In the event that you haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Stefan Mumaw, let me ruin the surprise – at 6’8” Stefan stands head and shoulders above most everyone, and literally stands out in a crowd … Now that we’ve got his physical description out of the way, we can move on to exploring who he is, and what he does.
Stefan currently functions as the Director of Creative Strategy at Hint (a creative content and experience design studio located in Kansas City, MO), and brings over two decades of diverse creative experience to the table. He adroitly fills the roles of designer, editor, director, and coder; in addition to author, speaker and champion of the creative spirit. He is the author of six books, and contributes articles to industry publications like HOW and PRINT magazines. As a speaker, Stefan has presented at How Design Live, TEDx Lawrence, Creative Mornings KC and can be independently retained to encourage creatives in small or corporate settings. Stefan believes that creativity is a habit; a habit, if paired with discipline and constancy, can result in the generation of ideas in greater quantity and quality.
Stefan loves what he does for a living, and shares that his favorite thing about his career, is that every day is an adventure. He gets to work in a different medium, with diverse people, and encounter new creative challenges on a regular basis. He shares, however, that creatives have a tendency to concentrate on the process and product rather than allowing the ultimate consumer of the message to direct the process; a faux pas which often results in ineffective blanket communication. Stefan reminds us that target audiences are made up of individuals, and for the message to be effectively received, it needs to be couched in a story that speaks to what motivates people, thus awakening a response.
When asked what he considered his greatest accomplishment to date, Stefan didn’t talk about the books he’s authored, a particular design project or his training business; without hesitation, Stefan answered that his daughter is by far his greatest achievement. He shared that he is humbled to have raised such a confident, beautiful and determined daughter, who is considerably more courageous than he was in his late teens. He also finds it gratifying that she has chosen (without prompting from him) to follow him into the design business.
To relax, Stefan watches movies, and sees no less than 120 movies a year. He intimates that the movie theatre experience – the popcorn, the soda, disconnecting from the ‘outside world’ as he engages in ‘corporate story watching’ is unmatched, and is his favorite pastime.
Ultimately, Stefan Mumaw is a storytellers’ storyteller. If your creative gene needs revitalizing, or is begging to see the light of day, here’s your prescription – grab a Stefan Mumaw book, or sign yourself up for one of his sessions or workshops.
Other Information
This Fall Stefan will travel to Charleston to talk about Story Building: Using Story to Connect Brands with Humans, during his keynote for Revolve Conference at Sterling Hall, located in the Upper Historic District of the City of Charleston.
Revolve Conference embraces, promotes and seeks to foster the interdependence between the Design, Business, and Marketing disciplines. The event features the gathering of disruptive thought leaders, talented speakers and trailblazers from around the country to share road-tested insights over three days.
Attendees can customize their personal agenda by choosing hands-on workshops on October 26, or keynotes and breakout sessions on October 27 & 28 with an aim to improve their craft, collaborate with industry peers, and learn cutting edge trends and best practices in a relatively short time.
