Kaori is a Japan-born, New York City-based creative director and designer. With over two decades of design leadership across advertising, entertainment, and media, Kaori has gathered a collection of awards, recognitions, and publications throughout her career.

Relishing the challenge of tackling complex creative projects across diverse genres, Kaori has built a track record of delivering unique and impactful results. Skilled at managing and nurturing high-performing in-house teams, Kaori excels at functioning as an internal creative agency lead to drive exceptional outcomes.

Kaori has spent her career as a creative lead at media companies like Vox Media, NBCUniversal, and Paramount for over 20 years. She steered and guided the creative process from ideation to completion for branding projects (including brand rebrand and refresh), marketing campaigns, brand spots, show packaging, Ad sales, and integrated promotion on all platforms. Kaori is highly collaborative and enjoys a cross-functional teamwork environment. She is an expert in bringing brands to life and successfully delivers, maintains, and elevates each unique brand. Kaori particularly cherishes the partnerships and trust she builds with studios and agencies. Having experienced being on the vendor side, she is one of the rare leaders on the client side who understands the process, demands, and pressure from both sides. 

One of Kaori's notable achievements is co-founding Lifelong Friendship Society. The studio was one of the pioneers in establishing and shaping the possibilities of marketing initiatives, design, motion graphics, animation, and video in the realm of new media. The studio became known for its notable style and signature unpredictable, disruptive creative solutions. Their work cut through the unexpected and untraditional approach in our visual culture and left monumental and inspirational footprints for future creatives. 

When Kaori started at VH1/MTVN, the media industry was entering a new era. The brands influenced generations and helped revolutionize what was to come. She immersed herself in a multifaceted learning journey, touching all production areas, and produced iconic and timeless pieces like the brand ID, Can you dig it? Tomorrow, VH1., Pop Culture Dictionary, and Movies that Rock. 

Passion and vision are Kaori's driving forces. She thrives in environments where good design and compelling stories matter. Believing in the transformative power of design, she has dedicated a career to showcasing its potential. 

Kaori's work fuses the influences of design legends like Josef Müller-Brockmann, Saul Bass, and William Eggleston. Her joy is found in expressing complex emotions through timelessness, distilled into simple geometric forms, light, and movement - a subtle dance between Kaori's Japanese heritage, philosophy, and aesthetics that harmoniously intertwines with American pop culture.

"Kaori is an imperfect perfectionist who cherishes and expresses momentary simplicity in all its zen-like wonder." - Travis Spangler, Say the Magic Words.

Kaori lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband, son, and adopted dog, Ellie Mae. Outside work, she enjoys cooking, hiking, watching films, being with friends, and traveling. She is often spotted hanging out in Fort Greene Park, eating salt & vinegar potato chips with her double-shot iced coffee.