Jake Kahana
Jake Kahana
Designer, Entrepreneur, Facilitator.
 
 

DESIGN

I design digital products and
create memorable brand identities

 
 
 

CORPORATE DESIGN

 

Facebook for NonProfits
UX, UI Design, Branding
Responsive informational platform to help non-profits use the social media platform and newly-launched “donate” button.

Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Company
UX, UI Design
A massive site migration, shifting 250+ sites into a single site.

 

MetLife
UI Design
Reimagining the interaction and flow for small business insurance. From getting a quote to revising a contract, and including the agent’s dashboard and designing a new search functionality.

 
 

Social Impact DESIGN

 

Make Room USA
UX, UI Design, Branding, Video
A brand, website, and video series telling the story of the rental housing crisis in America, where thousands of families are one missed paycheck away from homelessness.

Selma: Online
UI Design
An interactive and dynamic educational experience telling the history of the Civil Rights movement from 1865 to 1965 and then into today using historic photos, maps, and movie clips from the movie “Selma” (2016).

Inside Impact VR
UX, UI Design, VR Film
An Emmy-nominated VR film highlighting the work of the Clinton Global Initiative in East Africa and the parent brand of VR films telling global stories of impact.

My Brother’s Keeper
UX, UI Design, Branding, Video
The Obama Foundation’s initiative to close the opportunity gap for young men and boys of color.

 
 
 

Startup BRANDING AND DIGITAL DESIGN

 

Caveday
UX/UI Design, Marketing, Content
As a co-founder, I create all our content and branding. In 2023, I led the team in redesigning our customer dashboard and online experience.

Goodie
UX, UI Design, Branding, Packaging
A new smoothie delivery service needed a brand, site, and packaging.

Palabra
UX/UI Design, Marketing
Building a site from scratch to explain and promote a new starup called Palabra. Using themed storytelling as a principle to build trust, Palabra moderates curated gatherings for teambuilding, sales people and their clients, and thought leaders.

Simply Home
UX/UI Design
Leading a team of designers to concept and develop a new native real estate app for first time homebuyers.

 
 

Download PDF Case Study


 
 

Some Clients Who Are Happy With My Work

Brands
Activision, Amalgamated Bank, Anheuser Busch, Bausch&Lomb, Diamond Foods, DIRECTV, Facebook, Google, Glamour Magazine, HBO’s The Comedy Festival, HTC, Johnson & Johnson, Kimpton Hotels, Merck, MetLife, Microsoft, PlayStation, Samsung Mobile, Samsung VR, Wells Fargo, WeWork

NonProfits and Foundations
Clinton Global Initiative, ChildFund International, Enterprise Community Partners, The Obama Foundation, Fundación Tropicalia, Goodwill, Unicef, Worldvision

Startups
Cedar, Camillo, Delicious Israel, Learnvest, Goodie, Palabra Conversations, ToMarket, RoadTrippers.com, Siempo, Skylum


 
 

 

Awards and Press

Awards
AdAge Agency of the Year (2012, 2013)- 72andSunny
AdAge Agency A-List (2013)- 72andSunny
AdAge Viral Brand of the Year (2012) - Samsung
Addy, Silver (2008)- PlayStation Motorstorm
Addy, Gold Campaign (2010)- Dear PlayStation
AICP Award (Inside Impact, 2016)
altMBA Kopp Award (2016)
Beethoven Award, Deutsch LA (2009)
Beldings, Bowl (2010)- Self Promotion
Effie, Silver (2013)- Samsung
Emmy Nominee (2016, Inside Impact)
FastCo 50 Most Innovative Companies (2013)- 72andSunny
Game Marketing Awards, Best Long Format (2011)- Skylanders Menace
Hermes Award, Platinum (2012)- Samsung Mobile
iMedia, Campaign of the Year (2012)- Samsung
inc 25 Most Audacious Companies (2013) 72andSunny
Jay Chiat Awards, Grand Prix (2013)- Samsung Next Big Thing
NewCreatives.com, Best Of (2007)
USC Webfest, Gold (2007)- Exclusive Automobile Club
Webby Honoree (2021)-3800DaysinLA (2015)- Make Room, Inside Impact

Press
ABC News, AdAge, AdWeek, AP, Billboard, Business Insider, CBS News, CNBC, CNet, CNN, Creativity Pick of the Day, Creativity-Online, Detroit Metro Times, Detroit Free Press, FastCo (50 Most Innovative Companies, Most Romantic Ads Ever, 1st President in VR), Forbes, Fox News, TheFWA, Global Citizen, Gizmodo, Huffington Post, HuffPo: Impact, Mashable (Most Memorable Marketing Campaigns of 2012), Mashable, MacRumors, MacWorld, NY Times, LA Times, NBC News, NPR, PC Mag, Philadelphia Inquirer, Pitchfork, Politico, Radio.com, Reddit Top 10, Road To VR, Rolling Stone, RYOT, San Francisco Chronicle, Shoot, Slate, TechCrunch, Time (Top 10 Viral Videos of the Year), Thrive Global, The Today Show, The Tonight Show, Twitter (Most Tweeted Super Bowl Ad 2012), UpRoxx, USA Today, The Verge, Vibe, VR Grid, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, Washington Post, Wired, WNYC

Request an Interview for your Publication or Podcast
I’ve been featured in press outlets from FastCo to Wired and BBC and interviewed for podcasts like Side Hustle School, The Modern Manager, Creativity School, and Life Skills that Matter.

It’s fun to share the work I make and the process behind it, how I got started, and discuss how my personal experiences have shaped my professional life.

If you’d like to book me for an interview, let’s talk. You can reach me at jakekahana@gmail.com.


 

ADVERTISING WORK

I’ve also made some advertising work I’m still proud of.

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Get Schooled - Documentary Series for Glamour Magazine
A series on the power of education, profiling 5 girls around the world who have overcome odds to stay in school.

See the series here →

Creative Director (2016)


Playstation
In my first advertising job, I worked on PlayStation. I got to create some iconic and award-winning commercials and campaigns. In this one above, we actually launched cars, trucks and motorcycles out of a plane to tell the story of an extreme racing game taking place on an island.

Gold and Silver Addy Awards

Art director (2008-2009)

Jake Kahana Samsung Commercial

Samsung Mobile
Several ad campaigns and commercials poking fun at iPhones and Apple fanboys and showcasing Samsung phones. We made Superbowl commercials and 90 second ads that ran during primetime during the week of the iPhone launch.

Watch the case study video →

Won AdAge Viral Brand of the Year (2012) an Effie, Jay Chiat Grand Prix award, and hit the Reddit top 10 as well as parodied on late-night TV.

Art Director, Creative Director (2011-2013)

SkylandersSpyrosAdventure Jake Kahana

Skylanders Launch
In 2015, Skylanders crossed $3B in sales, making it one of the top 20 highest-selling video game franchises of all time. It combines physical toys that come to life in a video game. I was part of the marketing team to launch the series in 2011. Working with director Jorma Taccone of The Lonely Island to create humorous and compelling content and imagery to launch the brand with a memorable bang.

Watch the launch film here →

Art Director (2011)