Hi, I’m Joe, a storyteller and designer based in Seattle.
I love helping people find the language that unlocks their ideas.
Strategic Communications & Storytelling
Turning Complexity Into Narrative
Crafted a transformation narrative to translate seven years of complex systems work into a clear, compelling story.
Outcome: Narrative framing was explicitly cited in awarding the WIOA Trailblazer Award, placing Seattle–King County among the nation’s most innovative boards. (2025)
Positioning GBI as a Jobs Story
Executive summary and release strategy translating dense research into a public-facing narrative.
Outcome: Coverage in Seattle Times, Business Insider, and 10+ outlets (~200K reach), sparking high public engagement and new private funding. (2024)
Content & Experience Design
Branding Job Quality
Brand identity and communications for a $3M hospitality initiative, spanning logo, employer badge, recruitment campaigns, and partner tools.
Outcome: A flexible identity adopted across campaigns, events, and digital tools, giving partners a consistent brand for advancing job quality in Puget Sound. (2025)
Reimagining Ferry Communications
Capstone project for UW’s Certificate in Content Strategy & Storytelling.
Outcome: Redesigned the ferry system’s digital experience to make travel alerts and schedules easier to find and trust. (2020–21)
Data Visualization & Narrative Insight
Telling Equity Stories with Data
Conference session using data visualization to reveal racial inequities in the workforce.
Outcome: Rated best session of the statewide event, outperforming the conference average by 20%. (2022-23)
Mapping Career Futures
Educational guide that used board-game design to help young people explore local labor market trends.
Outcome: Distributed across Seattle–King County as a playful, accessible tool for career exploration. (2018–19)
Copywriting with Personality
Expedia, 2014-2016
At Expedia I wrote content across 40+ global markets — balancing cultural accuracy with playful, engaging voice. Here are a few samples that show the range from polished product copy to quirky marketing experiments. This work at Expedia sharpened my skills in tailoring voice for different audiences — experience I’ve carried into strategy and storytelling roles since.
Creative Work
Literary Magazine
Creating the Mentone Special
Independent literary journal highlighting unconventional student voices, ideas, and artwork at the University of Redlands.
Role: Co-founder, editor, and designer — led publication design, layout, and curation of contributions from students, alumni, and faculty. (2012–2013)
Poetry
The Brain Chip Was Sounding Pretty Good
Poem written in Seattle the day after the Uvalde shooting, reflecting on grief, violence, and technology. (2022)
Projected Space of the Mind
Poem for the shadow puppets of Java — meditating on black and white on the written page as the “oldest miracle besides speech.” (2012)
Essays
A Word About Window Ledges
Travel reflection at the Sedlec Ossuary after Václav Havel’s death — meditation on memory and mortality. (2013)
The Animal Out Here
Environmental essay reflecting on vehicle exhaust, industrial skies, and the urgency to flee. (2012)
Polička untitled
On democracy, uncertainty, and waiting for election results in a Czech barn with friends. (2011)
Satire
King Fear
Oval Office farce on suspicion, influence, and who really has the President’s ear. (2017)
The Chairman
Surreal satire placing a political figure in a hallucinatory nightmare of power and paranoia. (2016)
Joe Taylor 