feelin'

Career Story

I'm a storyteller who builds systems.

I create brands, campaigns, videos, events, and experiences that connect with people on a human level — then I build the structure needed to bring them into the real world.

My career has moved across nonprofit storytelling, agency production, digital content, experiential events, creative operations, AI-assisted workflows, and entrepreneurial brand-building. I've been the one-person video department, the deck builder, the director, the editor, the strategist, the producer, the designer, the vendor wrangler, the event lead, and the founder figuring it out in real time.

That range is the resume.

At a glance

At a glance

What I do

  • Creative Direction
  • Storytelling & Content Strategy
  • Video Production & Post
  • Brand Systems & Visual Identity
  • Campaign Development
  • Experiential & Event Production
  • AI-Assisted Creative Workflows
  • Creative Operations & Production Systems
  • Community-Led Launches
  • Pitch Decks, Concepts & Brand Worlds

How I work

I'm a big-picture creative who can also build the thing. I can shape the concept, write the deck, design the visual system, direct the shoot, edit the video, manage the vendors, build the workflow, run the launch, and still care about the tiny detail that makes the whole thing feel intentional.

Experience

Feelin' Collective

Founder & Creative Director Toronto, ON·2025 – Present

I founded Feelin' Collective as a home for the kind of work I kept feeling pulled toward: story-led brands, cultural ideas, community experiences, visual systems, events, films, campaigns, and creative experiments that don't always fit inside traditional boxes.

It's part studio, part incubator, part proof that a strong idea can become a real world when it has the right storytelling, design, strategy, and follow-through behind it. Through Feelin' Collective, I lead projects from the first spark of an idea through creative direction, production, launch, and iteration — building work that feels polished, personal, and alive.

  • Founded and lead a multidisciplinary creative studio rooted in storytelling, community, culture, and hands-on execution.
  • Develop brand systems, campaign concepts, visual identities, pitch decks, websites, social content, live experiences, and production workflows across Feelin' Collective projects.
  • Lead end-to-end creative direction across video, design, events, content, and experiential activations — from concept and strategy through execution and launch.
  • Use AI tools as creative collaborators for ideation, visual development, prototyping, asset creation, workflow design, and rapid iteration while keeping final direction grounded in human taste, story, and emotional clarity.
  • Build repeatable creative systems including custom icon libraries, asset packs, deck frameworks, visual language systems, and production guides.
  • Conceived and launched Queer Pilates Club, including brand identity, campaign visuals, email strategy, paid social, event production, and community rollout.
  • Generated 200+ pre-launch signups for Queer Pilates Club on under $100 in ad spend, then continued growing the owned audience through email, organic content, and performance-informed iteration.
  • Lead event production from concept through venue sourcing, partner outreach, talent coordination, budget planning, ticketing, promotion, on-site operations, and post-event content.
  • Translate abstract creative ideas into real-world formats that can be produced, promoted, measured, and scaled.
  • Partner with collaborators, freelancers, vendors, venues, performers, and creative partners to bring projects to life within lean budgets and evolving constraints.
What I worked on Creative Direction Brand Systems Event Production AI Workflows Campaign Strategy Community Building Visual Identity Content Strategy Entrepreneurship Experiential Design

World Wildlife Fund Canada

Senior Video & Creative Lead Toronto, ON·2018 – 2025

At WWF-Canada, I built and led the organization's in-house video and storytelling function, often operating as a one-person creative studio inside a national nonprofit.

Over nearly eight years, I translated complex environmental science, conservation work, donor priorities, executive messaging, and national campaigns into stories people could understand, connect with, and care about. The work stretched from social videos and livestreams to field production, fundraising campaigns, immersive donor experiences, internal communications, executive content, and large-scale event storytelling. This is where I learned how to make meaningful work with limited resources — and how to build systems that help good stories keep moving.

  • Built and led WWF-Canada's in-house video and content function as the organization's primary video producer and senior creative lead.
  • Owned year-round video planning, production, editing, delivery, and asset management across social, YouTube, email, livestreams, web, fundraising, education, internal communications, and donor engagement.
  • Led national video and storytelling initiatives across brand, communications, fundraising, conservation, channel, and executive teams.
  • Translated complex scientific, environmental, and conservation topics into accessible, emotional, human-centered stories for broad audiences.
  • Conceptualized and launched Wildlife Wednesday, a weekly live digital series created within weeks of COVID lockdowns to maintain audience connection when in-person engagement disappeared.
  • Built Wildlife Wednesday into a reliable content engine that scaled to 30+ episodes and contributed to nearly 10M cumulative views across episodes and related social content.
  • Produced and directed studio, field, remote, and live productions, managing timelines, budgets, contractors, vendors, approvals, technical workflows, and post-production.
  • Created on-screen graphics, motion elements, thumbnails, titles, campaign visuals, promotional assets, and video design systems to maintain cohesive visual standards.
  • Designed and delivered immersive donor experiences across virtual livestreams, in-field conservation visits, wildfire restoration storytelling, and large-scale fundraising events.
  • Pitched and implemented innovative production solutions, including POV / FPV drone capture to help major funders experience restoration sites from the air while also generating high-value content.
  • Supported major events including the CN Tower Climb for Nature through event coverage, same-day content, volunteer / staff media coordination, and national storytelling assets.
  • Built internal production infrastructure including recording setups, equipment systems, workflows, briefing processes, and digital asset management practices to reduce reliance on external vendors.
  • Partnered with executives and cross-functional leaders on high-visibility storytelling, internal communications, field content, donor presentations, and live broadcast moments.
  • Managed multiple external contractors, freelancers, vendors, field crews, studios, and production partners across overlapping initiatives.
  • Balanced strategic storytelling with practical production realities, delivering polished work under tight timelines, changing priorities, and lean nonprofit budgets.
What I worked on Video Strategy Environmental Storytelling Content Systems Live Production Donor Experience Executive Communications Field Production Motion Graphics Creative Operations Vendor Management Fundraising Campaigns Social Video

Production71

Senior Video Editor & Designer / Designer & Producer Calgary, AB / Remote·2014 – 2018

Production71 was where I built a lot of my creative foundation: editing, design, client work, digital learning, production support, and the discipline of making polished work under real timelines.

It was fast-paced, practical, and hands-on — the kind of environment where you learn how to take a brief, understand the audience, work with a team, solve problems quickly, and deliver something that feels clear, useful, and well-made.

  • Contributed to client-facing video, design, digital learning, and branded content projects across marketing, education, and operational training.
  • Edited short- and long-form video content, shaping pacing, narrative flow, visual clarity, and final delivery.
  • Designed supporting visual assets including presentation materials, campaign graphics, e-learning visuals, and branded digital content.
  • Served as the sole designer on large-scale digital learning initiatives, including a 100+ slide virtual e-learning course and related modules.
  • Translated complex operational, health, safety, and training information into visually clear, technically accurate digital experiences.
  • Collaborated with producers, directors, creative teams, account teams, and clients to interpret briefs and deliver polished assets.
  • Managed revisions, deadlines, creative feedback, file preparation, and delivery requirements across multiple concurrent projects.
  • Built strong agency instincts around client service, timelines, production realities, and creative problem-solving.
What I worked on Video Editing Visual Design Digital Learning Client Work Agency Production Presentation Design E-Learning Story Structure Motion Assets Creative Execution
find the feeling.
shape the story.
build the world.
make it land.

Selected stories

Building an in-house video studio from scratch

I spent years operating as the video lead inside a national organization, building the systems, workflows, equipment, visual standards, and production habits that allowed WWF-Canada to move faster, reduce reliance on external vendors, and tell more stories in-house.

Creative Systems · Workflow Design · Video Leadership

Making conservation feel human

A lot of my work has involved translating complex environmental issues into stories people can actually feel. That meant finding the human entry point — the species, the expert, the place, the emotion, the urgency — and shaping it into content that could inform, move, and inspire action.

Environmental Storytelling · Science Communication · Audience Connection

Launching Queer Pilates Club

Queer Pilates Club started as a simple but specific idea: movement, community, music, and queer joy in a space that felt more social, stylish, and intentional than a standard fitness class. I built the brand, launch strategy, event format, visuals, ads, email rollout, and production plan — turning a niche idea into a real community experience.

Brand Launch · Community · Events · Paid Social

Using AI without losing the human part

AI has become part of my creative process, but never as a replacement for taste, story, or direction. I use it to explore, prototype, organize, visualize, and accelerate — then apply human judgment to shape the work into something intentional, original, and usable.

AI Workflows · Creative Systems · Rapid Prototyping

Turning constraints into creative fuel

A through-line in my career is resourcefulness. I've produced national campaigns, studio shoots, field content, livestreams, event coverage, and brand launches with tight budgets and limited teams — not by lowering the bar, but by designing smarter ways to make the work happen.

Resourcefulness · Production Strategy · Creative Operations

Skills

Skills

Creative Direction & Strategy

Creative direction Concept development Campaign strategy Brand storytelling Art direction Cultural insight Pitch development Narrative positioning Visual systems Experience-led brand design

Video, Content & Production

Video production Directing Editing Motion graphics Social video Livestream production Field production Studio production Post-production workflows On-screen graphics Platform optimization

Brand, Design & Digital

Brand identity Visual language systems Icon systems Presentation design Deck building Website creative direction Digital campaign assets Social content systems Email campaign creative Content planning

Experiential & Events

Event concept development Experience design Community programming Vendor coordination Talent booking Run-of-show planning On-site production Sponsor outreach Ticketing & launch strategy Post-event content capture

Operations, Systems & Leadership

Creative operations Workflow design Briefing systems Asset management Budgeting Resourcing Vendor management Cross-functional collaboration Stakeholder communication Performance-informed iteration

AI-Assisted Creative Workflows

AI-assisted ideation Visual prototyping Prompt systems Asset exploration Creative workflow design AI-supported editing Rapid concept development Human-led quality control

Education

Centre for Arts and Technology

Diploma, Digital Filmmaking·Kelowna, BC·2011 – 2012

This is where I built the technical and creative foundation for the production work that has carried through my career — camera, editing, storytelling, visual structure, and the practical discipline of turning ideas into finished work.

Film Production · Editing · Visual Storytelling · Technical Craft

RED Academy

Diploma, Digital Marketing·Toronto, ON·2017

This added the strategy layer: digital behaviour, campaign thinking, audience growth, marketing systems, and the bridge between creative work and how people actually find, engage with, and respond to it.

Digital Marketing · Campaign Strategy · Audience Growth · Content Strategy

Let's build something intentional.

I'm drawn to work that has a reason to exist — a story to tell, a feeling to create, a community to reach, or a system that needs to work better. Whether it's a role, a collaboration, a campaign, a brand world, or a weird little idea that needs someone to make it real, I'm always interested in the thing underneath the thing: why it matters, how it should feel, and what it needs in order to land.

© Justin Kielly  ·  change theme