Louis Marino

Founding mentor

🐰 5 sessions

Head of Design/Banking and Financial Services @ GROUP OF HUMANS

7testimonials New York, NY, USA New York (UTC-4) 15+ yrs in design

About

I've led design at Island Def Jam, Visa and Cognizant and built teams at R/GA and AKQA — but the work I'm proudest of isn't a launch, it's the people who went on to run their own organizations. But I never lost my ability to create, and neither will you. At my core I'm a designer who believes that I can create and design anything for anyone.

How I can help

I can help designers at any level prepare for the next chapter in their careers; from senior ICs moving into management to managers moving toward Director, VP, and Head of Design. I help people navigate the hardest parts of that climb: executive positioning, portfolio and case-study storytelling at leadership altitude, and the job search itself. I've built and led design orgs from a handful of people to 2,000+, hired and evaluated leaders for decades, and reviewed portfolios since before they were digital. I also love talking about craft, positioning, and the things outside of work that fuel a person's passions in life. I'm especially useful on what people rarely get honest coaching on: how to harness the strengths you know you have, and discover the ones you don't; how to tell your story as an organizational leader rather than a hands-on shipper; how to read a job description for true level and fit; and how to negotiate and hold a floor. What matters most to me is staying confident but humble, and always being a student, no matter how much you know.

Ask me about

Imposter syndrome

IC to manager

Agency to in-house

Freelance to full-time

Layoffs

A reorg

Influence without authority

Stakeholder standoffs

Presenting to execs

First design hires

Craft to strategy

Growing into leadership

Pivot into design

building the "always ready

never done" portfolio

A hard problem I've navigated

I've been through more re-orgs than I can count, and the lesson that kept me employed was counterintuitive: the time to build your network is before the ground moves, not after. Inside every big company I made a point of knowing people across verticals, not just my own function, so when a re-org hit and my role dissolved, I already had relationships in three other parts of the business who knew my work. I never had to job-hunt from a cold start inside my own company. I'd just move. The takeaway I give people: your internal network is not a favor bank you tap in a crisis, it's insurance you pay into quietly for years. Build it when you don't need it, and a re-org becomes a door instead of a cliff.

Expertise

UX Designer

UX Researcher

Product Designer

Visual/Brand

Design Manager

Design Lead

Fintech

B2B SaaS

Agency

AI/ML

Design systems

Freelancing

Leadership

Negotiation

Interviewing

Graphic Design

AI workflows

AI tools

Agentic AI

E-commerce & Retail

Media & Entertainment

Travel & Hospitality

Crypto & Web3

Testimonials

I think it’s so special how seemingly small moments can end up staying with you and my 30-minute call with Louis gave me some of the most meaningful validation I’ve received in my journey to pursue design. Louis is incredibly knowledgeable, genuine, and intentional. He was open about his own experiences, asked thoughtful questions, and was so generous in helping me navigate mine. I left our conversation with so much more clarity about the path ahead of me. What stayed with me most was how he affirmed my value as a designer. As someone transitioning into design, I think it was one of the first times I’d heard someone with his experience acknowledge that so directly. I felt genuinely seen, and it gave me a huge boost of confidence in myself and the direction I’m taking. If you’re looking to speak with someone who is honest, thoughtful, and genuinely intentional about your growth, Louis is the person to speak to. Thank you so much, Louis! I’ll definitely be keeping in touch.
Marienoel · Sep 2026
Louis was incredibly generous with his time and feedback. He took the time to understand my background, look through my portfolio, and really engage with the examples I shared. His feedback was honest, thoughtful, and gave me a fresh perspective on how I present myself and my work. I really appreciated how openly he shared his own experience and perspectives, while still making the conversation feel very personal and relevant to me. I left with more clarity, a lot to think about, and some genuinely useful things to take forward. I’d definitely recommend Louis to anyone looking for an honest and thoughtful perspective on their design career.
Lejla · Sep 2026
Louis is a very kind and warm person. His extensive expertise and genuine desire to support and help new designers really stand out. He brings an insightful answer and a valuable perspective to every question. This is definitely an opportunity you don’t want to miss!
Mateo · Aug 2026
Louis is the real deal. His qualifications are honestly a little ridiculous, in the best possible way. Seriously, look at his résumé. He’s genuinely an expert in more than one field, and brings all of that experience to the conversation. He also knows how to make the time count. He understood what I needed almost immediately and gave me the perfect advice I could actually use. I left with plenty of new ideas and, maybe more importantly, hope. If you want a mentor with equal parts candor, brilliance, and kindness, I couldn’t recommend Louis more highly.
Kathy · Aug 2026
Louis is an incredible mentor with a wealth of knowledge and years of experience in the industry. I greatly appreciate his advice on how to improve my portfolio and his notes on how I can take action steps to move forward. I am most grateful that Louis was never judgmental on where I stand as a graphic designer with my portfolio and past and current experiences from not working in the field. Instead, Louis' advice gave me much needed direction on how to proceed for my next steps to getting back on track with my goal of working again in the design industry. I was uncertain before, but I feel like this goal is attainable now, even though it will be a lot of work and difficult, but I look forward to the future. Thank you, Louis!
Leah · Aug 2026
Louis provided some good instincts of what lacked in my Portfolio, as well as a few ideas on what I could do. Would recommend.
Mayur · Aug 2026
Louis has a fascinating background and an impressive combination of creative and strategic thinking. I spoke with him about the challenges I'm currently facing as a Product Designer planning my next steps in the AI era, and I really felt like I was talking to an experienced colleague I could learn from.
Ioli · Aug 2026

Sessions

Intro chatFree
30 min
Bring the thing you're stuck on — a career pivot, a portfolio that isn't landing, a leadership jump you're not sure you're ready for, or just a gut feeling that you're playing smaller than you should. In 30 minutes I'll give you my honest read on where you actually are and the one or two moves that would change your trajectory fastest. You'll leave with a clear sense of your next step and whether the two of us are a fit to keep going.
Portfolio/Case Study Review$100
45 min
Bring your portfolio, a case study you're wrestling with, or the project you're not sure how to tell. In 45 minutes we work on whatever moves the needle most: overall positioning and the story your work tells about you, which case studies actually resonate with hiring managers versus which ones you're keeping out of habit, and how to structure a specific project so the judgment behind it is visible, not buried. I've reviewed portfolios from the other side of the table — as the person deciding who gets hired — so you get a read on how yours actually lands, not just whether it looks nice. You'll leave with a clear point of view on your positioning and specific notes on what to cut, sharpen, or add. Follow-up: written recap with action items so you're not scrambling to remember what we covered.
Career coaching (single)$175
60 min
One hour, one job: get you unstuck. Bring the decision you keep turning over, a role you're unsure about, a title that stopped fitting, a portfolio that isn't landing, the pull toward going independent, or the sense that the right people at work don't know what you're capable of. We'll work it, not talk around it. I'll tell you what I actually see, including the part you might be avoiding, and we'll get concrete about what you want and what's really standing in the way, including how to build the internal relationships that move careers, which is the thing behind nearly every step in mine. You'll leave with a real next move, not a feeling. Afterward I'll send you my notes, a written analysis, and the action items we set, so the hour keeps working after we hang up.
Career partner (recurring)$175
60 min
Some things aren't a single decision. They're the whole arc of a career, and that arc is easier to walk when someone walks it with you. One of my mentees called this "a therapist for your career," and that's the idea exactly: a standing hour we keep on whatever rhythm fits your life, weekly, every other week, or monthly, sorted out in our intro chat. Between sessions your situation keeps moving and so do you. I hold the thread, remember what you told me last time, and expect you to have moved on it. This is for the long game, the promotion you're building toward, the leap you keep circling, the leader you're becoming, tracked over months instead of crammed into one call. After every session I'll send my notes, a written analysis, and the action items we set, so each conversation builds on the last and nothing slips through the cracks between them. Rebook at whatever cadence fits, weekly, biweekly, or monthly, set in our intro chat. Commit to 4 or more up front and the rate drops to $150 each.
Career coaching (3 sessions)$525
60 min
Some things don't resolve in a single sitting. Session one, we name the real goal. The next two, we pressure-test it against your actual life, what's moving, what's stuck, what you keep sidestepping, with weeks in between so the thinking has room to breathe. It's also the right container for the work that compounds slowly, like building the internal relationships that move careers, the thing behind nearly every step in mine, which is a practice you grow over weeks, not a switch you flip in an hour. You get a partner who remembers where we left off and expects you to have moved. This is how a pivot stops being a someday and becomes a plan. After each session I'll send my notes, a written analysis, and clear action items, so every conversation stands on the one before it.
Leadership coaching (single session)$175
60 min
For creative leaders, in-house, agency, or on your own, who want someone who has actually run teams like yours instead of a generic executive coach. We go straight at what's live: a hire that isn't working, a client relationship tilting sideways, how to shape a team, how to lead while you're still half in the work yourself. I spent 30 years building design organizations from a few people to a global practice in the thousands, and I'll pull frameworks from that playbook where they earn their place, as a starting point, never a script. Afterward I'll send you my notes, a written analysis, and the action items we agreed on, so you have something to put to work the next morning.
Leadership coaching (3 sessions)$1400
60 min
Three sessions for the bigger stuff a single call can't hold: rebuilding a team, making the leap from doing the work to leading it, rethinking how you're set up, or growing into the person the room now turns to. I'll share what I've learned running creative teams across in-house, agency, and my own studio, and we'll fit it to your situation rather than hand you a template. Built for leaders who want a real thinking partner over time, not one gut-check and goodbye. After each session I'll send my notes, a written analysis, and clear action items, so the momentum carries the whole way through.

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