Start with someone’s day.
A repeated task. A confusing handoff. An idea they can’t quite explain. Good work starts by paying attention.
A little about me
Creative at heart. Builder by instinct.
I’m Dan Loris. I care about the idea, the people it’s for, and what it takes to make it work.
That curiosity has taken me from advertising and brand strategy into products, operations, and AI. I’m drawn to work that makes a person more capable and leaves them in control of the decisions that matter.
A little of the backstory
The backstory
I’ve always wanted
to connect
the dots.
Advertising taught me to start with people. Building taught me to stay with the problem.
I began with the story a business wanted to tell. Pitch decks for founders. Campaigns for a national retailer. Brands finding their voice. Over time, the work took me further inside the business.
A website needed a better customer journey. A sales team needed a CRM that matched how they worked. A campaign needed a clearer path from planning to delivery. I found myself drawn to the connections between those things.
That’s where AI fits into my work now. I’m interested in how it helps a person make a decision, a team move an idea forward, or a business serve someone better. The technology has to earn its place.
What I bring to the work
Give the idea a clear shape.
Bring business, design, and technology into the same conversation. Make the next step understandable.
Stay close to how it works.
Make the workflow understandable, give people a way to review it, and be clear about who makes the decisions. A useful system should be something a team can run with confidence.
Beyond the work
Life gives the work some perspective.
My interests keep bringing me back to how we build a good life while the world around us changes.
I’m interested in the distance between having a thought and being able to act on it. Understanding a tool, seeing a problem clearly, or trying a small version of an idea can give someone a place to begin.
Parenthood and family bring those questions closer to home. They influence how I think about attention, responsibility, and the time I put into work. A better system matters partly because of what it makes room for.
I’m optimistic about what technology makes possible. I also want to be thoughtful about what I choose to do with it. That is the connection between the systems I build and the ideas I explore in The Journal. Work, family, books, and places each give me something to learn from.
Read The JournalDec 2019 – present
Dan Loris
Independent Consultant & Contractor
My independent practice brings brand, design, marketing, and technology together. DanLoris.com is the home for that work and the ideas I share along the way.
- Work directly with businesses on brand strategy, messaging, website design, and digital experiences.
- Build CRM systems and connected workflows that support sales, marketing, and day-to-day operations.
- Provide creative and marketing direction, connecting content, design, and development across client teams.
- Develop pitch decks, brand materials, and practical tools that help people explain and act on their ideas.
- Build my own publishing and resource platform, sharing practical thinking through The Journal and my What’s Next? newsletter.
Nov 2023 – present
Razorfish
Product & Media Operations Supervisor
My role spans campaign delivery, performance reporting, operational systems, and the people working across onsite advertising.
- Manage campaign operations and turn performance information into recommendations for internal teams and client partners.
- Work across teams on media planning, media operations, project management, and product operations.
- Design connected Smartsheet systems, master dashboards, fiscal-year reporting, individual reports, and revenue-at-risk views.
- Create process documentation, onboarding guides, and training materials used across multiple teams.
- Co-lead the AI Council, exploring practical applications of AI alongside the day-to-day operating work.
Jan 2020 – present
Plego
Creative Director & AI Specialist · Contractor
I work across brands, websites, software products, AI discovery, and project coordination, connecting business needs with the experience people use.
- Turn discovery conversations into page structures, user flows, interface concepts, and requirements people can review.
- Shape AI use cases around the information, integrations, permissions, and human review the project needs.
- Guide design across business websites, member platforms, software products, and reporting interfaces.
- Run design reviews and scenario testing, document decisions, and work through technical questions with development teams.
- Keep clients and project teams aligned through walkthroughs, status updates, and clearly defined next steps.
Jul 2022 – Dec 2025
Skipify.ai
Co-founder & Marketing Director
I helped build a real estate data business, connecting product direction, user experience, and marketing alongside the broader team.
- Guided product direction and user flows for property research and skip-tracing workflows.
- Worked across data management, CRM, outreach, and help-center content to keep the product experience coherent.
- Developed marketing and growth systems across SEO, email, and partnerships.
- Refined the product roadmap and customer journey as the platform and its offering developed.
Aug 2018 – Dec 2019
Publicis Sapient
Account Coordinator
Onsite advertising for a retail media network, connecting client relationships, campaign planning, performance analysis, and delivery across specialist teams.
- Coordinated campaign delivery with analysts, site traffickers, account teams, creatives, and media planners.
- Reviewed campaign performance and communicated insights through regular client reporting.
- Supported planning conversations around campaign schedules, budgets, and performance objectives.
- Trained team members and created videos and presentation materials for day-to-day responsibilities.
Oct 2017 – Jul 2018
Minnotank
Digital Marketing Specialist
An early foundation in making complex business ideas clear enough for people to understand and support.
- Developed pitch decks and marketing materials for early-stage companies across fintech, insurance, security, and healthcare.
- Helped founders organize their story, explain the product, and prepare materials for investor conversations.
- Managed a team of student interns from DePaul University across marketing assignments.
Education
DePaul University
BA in Advertising & Public Relations
Minor in Digital Cinema · 2018
Summa cum laude
College of DuPage · AA, General Studies · 2016
Still curious. Still building.
There’s more work worth doing.
If you have a website, product, or way of working that needs attention, tell me what you’re trying to do. We can work out where I can help.
Work with me