Relentlessly Helpful & Politely Pragmatic

Neil Baller stylized portrait

Neil Baller

Designer, Developer, Doer, Father.

No substitution for hard work

Professional

A generic warehouse job grew into leading the design team for the largest wine & spirits retailer in the US. Getting things done was the currency of the realm.

Then, embracing the grind of a large marketing agency as a studio artist and art director, I learned from some of the most talented, hard working creative individuals on huge consumer brands.

A revelatory decade in the Silicon Valley crucible followed, working with supremely driven people. We did audacious things daily that are now considered normal. It was glorious. This taught me that repeatable results matter over process. As a mentor once quipped: process won’t transmute a dumb idea into success.

My superpower: knowing when I don’t know and how to ask the right questions to get the results we seek. And I know enough to be dangerous in a good way.

I deliver beyond my hard won, life-long suite of creative and technical skills by utilizing a network of creators, advisors, and specialists, developed over 28 years working with marketing agencies in Chicago, the Silicon Valley crucible, startups, small businesses, and global enterprises.

It’s that easy, and that hard.

Personal

As a child of a hospice nurse and a high energy physicist, our home was a place of both compassion and objectivity. We camped, canoed, and fished the BWCA with our extended family, dogs, and friends.

Now, I inflict the great outdoors on anyone willing to embrace fresh walleye and cowboy coffee for breakfast. At home, I make unneccessarily complex meals and read a lot.

Work

Adaptive Insights Allstate AT&T Centers for Disease Control CNET Coverity Datrium Druva Extole Frankel FritoLay Hefty HP Kayak LightStep McDonalds Netblue Sencha Synopsys Tekpea Tropicana Tumri United Airlines United States Postal Service