I Home Gallery I Marketing I Bio I Contact I
Bio
Creative Technologist, Product Designer, Strategic Marketer & Innovation Leader.
Joe Skopek is a seasoned hands-on digital Marketing and Design professional with expertise in Apparel, eCommerce, Technology, EcoTech, and Entertainment industries.
My vision as an AI Pragmatist.
As an AI Pragmatist, I take a practical, results-oriented approach to artificial intelligence. Instead of being driven by hype or theoretical possibilities, my focus is on how AI can fufill the role of a new tool at my disposal that can be applied to solve real-world problems, improve efficiency, and generate measurable outcomes. I seek a balance between the utility of AI tools and integrating them with Human-based solutions.
Work History
I began my career in New York with the boutique agency Ronne' Bonder Advertising, and later with the award-winning branding team Graj + Gustavsen NYC. Moving to San Francisco, I advanced to a senior role at Organic, one of the pioneering interactive advertising agencies. Subsequently, I served as Creative Director & Managing Director at Think New Ideas, and after its acquisition, I co-founded the digital agency Chromatrope with 3 industry colleagues. In 2021, I co-founded the eco-tech B Corp, thecopernicsproject.eco and lead the team as Director of Product producing bespoke EcoTech. Most recently, in June 2024, I launched the Marketing and Technolgy consultancy Velocity Ascent.
"Moving to California will add ten years to your life, and those ten years I will spend in New York."
- Mark Twain
My professional history begins in New York City working for a traditional boutique Advertising Firm with an actual "Mad Man" Ronne' Bonder who taught me my typography chops, I then moved downtown to Graj + Gustavsen working with the branding guru Simon Graj. Several years later I made the move out west to San Francisco where I was a "Big Fish in a Small Pond" in Bay Area Interactive Agencies. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time securing a role with the award-winning interactive agency Organic. Heady days in the early days of the internet working for a company that would go on to dominate the space to this very day. While at Organic we produced web projects in the gaming, apparel and consumer product silos for Broderbund (Ages of Myst), Levi's, and Starbucks. Organic initiatives included leading a design process class at U.C. Santa Cruz.
"You can never learn less, you can only learn more."
- R. Buckminster Fuller
Following Organic, I was offered the position of Creative Director at Red Ball Interactive which was acquired by Think New Ideas who was then acquired by AnswerThink (lot's of acquisitions!). During my tenure we executed a variety of large scale Fin Tech and Consumer web projects for Visa, Avery Dennison and Getty Images. I was a featured speaker for Getty at MacWorld. Once the final acquisition was complete I was redundant (how rude!) and became a free agent co-founding Chromatrope, with three industry colleagues shortly after.
chromatrope
Chromatrope was purpose-built to provide agency level services, at a reasonable cost, for non-profits and start-ups. Often referred to as "the company without an office" this structure, which is now commonplace, was radical just a few years ago. This format required we develop solutions to working and collaborating remotely with team members and clients. The solution also allowed us to grow the agency skill set and services with low-overhead - now referred to as Fractional we implemented it to fill an immmediate need. Unlike traditional part-time roles, which often lack consistency and integration, a fractional employee works on a regular, predictable schedule and becomes a key part of the team, providing expertise precisely where it's needed most. This working model allowed me to move back to New York while continuing to work with clients in the Bay Area, Silicon Valley and other locations from South Africa to Japan.
Under the mantle of Chromatrope, we leveraged emerging tech and tools to deliver cutting-edge projects to clients in Apparel, eCommerce, Technology, Entertainment and Non-Profit segments. I had the pleasure of working directly with a diverse array of B2B & B2C clients such as Ford Racing, FuelX, Tacit Knowledge, Colt Apparel, Banff Advisors, Pitney Bowes, The Motley Fool, Nature Conservancy, and the Buckminster Fuller Institute.
The Copernicus Project
In 2021 I had the opportunity to co-found the eco-tech Bcorp thecopernicsproject.eco. The Copernicus Project empowers local communities identifying, protecting and restoring high-priority ecosystems in the places they live and love. This pragmatic tech-based approach is designed to be politically neutral - focusing on best outcomes for clean air and clean water.
My role as Director of Product allowed me to combine my array of skills on the client-side. Leading a team of experts in the development of a project that would provide EcoTech support to over 15,000 ecological organizations. The platform would leaverage AI in streamlining and supercharging the organization's efforts. Foundational elements included; natural language processing, image recognition, sentiment analysis, and geo-location. The tool can function on any web-enabled device and automatically geo-locates the user with relevant information on habitat issues/threats, available grant funding and best practices from the community.
The first step was to spearhead the identification, creation and innovation of purpose-built tools for environmental groups working at the local level. These tools would support the growth and expansion of mission through applied efficiencies and AI data capture. This is most noteworthy in organizations working toward ecological assessment, cataloging, preservation and restoration. I was also the driving force behind the creation of a Journal to function as a clearinghouse of vetted data and information to be used by decision makers and the informed public. journalcopernicus.eco features interviews with leaders in a diverse array of areas affecting the environment and the health and wellness of the community.
Currently I am looking to enhance my career path by working on innovative projects that leverage emerging tech (E.g. Agentic AI) and collaborations with future forward organizations that can benefit from my experience, insight and expertise.
Contact
See my full bio on LinkedIn
Email: joe@joeskopek.com
With a proven track record of leading teams ranging from 8 to 58 members, my leadership philosophy is rooted in Agile principles, which guide my focus on effective planning, time management, and the strategic selection of tools. As a software agnostic, I prioritize the best tools for each task, and excel in active listening and mindful communication. My diverse experience spans both the dynamic chaos of startups and the structured environment of corporate settings, equipping me with the resilience to stay focused and composed under pressure.
“Good design is as little design as possible. Less, but better — because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essential details.”
- Dieter Rams
In sales, I excel at crafting compelling pitches and nurturing robust client relationships, consistently seeking innovative solutions to their challenges. My current exploration into artificial intelligence in product development and visual storytelling has yielded promising results, and I am keen to further integrate AI to enhance these domains. That said, AI is a far match for replacing a human-based skillset.
Creatively, I am skilled in developing concise, impactful copy and designing engaging visual brand narratives. My expertise in moving images allows me to merge visual, audio, and musical elements into compelling storytelling. Technically, I bring over a decade of experience with Adobe Creative Suite and a strong understanding of both front-end and back-end web development.
I am excited about opportunities that make full use of my skills and experience; drive innovative technology solutions, lead product teams to excellence and create impactful storytelling.
Leadership: My leadership skill set is deeply rooted in Agile principles, coupled with years of experience managing workflows in remote environments. I believe that active listening and mindful communication with clients from day one lay the groundwork for successful engagements. As a result, I have long-term relationships with many clients. My approach to leadership emphasizes effective planning, time management, and the strategic selection of team members and tools tailored to each project's unique requirements.
I have a strong understanding of human behaviour in the workplace, especially with Creatives and Engineers - and a sixth-sense when hiring new talent. A significant portion of my previous clients have been in the nonprofit sector, which has fostered a keen awareness of budgets and the ability to maximize every dollar of a project's budget. My diverse experience spans both the dynamic chaos of startups and the structured environment of corporate settings, equipping me with the resilience to remain focused and composed under pressure.
As a hands-on leader I keep up to date with current trends and emerging technologies. This gives me the ability to provide informed responses when interacting with new or potential clients and expedites the response time producing proposals following pitches. Here are some of the additional skill sets I bring to the table:
Creative - Copy: Love the wordsmithing process, shaving and whittling the copy down to the bare necessities. My word-love also includes penning a quick jingle on my guitar or keyboard as the need arises.
Creative - Graphic Art: Creating the perfect story of images, or a simple brand element, to engage and activate the viewer is the goal. What is the story, who is the audience and how loud do we blow that horn.
Creative - AI Prompt Engineering: Artificially generated art and footage is still in it's infancy but is already surpassing my expectations. My passion for machine language serves me well when engineering prompts to create visuals that rival reality.
Creative - Moving Image: If a single picture can convey a thousand words, imagine the storytelling potential of artificially generated source art that can at 60 frames per second. Video represents the ultimate Venn diagram intersection of visual, audio, and musical elements.
Creative - VR/AR: Virtual and augmented reality are rapidly emerging as the new frontiers of storytelling, with hardware now nearly matching the potential of these concepts.
Tech - Coding: My first line of HTML code was written while co-authoring the book "Web Media Magic" targeted at interactive designers making the leap to the web, since then the possibilites for WebApp development have matured tremendously.
Software - Design: By the numbers; Photoshop 10+ years, Illustrator 10+ years, Premiere 10+ years, I have a working knowledge of the remainder of Creative Suite including After Effects, InDesign and Animate.
Software - Web Code Platforms:Working understanding of HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, PHP, and other engineering frameworks. Over 15 years of experience with Content Management Systems including; WordPress, Avada, Divi, and Bootstrap. For back-end personalized and content-led experiences I have collaborated on projects built with Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), SAP Commerce Cloud, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
Software - Audio: Apple LogicPro and GarageBand
By sharing my personal background and experiences, I aim to give you a better understanding of how my unique journey shapes my approach to work. These details highlight what sets me apart but also demonstrate how my lived experiences align with your organization’s mission. Ultimately, I hope these personal touches offer a richer, more engaging context that helps you see why I am passionate about what I do and how I could contribute to your organization.
"Change is neither good nor bad. It simply is."
- Don Draper
Childhood on the North Fork of Long Island spent with fisherman farmers, teenage years on South Shore as a gearhead surfer/skateboarder making science fiction Super 8 films with my friends, then off the NYC for college at FIT when the city was rough & tumble.
After college lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn, started a band which actually had some "industry interest" and played all over the city for years. Pure joy.
Got married and moved to San Francisco, spent a lot of time in the great outdoors, the west coast open spaces are awe inspiring. This was contrasted by the club & DJ scene which was a crucible for the creation of burning man and the web as we know it. IMHO. Started another band and performed at such notable locations as Trinity church, got really into organics, mountain biking and snowboarding and protecting the natural world with the internet. In 2003 I moved back to NY full time, my son was born in '07 and life couldn't have been better.
Today, I am living the dream, working and collaborating on projects that allow me to make full use of my diverse skilset while delivering efficient, forward-looking and profitable solutions. If anything you have read resonates with you please don't hesitate to contact me - I am always looking for new opportunities to innovate. If someone referred me to you please share. Have a fantastic day!