I build brands that feel.

Aloha, I'm Donerik.

I've had the opportunity to help direct and design for brands across fashion, tech, health & beauty, and lifestyle tell stories people actually remember, partnering with companies including adidas, Levi's, Sephora, Microsoft, and Electronic Arts.

And as an agency-signed photographer, I've also shot everything from full-scale studio campaigns to the fast-paced chaos of Paris Fashion Week.

I come from a traditionally trained creative background, long before digital tools and AI reshaped the industry. Today, I'm just as interested in exploring how AI can expand the creative process as I am in preserving the craft that got us here. I don't see technology as a replacement for creativity. I see it as another tool for telling better stories.

Over the years, I've realized I've always cared less about trends and more about the details. The little things most people overlook are usually the things people remember.

I still believe the sky is blue, not #87CEEB.

I still haven't figured out why rough doesn’t rhyme with cough.

And if you've made it this far, one last thing: I'm fairly certain I invented the run-on sentence.

Outside the studio, you'll usually find me overlanding with my dog, chasing sushi hot spots, or ten toes down surfing North Shore. I've got a thing for analog gear, foreign accents, cover bands, and fragrance pyramids.

This Summer '26, I'll be launching my first iOS app, SPILS©, a digital playground for the global fragrance community.

‍415-378-7571 studio
aloha@donerik.com

Represented by
Stars Artists

  • 2008–Present
    DONERIK®
    (formerly Autograph Creative)
    Creative Director, Photographer

    Human, Being.®
    AI Brand Studio

    B TW N.® Parfums
    Scent Lab

    —

    2023–2024
    View Imaging
    Senior Art Director

    —

    2020–2022, 2013–2017
    Real Chemistry
    Senior Art Director (Fractional)

    —

    2017–2020
    Wish.com
    Director of Photography (Fractional)

    —

    2013
    MONSTER
    Creative Director, Brand Consultant, Photographer

    —

    2012–2013
    GAP Inc.
    Art Director, Lead Designer, Photographer

    —

    2011–2012
    MediaPlex
    Creative Director, Lead Designer

    —

    2011
    Astro Studios / Astro Gaming
    Senior Designer

    —

    2002–2008
    Electronic Arts
    Senior Designer, Art Director

    —

    2001–2002
    Covalent Technologies
    Creative Director

    —

    2000–2001
    Cybrant
    Senior Designer

    —

    1998–2000
    The Beeline Group
    Graphic Designer

    —

    1996
    DIESEL
    Junior Designer

  • Creative Software
    Adobe Acrobat, After Effects, Capture One, Firefly, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere Pro

    AI Creative
    Artlist, CapCut, ChatGPT, Claude, ElevenLabs, Flora, Gamma, Higgsfield, Kling, Lovable, Magnific, Midjourney, Nano Banana, Napkin, Runway, Seedance, Seedream, Suno, Veo

    Design & Development
    Figma, GitHub, Google Docs, Notion, Perplexity, Replit, Supabase, Weavy

    Photography
    Corporate, eCommerce, Editorial, Environmental, Event, Fashion, Glamour, Interiors, Lifestyle, Product, Social

    Photo Retouching & Color Correction

    Video Direction, Storyboarding & Stills

    Drone Footage

    Camera Systems
    Fujifilm X Mirrorless System
    Canon EOS R7 System
    Pentax 67 Medium Format
    Contax G2 35mm

    Currently exploring:
    Cursor, Fable, Flora, Sora

  • Adidas
    Alicia Keys
    Amour Vert
    Astro Gaming
    Beats by Dre
    Electronic Arts
    Galderma
    Gap Inc.
    Gerber
    HD Poker
    Hotel Zephyr
    KENZO
    Levi’s
    MAC Cosmetics
    Microsoft
    Natalie Portman
    Old Navy
    Pfizer
    Sephora
    Stella McCartney for Adidas
    Sugarpill Cosmetics
    The Bar Method
    The Wall Group
    UFC
    Wish.com

  • Design Awards

    Logo Lounge Master Library (Rockport)

    Logology 2 (Viction:ary)

    Fashion Graphics (Sandu)

    Sustainable Designs (Viction:ary)

    Best of Video Game Graphics (Electronic Arts)

    —

    Creative Quarterly Magazine
    Adidas Holiday Global Campaign
    Silver Award

    —

    SF International Wine Competition
    Guglielmo Winery Rebrand
    Double Gold & Silver Awards

    —

    Published Photography

    Bob Cut Magazine

    Cosmopolitan Magazine

    iMirage Magazine

    Period Magazine

    Virtuogenix / VGXW

    Volant Magazine

    —

    Top 25 Photographers in San Francisco
    HUB Community

    —

    Interviews

    Dwell Magazine
    Conversations with a Design Start-Up

    ‍

  • AI
    Industry Rockstar AI

    —

    Perfumery
    Institute of Art & Olfaction
    Los Angeles, CA

    —

    Graphic Design
    Academy of Art University
    San Francisco, CA

    —

    Fine Arts & Photography
    San José State University
    San José, CA

    —

    College Preparatory
    Saint Ignatius College Preparatory
    San Francisco, CA

  • The thinkers, makers, and misfits who have shaped my aesthetic, challenged my thinking, and continue to influence how I see, make, and move through the world.

    I’d happily share a dinner table with them, listening, learning, and laughing long after dessert…

    Creative Direction & Culture
    Fabien Baron
    M/M (Paris)
    Rick Rubin
    Peter Saville
    Inez & Vinoodh
    Ruby Justice Thelot

    —

    Image Makers
    Paolo Roversi
    Mark Borthwick
    Steven Meisel
    Nigel Shafran
    Juergen Teller
    Harley Weir
    Eddy Chen

    —

    Filmmakers
    Jim Jarmusch
    Sofia Coppola
    Wong Kar-wai

    —

    Fashion
    Martin Margiela
    Rei Kawakubo
    Phoebe Philo
    Willy Chavarria
    Christophe Lemaire / Sarah-Linh Tran
    Dries Van Noten

    —

    Architecture
    John Pawson
    Deborah Berke
    Marc Appleton

    —

    Industrial Design
    Dieter Rams

    —

    Brand Builders
    Tyler Brûlé
    Yvon Chouinard
    Richard Branson

    —

    Authors
    Tom Robbins
    Haruki Murakami
    Michael Chabon
    Christopher Moore
    Paulo Coelho

    —

    Musicians
    David Byrne
    Thom Yorke
    Jon Batiste
    Jacob Collier

    —

    Hermetic Wisdom
    Ipsissimus Gudni Gudnason

    —

    Fragrance Historian
    Michael Edwards

    —

    Perfumers
    Jean-Claude Ellena
    Maurice Roucel
    Antoine Lie
    Christopher Sheldrake
    Marc-Antoine Corticchiato
    Rodrigo Flores-Roux
    Michael Nordstrand

    —

    Olfactory Science
    Luca Turin

    —

    Originals
    David Attenborough
    David Choe
    Kate Moss
    Keanu Reeves
    Tilda Swinton
    Aubrey Plaza

    —

    First Teachers
    Mom
    Dad

    —

    Reserved Seating
    Anthony Bourdain
    David Bowie
    Peter Lindbergh
    Steve Jobs
    Stanley Kubrick