About

Hi, I’m Billy.

I’m a creative director and photographer working across hospitality, entertainment and consumer brands. I care about great experiences, thoughtful storytelling and the details that make a brand feel alive.

I’ve had the privilege of working with incredible teams, from independent restaurants to global companies, and I bring the same energy to every project: clear ideas, beautiful execution and a focus on what moves people.

Ten years in, I lead creative for Upstream Hospitality Group’s eight brands and take on freelance creative direction, photo and video. On the side, I write musicals.

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Billy Aberle

Experience

  1. 2025 – now
    Creative Director · Upstream Hospitality Group

    Creative direction and content production for eight hospitality brands, including 9 Tap Room and 11 Bango locations, plus The French Workshop, Salt Shack, Surf Shack, The Boat Yard, Overlook and Island Time.

  2. 2021 – now
    Creative Director · Freelance

    Brand, photo, video and digital for hospitality clients including Virgin Hotels, The Ivory Peacock, Ploume, Tavern on Jane, Akdeniz, Aitana and The Riff Raff Club. Campaign work for SiriusXM, Verizon, Xfinity and entertainment clients.

  3. 2022 – 2024
    Senior Creative Designer · Fishbowl Inventory

    Led a multinational rebrand across the US and APAC, from brand standards to website, sales collateral and events. Managed a team of four.

  4. 2021 – 2022
    Senior Designer (freelance) · Wasserman

    Campaign and experiential design for AT&T, Wells Fargo and Lego.

  5. 2018 – 2021
    Creative Designer · Horizon Media

    Digital and 3D experiential design for 45+ clients at Scout, Horizon’s sports and entertainment agency.

  6. 2016 – 2018
    Designer · Breakthrough Productions · The Sunshine Company

    Experiential and event design for brands including Jack Daniel’s.

How I work

Strategy first, then craft. I set the system, then I’m hands-on in it: on set, in the edit, in the layout.

I build AI into the workflow, from planning and production to proofing and delivery, so small teams can move fast without losing quality.

Tools

Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Premiere, Lightroom, Figma, SketchUp, Twinmotion, Claude and other AI tools, Asana, Monday, Slack, Google Workspace

Education

MA Creative Advertising, Falmouth University, UK · BS Arts Administration, Wagner College, NYC

Let’s make something.

[email protected]Résumé (PDF)LinkedIn