Hey there! My name is Dani Guzmán. I’m a Philly native who enjoys creating and problem solving. Some of my passions include illustration, playing guitar, singing, corny jokes, and designing things that make people say “damn… that’s crispy!”.

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My name is Dani Guzmán. I’m a Senior Art Director, by trade, but have been influenced so much by different interests throughout my life, that I consider myself a jack of all trades.

Having grown up in center city Philadelphia, there was endless access to all things creative. Starting around the age of 6, I was taking art classes at Fleisher Arts—anything from sculpture to painting and drawing—if they offered the class, I was taking it. Along with art classes, I also took interest in dance. Taking ballet, hip hop/breakdancing, and tap dance classes helped build my confidence. It also added the element of being physically active in a more creative way, since sports was definitely not for me.

Around the age of 10, I got curious about music. My father always sang and played acoustic guitar to us as kids, but I just strummed around for fun. I decided to start with piano and then, at the age of 13, found myself having an interest in electric bass guitar; this is where I truly began my journey as a musician. I started taking lessons at The Paul Green School of Rock (which was founded in the late 1990’s, before the Jack Black movie). This program allowed children of all ages to not only learn their instrument of choice, but to also learn a set of songs and perform a themed show at a music venue. Some shows included Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and The Police. As my skill level progressed, I was asked to be a part of a special program called the All Stars; this was a smaller team, made up of the very best musicians at the school, that were able to go on seasonal tours around the United States. We got to perform at popular venues like House of Blues and BB Kings—we even got to play with celebrities like Jon Anderson (from Yes), Skunk Baxter (from Steely Dan), and Peter Frampton, to name a few. I continued my journey as a musician until the age of 17, right before having to figure out what I wanted to do as a long term career.

Because I was attending CHAD (Charter High School for Architecture & Design) at the time, we had many art colleges making visits and giving students and idea of what they had to offer. It was in one of these visits that I learned of SVA (the School of Visual Arts) in NYC. I thought to myself, “there is NO WAY, I’m getting accepted there.” It just seemed like such an amazing school with so much to offer and was located in such an iconic city, I just felt it was out of my league; Keith Haring was a student there, for crying out loud! Well, I worked for months perfecting my portfolio and writing my acceptance letter with every part of my heart and applied with my fingers crossed. Months later, I received the acceptance letter and I was overjoyed, to say the least. I spent all 4 years of college at SVA as a graphic design major and graduated in 2012.

After college, I interned at Lev Lane (an ad agency located in center city Philadelphia) and worked part time as a barista at La Colombe; This is where I discovered my love for the art of coffee. The process of crafting coffee drinks and getting to talk to people from all walks of life, was another addition to my many experiences that have truly molded me into the artist I am today. While I worked as a barista, I realized that there was only one designer working at the La Colombe headquarters. I asked the lead designer for an internship that turned into a full-time position within a few months. It was such an amazing experience because we had such a small team and were able to work intimately with the CEOs, Todd Carmichael and J.P. Iberti, to ensure their visions came to life.

After moving on from La Colombe, I began working at other ad agencies and sharpened my design chops a bit more, since I was working with larger teams and on several different brands at a time. In 2015, I started working for a pharmaceutical ad agency for the first time; this is where I realized I could combine my nerdy side (that was interested in science) with my creative side and really challenge myself in a different way than I had been in other ad agencies. In pharma, you are creating pieces that speak to caretakers, patients, and doctors, so you have to be sensitive and understanding, yet confident and informative, in a space where people need it the most. The dance that takes place can be so fulfilling and rewarding, which is why I still work in the space today.

Again, it is all of these aspects of my life story and experiences that help me see things through a different lens—to which I am very grateful to have experienced. Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about me and what I’m all about. Fill out the form below to get started on bringing your next project to life, together.