Kara Haupt.
Brooklyn, NY.



Work with me—



I’m currently available for part-time freelance consultation.  

Case study portfolio available upon request. Reach out to me at hello@karahaupt.com for more information! Or, contact via form here. 


How we can work together–

📘 Editorial style guide development

I have ten years of experience developing style guides for a range of brands, including news, lifestyle editorial, and content-to-commerce. I have hands-on experience transforming brand guidelines and audience research into comprehensive guidelines for illustration, photography, and brand design. 

Examples of possible projects:
  • Style guide development for brand editorial and Substack newsletters
  • Editorial content brand audits 

📱 Social creative direction and design

I have experience working with brands and agencies, providing creative oversight for trend-forward, CGC, and original content on TikTok and Meta. I have collaborated closely with social editors, managers, and strategists to ideate, copyedit, and refine social-first video and design. I have hands-on experience using Figma, Canva, and Adobe.

Examples of possible projects:
  • Fractional creative direction for agency or in-house social teams 
  • Designing static social templates 
  • Production social graphic design 


🎨 Illustration art direction

I have a strong network and personal relationships with hundreds of illustrators in various styles, from digital and 3D to sketchy, painterly, and collage. I have commissioned one-off article illustrations, as well as sets and series, with turnaround times as quick as one day and often within 3 to 5 days.

Examples of possible projects:
  • Commissioning and art directing editorial illustration 
  • Art directing illustration for book or magazine projects
  • Art directing book covers 


📸 Photo and art editing

I have extensive experience in photo editing for both news and lifestyle brands. I love digging through an image library and finding the right photo or image to represent a story. I’m well-versed in image licensing and copyright, and can quickly adapt to any CMS. 

Examples of possible projects:
  • Production photo editing for newsletters, magazines, and news sites 
  • Photo research for annual reports, documentaries, and book projects

👩🏼‍💻 Organizational development and team augmentation

I have experience building creative teams from the ground up—including recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and performance management. I specialize in team building, organizational structure, and optimizing production workflows. 

Examples of possible projects:
  • Workflow development and optimization for high-volume production teams
  • Consultation on creative team structure and recruitment strategy
  • Hands-on art direction guidance, shadowing, and mentorship for junior art directors


💻 Deck design

I have created pitch and sales decks for startups and editorial brands.   

Examples of possible projects:
  • Redesigning pitch decks
  • Redesigning and copyediting guides, decks, and documentation 


🙅‍♀️ What I don’t do

  • Develop branding (such as logos) from scratch
  • Web development and product design
  • Motion design
  • Illustration
I was most recently the Senior Director of Art and Photography at NBC News where I ran the editorial design, art, and photography teams for the digital platforms of NBC News, MSNBC, and TODAY. Before NBC I was at The New Yorker where I art directed the website’s illustration and photography. I was also a Design Lead on the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. 

I currently write and produce two paid newsletters, Home Food and Saltine. You can find me on LinkedIn.