ELLIOT SALAZAR ☺︎





Designer, Illustrator & Art Director
A quiet yet witty, perfectionist originally from West Texas. He now lives and works in New York City where he is helping shape design, branding, and creative strategy at TikTok. He also doesn’t drink coffee or eat avocados – weird, right?.

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+ elliot.e.salazar{at]gmail.com +
CV ↘︎





Education
 School of Visual Arts
MFA – Designer as Author and Entrepreneur Program
New York, New York

Texas Tech University
BFA – Communication Design 
Lubbock, Texas



Experience 

TikTok
Senior Creative Lead
↘︎ 2023 – Present

Currently focused on design, creative strategy and art direction for marketing projects, events, social content and in-app e-commerce campaigns for the launch of TikTok Shop in the US.

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Instagram
Brand Designer [2021-2022]

On the Brand Design team, I helped shape a variety of brand touch-points across product, editorial, and experiential. I was the lead designer for @design, including the #BlackDesignVisionaires grant program and art directed Instagram cultural moment stickers.

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Virtue Worldwide
Senior Designer [2019-2021]

Virtue is the creative agency born from VICE, and I worked on some exciting projects with clients like Urban Decay, Beats by Dre and Cholula Hot Sauce, new business pitches, and internal projects for the agency. 

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Refinery29
Senior Designer 
Social Media [2014-2018]

Sitting on both the Design and Social Media teams, I oversaw editorial and branded content for all social media channels. If you’ve liked, double tapped, or retweeted an @R29 social post then you’ve probably seen some of my work!

• Designer [2015-2017]
• Freelance Designer [2014-2015]
• Editorial Design Intern
  [2014-2015]

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Warby Parker
Graphic Design Intern [2013-2014]

As a bespectacled intern by day and graduate student by night (I was pretty busy then)I worked on design assets for collectionsand other special collabs.

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Texas Tech University
Graphic Designer [2011-2012]

Worked with faculty, staff, and students in developing new projects for the School of Art and Landmark Arts Galleries – brochures, exhibitions designs, and recruitment materials.

• La Ventana Managing Editor
  [2008-2011]
• Rec Sports Marketing Designer
  [2009-2010]



Organizations

AIGA NY Board of Directors 
Communications and Social Media
[2017-2020]



Awards & Honors
Society of Illustrators 66th Annual: Advertising & Institutional Jury [2023]

AICP Next Awards Judge, 
Category: Influencer [2023]

#ArtOnLink World Pride Featured Artist [2019]

Chandelier Creative – Mermaid Ranch Artist In Residence [2018]

The Young Ones: Advertising & Design Student Competition Juror [2017]

Print Magazine Regional Design Award [2017]

Ace Hotel: New York Artist in Residency Program (#AceAIR)

AIGA Command X Competition [2016]



Speaking Engagements
SVA MFA Design Guest Lecturer
New York, NY

Laguna College of Art + Design
Guest Lecturer 
Laguna Beach, CA

Shillington School Of Design 
Guest Lecturer 
New York, NY



Press AIGA Eye on Design
Planoly
Newspaper Club
Brand Therapy Podcast








Last Updated 25.02.13
SELECTED WORK [WIP]





Update in progress – more coming soon! 
Portrait by Simone Noronha

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Refinery29 Editorial Illustrations

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A collection of original illustrations for editorial content on Refinery29.

[1] How To Take A Sabbatical Without Ruining Your Career by Judith Ohikuare. 

[2]  Sleep Like A Baby — Yes, Even In This Brutal Heat With No AC

[3] 6 Tricks To Get Upgraded To First Class
by Julie Bogen.

[4] The Meaning Behind Your Zodiac Birthstone
by Ellen Hoffman.

Illustration: Elliot salazar

Refinery29 x Papyrus

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+ Featured on Refinery29

This unique collaboration is a bold, funny, and honest take on empowering women to share their realest moments with the people who truly get them. I designed and illustrated three different card designs for the themes of Birthday and Friendship. All of the cards are available at Papyrus stores nationwide, select Target retailers, and online at papyrus.com.

Creative Direction: Peira Gelardi. Art Direction: Meg Lazaros. Design: Isabel Castillo-Guijarro, Louisa Cannell, Mallory Heyer, Elliot Salazar, and Abbie Winters.

TikTok Shop x Nicki Minaj

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As part of this year’s Black Friday & Cyber Monday campaign, TikTok Shop partnered with Pink Friday Nails, the luxurious press-on nails from one of the world's best-selling music artists and the best-selling female rapper AKA The Queen, Nicki Minaj.

Design AND Creative: Claire Nasca, Elliot Salazar, Amira Lin
Animation: Vlad Loyko


Black Design Visionaires

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+ Press: It’s Nice That, Elle Decor, Teen Vogue, Forbes.
Instagram’s @design, the official account dedicated to celebrating the craft and creativity of the design community, is announcing the five recipients of the inaugural #BlackDesignVisionaries grant program. Presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Museum, #BlackDesignVisionaries aims to uplift, center and invest in rising Black designers and Black-led design businesses who offer experimental expressions of Black culture and have a powerful vision for the future. I expanded the visual identity into editorial
content and design for the @design account – including announcements, artist features, IG Lives, and events.

Creative AND Design: Kerri MacDonald, Elliot Salazar, Frances Smith, KJ Watts.

29Rooms Values Stand

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29Rooms is Refinery29’s immersive world of culture and creativity. This year, in collaboration with The NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the R29Design team together created a “value stand” aimed at promoting NYC voter registration. Each member of our team designed an item – poster, newspaper, soda or chip bag – in the newsstand that advocates a different political topic in policy making.

Design: Louisa Cannell, Isabel Castillo Guijarro, Elizabeth Coulbourn, Paola Delucca, Seeta Kanhai, Alex Marino, Hannah Minn, Tristan Offit, Vero Romero, Elliot Salazar, Janet Sung, Paula Volchok, Abbie Winters, Seung Won Chun, and Evelyn Zhang. Photos: Evelyn Zhang.


R29 Design Calendar

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+ 2017 Print Magazine Regional Design Award Winner

 + Featured on Newspaper Club, People of Print, 
and For Print Only.

The R29Design Calendar was a surprise to all of the Refinery29 employees. This secret project came to life by enlisting fellow in-house designers to contribute illustrations. As with all things Refinery29, this project aimed to be bigger and better than just a calendar. A traditional newsprint format was transformed by having each month double as a 20x30’ pull-out poster – taking Refinery29’s illustration work from URL to IRL.

Design: Isabel Castillo-Guijarro and Elliot Salazar. Illustration: Paola Delucca, Louisa Cannell, Isabel Castillo Guijarro, Mallory Heyer, Alex Marino, Tristan Offit, Elliot Salazar, and Abbie Winters. Printed by: The Newspaper Club.


AIGA NY Pride Campaign

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“AIGA NY… facilitates conversations, creates spaces
and builds platforms for the New York City design community,” through speaker series, events and mixers. Taking inspiration from the events themselves and social trends, I created visuals and content that helped double our followers – including AIGA NY’s first ever Pride series and event.

Creative, Design: Elliot Salazar
Photography: Julia Parris

Beats by Dre – Flex That

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+ Press: Ad Age, ADWEEK, Refinery29, Yahoo!, Baseline, Sports Business Daily, LBB Online, iMore, The Grio.
To launch the new Beats Flex headphones,
Virtue Worldwide created a campaign with some
of this generation’s most defiant voices to encourage Black youth to “flex” who they are. Titled “Flex That”, it aims to tell authentic stories that challenge perceptions and empower youth everywhere.

Client: Beats by Dre
Talent: Naomi Osaka, Cordae, and Flo Milli
Director: Rohan Blair-Mangat
Creative: Genie Gurnani, Jake Matthews, Garrett Mutz, Shakayra Moore, Alicia Bee, Mauricio Santos, Will Stallmeyer, Elliot Salazar, Joe Ferraro.
Team: Luke Taylor, Emily Walsh, Marianne Pizzi, Susie Lyons, Justin Davis.


@Refinery29 x Keurig

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#NationalCoffeeDay is an everyday celebration to most, but is celebrated on the 29th of September when you work in social media and are hyper aware of national food holidays (Yes, it's a real thing. You can Google it).

To celebrate, Refinery29 partnered with Keurig's Donut Shop Coffee to create a quirky animated GIF with illustrator Michelle Sherrina – based in Jakarta, Indonesia – that highlights the many (many) cups of coffee we are all guilty of drinking. We are also all guilty of having at least one of these "funny" graphic mugs that helps us show off our personality and/or our love for all things Beyoncé. #IWokeUpLikeThis


Client: Keurig. Illustration: Michelle Sherrina. Art Direction: Elliot Salazar. Copywriting: Lindsay Arakawa, Capri Debiccari.

Planned Parenthood – Be Seen

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+ Press: Ad Age, Adforum, Essence, LOGO, Young Director Award 2021: Charity, Shortlist, The 1.4 Longlist.For so long, so many people in Black and Brown communities have been ignored, mistreated, and misunderstood by those meant to provide care. For so long, they have felt unseen. This campaign takes the first step to communicate Planned Parenthood’s mission: to see everyone fully and judgment-free. Not just as patients, but as people. We launched with a message of affirmation from one generation to another, delivered by Emmy-winner Lynn Whitfield. We then put out a call for kind words from the community. Artists, podcast hosts, and even real people answered, leaving messages of encouragement on their platforms and ours — the Be Seen Mailbox — for anyone who may feel unseen.

Client: Planned Parenthood
Director: Bianca Poletti
Creative Team AND Design: China Macena, Jackie Mucilli, Katie Cascio, Meg Pearce, Elliot Salazar, Theresa Darlington.


Urban Decay – Legends Never Fade

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To launch the updated Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray, Virtue Worldwide were tasked with bringing this cult favorite to life. Inspired by real reviews, from real people found on social media, we recreated our favorite tweets with the help of celebs like actor Joey King South Korean Rapper CL to bring to life LEGENDS NEVER FADE.

Client: Urban Decay – All Nighter Setting Spray
Director: Mark Leibowitz
Creative + Team: Lia Koo, Mary Grace Moseley, Jackie Mucilli, Jill Dugger, Alexandria Hilliard.
Design: Elliot Salazar, Paul Abood


AIGA NY Social Design System

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I was on the Board of Director for AIGA NY from 2017-2020, serving on the communication committee. I was in charge of managing all social accounts which resulted in a complete redesign of AIGA NY’s social visual system.

“AIGA NY… facilitates conversations, creates spaces and builds platforms for the New York City design community,” through speaker series, events and mixers. Taking inspiration from the events themselves and social trends, I created visuals and content that helped double our followers – including AIGA NY’s first ever Pride series and event.


Creative, Design, AND PHOTOGRAPHY: Stacey Panousopoulos, Elliot Salazar, Julia Parris.

#R29Collabs Social Content

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This project was Refinery29’s Instagram-first creative collaborations with designers, illustrators, photographers, and other artists from around the world to create unique social content that educates, empowers, and inspires.

[1] #MotivationMonday series, a franchise
that gives life and consistency to our brand's core mission. Through quotes, mantras, and illustrations, we helped our audience start the week off feeling inspired and positive!

[2] For Asian American Pacific Islander History Month, we featured notable Asian American and Pacific Islander American women, like actors Constance Wu and Jenna Ushkowitz, Senator Tammy Duckworth, and Princess Ka'iulani of Hawaii.

Illustrations: Rachel Jo, Decue Wu. Art Direction: Elliot Salazar. Copywriting: Lindsay Arakawa, and Laurise McMillian.

Cholula Tacothon

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+ Press: Ad Age, Campaign, Travel + Leisure, UsWeekly, Bloomberg.
In 2020, Cinco de Mayo fell on a Taco Tuesday, a momentous occasion that happens only once every seven years - but because it was early in Covid, people were trapped inside and too afraid to celebrate with friends and family, while independent restaurants were hurting financially on a normally busy day.

To bring people together and help facilitate joy and connection on what could have been the loneliest Cinco ever, Cholula hosted a star-studded Tacothon on Instagram Live that cooked up something totally new for quarantine-weary fans. Chef-hosts Tom Collicchio, Christina Tosi, Aaron Sanchez, Dwyane Wade, Sophia Bush, and Vic Oladipo cooked, laughed, and celebrated together as they cooked their own original taco recipes in their home kitchens with 200,000 live viewers, ultimately reaching 12.9 million people and raising $120,000 to help save independent restaurants.

Client: Cholula Hot Sauce
Creative AND Design: Nicole James, Kat Brodo, James Santiago, Nick Jackson, Elliot Salazar.


@Refinery29 “Sharables” Social Content

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A collection of some of Refinery29’s social-first “sharables” or highly relatable and popular content that utilizes design, illustration, pop culture, and timely references, including organic and branded content partnerships.

[1] The Signs as Holiday Treats

[2] The Signs as Hilary Duff Songs & The Signs as Magic Powers

[3] Shopping at Target Be Like…

[4] How I get My Glow & Times a Zit Appears

Design and Illustration: Elliot Salazar
In partnership with CW Charmed


Virtue Worldwide Flight Fellowship Program

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Flight Fellowship is a hands-on agency experience from Virtue Worldwide where fellows (students, recent grads, and new creatives) craft and create work with global brands to be seen by the world.

I created the branding and visual identity for this program and was inspired by space, pop culture, and retro-futurism.


Creative AND Design: Elliot Salazar, Will Stallmeyer, Joe Ferraro, Christina Jones.


Virtue Worldwide Social Design System

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To relaunch the Virtue Worldwide Instagram profile, I designed and implemented a new visual system to showcase a variety of social content – employee profiles, thought leadership posts, new client work features, and other inspiration. Included were content and design solutions for feed, stories, and Instagram GIF stickers.

Creative and Design: Will Stallmeyer, Joe Ferraro, Elliot Salazar.

Acura Pride “Less Talk. More Pride” Campaign

We’re driven by equality. For Pride 2020, Acura partnered with artists from the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate and create art inspired by what Pride means to unique artist.
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“I am inspired by the vibrant LGBTQ+ community and the diversity within it. This year more than ever, it is important for everyone to work together, amplify new voices, and spark meaningful change around us. For me, “Less Talk. More Pride.” is about taking action — big or small, local or national, LGBTQ+ or ally — all year long.”

Client: Acura
Agency: Mullen Lowe US
Art Direction: Sebastian Walker
Design/illustration: Thaddeus Coates, Guilherme Maueler, and Elliot salazar

© Elliot Salazar 2024-2025