Benjamin Carter

As the lead brand evangelist and strategic partner, I am responsible for the health, adoption, and performance of the Custom Ink brand. My focus is on transforming brand and creative from "marketing assets" into enterprise capabilities that drive measurable business success and cultural resonance. - Orchestrated the 2025 brand refresh, codifying a new visual identity and brand strategy to transition the organization into its next era of growth. - Aligning brand expression with business outcomes, ensuring every creative touchpoint—from internal culture to customer-facing campaigns—acts as a leverage for ROI expansion. - Building the frameworks and coaching necessary to empower internal advocates, ensuring the brand is lived through behaviors and actions, not just pixels and vectors. - Cultivating a high-performance creative engine that thrives on empathy, personal growth, and a deep commitment to the "why" behind the work.

Served as the lead creative innovator across the enterprise, bridging the gap between high-level corporate strategy and tangible brand expression. - Collaborated with the C-suite to integrate design thinking into the leading edge of the business, including M&A initiatives, new ventures, and key partnerships. - Leveraged creativity as a tool for problem-solving, identifying "wicked problems" within the business and architecting design-led solutions. - Advanced the role of design leadership within the company, moving it from a supportive function to a primary driver of corporate strategy and competitive advantage.

Built and led the first comprehensive in-house creative function, scaling the brand’s articulation to match the company’s rapid growth. - Developed a multi-disciplinary team of photographers, writers, and designers from the ground up. - Successfully reimagined and deployed the Custom Ink brand across all consumer and team touchpoints, including e-commerce, marketing, and physical spaces. - Played a pivotal role in driving exponential growth in brand awareness and team member engagement through cohesive, high-quality storytelling.

Managed the first-generation design team, focusing on the intersection of customer experience and operational excellence. - Led the evolution of the customer journey from initial discovery through to long-term loyalty. - Developed new service and product offerings that elevated the customer experience and set new industry standards. - Established exclusive design partnerships that increased both the quality and quantity of artwork offerings on the platform.

One of the original innovators on a small startup team tasked with disrupting the custom apparel industry by bringing it online. - Led the creative efforts to launch the first-generation Custom Ink website and design experience. - Architected the foundational fulfillment workflows and artwork processes that allowed the business to scale from a startup to a market leader. - Developed the core understanding of customer design needs that would eventually inform two decades of brand growth.