Speaker kit.

Bios, headshots, talk descriptions and AV needs, ready to copy or download.

Short bio.

David S. Yarde is a multidisciplinary cultural strategist, creative operations expert and writer based in Orlando, Florida. Known as “The Creative Dark Knight”, he has spent over 20 years across communications design, brand architecture and software development, working in the gap between strategy and execution, where good ideas usually die. He helps leaders, teams and creators trade hustle for operational empathy, using his Minimum Lovable Brand framework. He is the author of Explore: Journey from Fear to Happiness (2014), Principal and cofounder of Sevenality, and founder of Lovable Ventures.

Long bio.

David S. Yarde is a multidisciplinary cultural strategist, creative operations expert and writer based in Orlando, Florida. Known as “The Creative Dark Knight”, he works on the part of a good idea that most people skip: the gap between strategy and execution. With over 20 years across communications design, brand architecture and software development, he helps leaders, teams and creators trade performative hustle for operational empathy, building what lets meaningful work last without burning people out to do it. His Minimum Lovable Brand framework starts with the inside of a brand, not the polish. His working belief is short. Nothing fixes itself. It only gets built.

He is the author of Explore: Journey from Fear to Happiness (2014, self-published, in paperback and on Kindle), the Principal and cofounder of Sevenality, where brand strategy and design work happens, and the founder of Lovable Ventures.

On stage he covers brand, design and how people actually move through the things we make. His talks include Building and Maintaining a Lovable Brand, The Supercharged User Journey, Maximum Effort and Designing Connections. He shapes each one to the room, and he offers keynotes, Q&A and fireside chats, and workshops.

He has spoken at WordCamp US, WordCamp NYC, WordCamp Miami, php[world], Little Rock Tech Fest, AIGA Orlando and PechaKucha Night Orlando. He has been profiled by the Orlando Business Journal, featured in the 28 Days of Black Designers Project, quoted by AskMen, and has written for Thrive Global.

He has worked with brands including Nabisco, Sam’s Club, Avis, Merriam-Webster and Wolters Kluwer. His work has earned a Gold Award of Excellence from The Communicator Awards, a People’s Champ award from the Pixel Awards and five CSS awards, and he holds certifications in IBM Design Thinking, Scrum and Google Digital Marketing.

Four places I usually start.

01

Building and Maintaining a Lovable Brand

Building brands people want to champion

Most brands look great and run on empty. The logo’s polished, the team’s tired, and what the website promises isn’t what happens inside. This talk is about building the inside first. A minimum lovable brand, not a performance.

Length45 to 60 minutes

Ideal forFounders, marketing and brand teams.

People leave with

  • A way to check their brand debt across four areas: Identity, Operational Empathy, Craft and Resonance.
  • Better things to measure than likes and followers.
  • How to make what the team does on Monday match what the brand promises.

02

The Supercharged User Journey

Applying service design thinking to digital marketing for brand growth and community engagement.

Length45 to 60 minutes

Ideal forTeams bringing service design into their marketing and community work.

People leave with

  • Ways to grow a brand and its community with service design.

03

Maximum Effort

Maintaining momentum, sanity and focus in an always-on world

Effort isn’t the problem. You’ve probably got plenty. What runs out is everything underneath it: the routine, the boundaries, the room for a bad week. This talk is about building that, so your best work doesn’t depend on you having a good day.

Length45 to 60 minutes

Ideal forCreatives, founders and teams running hot.

People leave with

  • Why pilots get abandoned, and how to build the smallest thing someone depends on by Friday.
  • Where to write decisions down so you don’t make them again next month.
  • Ways of working that protect people’s energy instead of spending it.

04

Designing Connections

Leveraging community and collaboration for growth

Leading people through a messy stretch doesn’t take a louder voice. It takes a calmer one. This talk is about leading through complexity without the hustle: clearer structure, fewer meetings about meetings, and hard things explained in plain words.

Length45 to 60 minutes

Ideal forTeam leads, managers and community builders.

People leave with

  • How to stop reacting and set up structure people can lean on.
  • How to explain a complicated system so anyone in the room gets it.
  • How to build a team or community that keeps going when you step back.

Same subject, different shape.

Keynote, 45 to 60 minutes. Q&A or fireside chat, 30 to 45 minutes. Workshop, 90 to 120 minutes for up to 30 people.

Headshots.

David Yarde in black and white, a hand at his chin, wearing glasses

Download Black and white portrait, full size

David Yarde seated on steps with a notebook in his hand

Download Seated on steps, full size

Awards and certifications.

Awards

Gold Award of Excellence, The Communicator Awards, 2016

People’s Champ (Experimental), Pixel Awards

CSS Awards ×5, CSS Garden and CSS Light

Certifications

IBM Design Thinking Practitioner

Scrum Foundation Professional, CertiProf

Google Digital Marketing, Grow with Google

AV needs.

Microphone

A wireless lapel or headset mic.

Laptop and display

My own laptop, connected by HDMI.

Slide advance

A wireless clicker.

Arrival

I arrive 60 minutes early.

Tech check

A short check of audio, projection and clicker is required before the session.

Recording

Allowed, with prior agreement on where the recording goes.

Virtual sessions

They include live Q&A and the same participant resources as in person.

Anything else, we’ll sort it on the planning call.

Ready to book?

Check my availability