About

David K. Yates is a Creative Director, Design Director and founder of YATES, an independent creative practice established in Los Angeles in 2006. The studio believes in cultivating direct, open-minded relationships with its clients, drawing on research, business acumen and creative intuition to drive the work.

The practice moves fluidly between identity, campaigns, digital experiences, books and publications, products and physical environments, with ideas and story providing a common thread. YATES works directly with companies, founders and agencies, sometimes on a specific assignment and sometimes as an ongoing creative partner. When the work calls for a larger team, Yates brings together designers, writers, photographers, developers and other specialists while remaining closely involved in its creative direction and making.

After serving in the United States Coast Guard, Yates studied design at PNCA and Parsons Paris, with continuing studies at ArtCenter College of Design and Cooper Union’s Type@Cooper. His design career began at PLAZM in Portland, where experimental publishing, typography, art and culture existed alongside commercial design. His work there included Adidas Originals, Jantzen and Will Vinton Studios.

Over more than two decades, Yates has worked across consumer products, technology, entertainment, health and medical, sport, hospitality, travel and the built environment. The work has taken him throughout the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim, for clients including Adidas Originals, Intel, Salvatore Ferragamo, Samsung, Dornier Medical, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Aman, BlackRock, Related and Red Sea Global.

His work has been recognized by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences / The Webby Awards, the American Advertising Federation / ADDYs, the Interactive Media Council and The Nationals.