like Beautyrest and InSinkErator to compete with agile D2C challengers.



Gyro LLC
Senior Art Director / Art Director / Intern
2011-2015

At Gyro, I rose from Design Intern to Senior Designer and Art Director within a premier global advertising agency. I served as Art Director for the agency's first-ever global ad campaign, architecting the visual execution and narrative rollout across North America, South America, EMEA, and APAC. I also crafted award-winning campaigns that blended B2B and consumer focus for global brands including KitchenAid, Canon, and BP Fuel.



Northern Kentucky University
Department of Theatre
In-House Design Lead
2011



7 Hills Church
In-House Designer
2008-2011



Awards Webby Awards
Clio Awards
Telly Awards
GEMA Awards
Shorty Impact Awards
American Marketing Awards
Atlanta Ad Club Awards
LeBook
Collision Awards
AMY Awards
NYX Marvin Award
ADDY Awards (local & regional)




Skills
  • Creative Direction
  • Brand Strategy
  • Brand Identity Development
  • Managing Creative Teams
  • Cross-functional Team Leadership
  • New Business Development
  • Brand Management (your keyword for Brand Manager searches)
  • Strategic Creative Development
  • Positioning (Marketing)
  • Brand Architecture
  • Account Management
  • Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) 
  • Packaging Design 
  • Experiential Marketing 
  • Campaigns 
  • Social Media Management 
  • B2B Marketing 
  • D2C 
  • Product Innovation 
  • Presentation Skills
  • Art Direction 
  • Adobe Creative Suite




Industries
Consumer Packaged Goods
Retail
Entertainment
Real Estate
Beer, Wine & Spirits
B2B
D2C
Healthcare
Startup
Technology
Fintech
Arts & Culture
Nonprofit
Manufacturing
Commercial Restaurant
Small Business


ClientsEntertainment, Culture & Media
  • Warner Bros. Discovery (TBS)
  • Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN
  • Angel Studios
  • Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
  • High Museum of Art


Food, Beverage & Spirits
  • Subway
  • Hoist
  • Heineken
  • Pizza Hut
  • Kellogg's
  • Pringles
  • Tate & Lyle
  • R.S. Lipman (Heroes Vodka, Cielo Tequila)
  • New Riff Distillery

Consumer, Health & Retail
  • P&G (Vicks, Pepto-Bismol, ZzzQuil, Gillette)
  • Kroger
  • Beautyrest
  • InSinkErator
  • LensCrafters


Tech & B2B
  • HP
  • SAP
  • Canon
  • KitchenAid Commercial
  • HondaJet
  • Siemens
  • 84.51
  • Artly
Real Estate
RangeWater
Frameworks
Wheelers
CGO Contracting







Index
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