Aaron Padin

As the Head of Art and Design at J. Walter Thompson New York, Aaron Padin is responsible for the art direction, craft and design on all brands at the agency. He brings an extensive background in photography, design, typography and illustration to realize beauty and refinement in all aspects of the agency’s work. Aaron’s innate ability to represent the vision and philosophy behind a brand through design led his team to be charged with rebranding Energizer Holdings in 2011, an account that J. Walter Thompson has had for more than 25 years. He was also tasked with crafting the commemorative visual identity for J. Walter Thompson's 150th anniversary. At J. Walter Thompson Aaron was a key member of the team behind the 2010 Human Rights Watch "Burma" campaign, an interactive installation that called for the release of 2,100 political prisoners. The campaign won five Lions at Cannes and a Black Pencil at the D&AD Awards. Collaborating with J. Walter Thompson Peru, Aaron designed a glow-in-the-dark book intended to teach kids about the importance of saving electricity as part of the CSR efforts for the Peruvian electric company EnerSur. The book earned a Bronze Lion at Cannes in 2012. Aaron also spearheaded the “Cardboard Apartment” and “After the Parade” campaigns for Services for the UnderServed, which led J. Walter Thompson to be named Corporate Honoree of the Year by SUS in 2012. In 2013, in honor of his mentoring services through J. Walter Thompson New York, he was named Mentor of the Year by the 4A’s Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP). In 2016 Aaron won 3 Cannes Lions for his work for the Tribeca Film Festival. Prior to joining J. Walter Thompson, Aaron spent three years at Saatchi & Saatchi, winning a Grand Prix for Tide Ultra at the 2007 Cannes Lions Festival; that same year the shop was named Cannes Agency of the Year. Prior to Saatchi & Saatchi, Aaron spent 5 years working at Fallon/Duffy NY working in various roles to help bridge the gap between art direction and design. His portfolio includes work on Starbucks, Energizer, Smirnoff, General Mills, PUMA, Visine, Virgin Mobile and more. His work and thought leadership have also been showcased in numerous industry publications, including The Economist, Campaign, Business Insider, Creative Interviews, and Fast Company. In 2015, he was named part of Adweek's Creative 100.