About Ryan Ladd

Ryan Ladd
🙃 Ryan Ladd🌸 Washington, DC🎓 University of Texas at Austin👨🏻‍💻 Director, Digital Strategy, BBYO🎨 Freelance Designer

I am a born-and-bred Austinite and grew up watching the city transform into what it is today. The city of Austin, in so many ways, inspired who I am today. The Mexican food, the neon, the architecture, the community, the heat, the music, the university, and so much more defined my taste and shaped my ambitions. It's a place where creative people thrive.

In 7th grade, when I bought my first iMac, I made creating my hobby. I started editing silly videos with my friends on iMovie, designing flyers for all of the activities I was involved in, editing photos from my camera, and more. I quickly became “that guy” for all of my friends when they needed help with anything media-related.

During my freshman year of college, my friend Oz and I started a small design consulting business called Volume Up Creative to amplify the voices of nonprofits, small businesses, and clubs through high-quality design at an affordable rate. This endeavor kicked off my long-term freelancing side gig doing awesome projects for friends, family, and connections through my network. It was a great opportunity to get my feet wet and just design, design, design.

After college, I started my career at BBYO, the largest pluralistic Jewish youth Movement in the world, in a role focused on digital strategy and design. My job is the perfect blend of my skills and passions. I've had the opportunity to lead and be a part of so many meaningful projects. I've branded global conferences, planned a year-long 100th anniversary celebration, traveled the world building BBYO's brand, built engaging digital platforms, helped BBYO thrive during the Pandemic, and did it alongside incredible friends and mentors.

When I look back at my professional work over the last decade, it's amazing to see how my definition of excellence has evolved. I often think about the famous Ira Glass quote called The Gap. He said in so many words that those of us who do creative work get into it because we have taste, but there's a gap between what we're able to produce and what we want to produce. And the only way to close that gap is to just keep producing work—good, bad, ugly. When I first heard it as a freshman in college, it resonated, but over a decade later, it hits harder because I can see years of work side by side. It reminds me that if I keep going, I will keep getting better.

Putting this portfolio together was a labor of love that has taken me several years to figure out. While it is, of course, a space to demonstrate my skills, I also built this for myself as a creative outlet to look back on my favorite projects, relive memories, and experiment with web design.

I hope something you see inspires your next creative act. Enjoy clicking around!