Elliot Strunk is a creative director, problem solver and storyteller with more than three decades years of experience rooted in design. He delivers smart, impactful work for clients ranging from entrepreneurs and cultural organizations to publishers and corporations.

He is the Creative Director and Principal of Fifth Letter, an award-winning full-service communication design studio, established in 2005. Fifth Letter partners with smart, curious leaders who are looking to scale their organizations and uncover new opportunities.

His client experience spans a range of brands and institutions including Chronicle Books, Columbia University Press, The Fresh Market, GlaxoWellcome (now GSK), Hanes, Krispy Kreme, L’eggs, Ocular Systems, Performance Bicycle, Quintiles, SECCA, Thompson Traders, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Greensboro, Wake Forest University, Weyerhaeuser and Wrangler, among many others.

Elliot is also a podcast host and collage artist. Both of these activities inform his creative and strategic work, and his work is informed by these activities.

He’s also been involved in a few different entrepreneurial ventures over the years, mostly in the design space in some way, and can talk about his journey and what he’s learned. He’s also advised different design curricula, especially at the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurialism, including a speaker series that attracted well-regarded design leaders including David Adjaye and Claudia Kotchka.

Elliot enjoys building community and worked with an intrepid group of creative people in Winston-Salem and Greensboro to establish (and later serve as president of) an AIGA chapter in central North Carolina, one of the most rewarding professional experiences he’s had. He has also taught and advised at a few different colleges and enjoys judging pitches, mentoring and presenting to the entrepreneurial community.

Elliot’s work has appeared in design magazines from HOW, Print, Communication Arts, Dynamic Graphics, Graphic Arts Monthly and GDUSA as well as business profiles in HOW and GDUSA. His work has also been included in over 14 books from Graphis, Type Directors Club, LogoLounge, American Corporate Identity and Rockport Publishers. In addition, his work has garnered awards from AIGA, AAF, CASE, and UCDA and is included in the permanent collection of The Library of Congress.

He attended Ohio University in beautiful Athens, Ohio, graduating in 1995 with a BFA in Graphic Design. For the last few years he has been working with a group of faculty and alums to subsequently establish an endowment for a Designer in Residence at the school, with the pilot program wrapping-up in spring of 2023.