Manuel Marin signature

▸ Chicago, IL · Available for work

I build brands that grow, campaigns that convert, and visual identities that last.

I operate in two worlds — and I'm fluent in both. By day, I'm a Creative Director. By night, I'm behind the bar, reading the room. Five-plus years leading creative at Invoke, a parallel career in hospitality, and a technical foundation most creatives can't touch.

Creative Director · Invoke Brand · Web · Photography · Paid Media Bilingual EN · ES

▸ About

A creative
with a technical
spine.

I lead creative strategy at Invoke, a Chicagoland branding agency, where I've scaled brands from zero digital presence to over 206,000 monthly social impressions — directing photography, building campaigns on Google + Meta Ads, and shipping full websites end-to-end.

Before that I was a Technical Expert at Apple, diagnosing iPhone and Mac hardware in a high-velocity service environment. Before that, an Assistant Network Engineer at Nexus, pulling CAT6 and standing up IP CCTV systems in commercial buildings.

I also bartend. Lead bar at Main Event today, five years at Bahama Breeze before that. The hospitality work isn't a side thing — it's a parallel craft, and it's where I learned to read a room and earn trust without speaking first.

I don't just make things look good. I make them work.

Branding & Identity Web Design + Build Photography Paid Media (Google / Meta) Bilingual EN/ES Apple Certified Low-Voltage / AV

▸ What I work on

Four lanes, one operator.

01

Branding & identity

Visual systems, logo, type, palette. The brand decides what the rest does.

Illustrator · Photoshop · InDesign

02

Web design + build

Single-page editorial to full multi-page sites. Hand-coded HTML, mobile-first, bilingual when it earns it.

HTML · CSS · Netlify deploy

03

Photography

Direction, capture, post. Brand, restaurant, lifestyle, portrait. Real rooms, real light, real people.

Lightroom · Photoshop · Direction

04

Paid media

Google + Meta ads from setup to KPI. Scaled brands from zero to 206k+ monthly impressions.

Google Ads · Meta · Analytics

Selected work.

Eight pieces that show the range. Bilingual editorial, AI-product launches, hospitality, restoration. Click any tile for the live site.

▸ Live on real domain Brito Tires bilingual single-page editorial site
01 · Brito Tires2026

A bilingual tire shop with its name on the door.

Bilingual EN/ES single-page editorial for an independent Back-of-the-Yards tire shop. Owner-on-the-door positioning, 24/7 mobile service, OSM map embed, full brand-poster inventory section.

Strategy·Brand·Web Build·Bilingual UX
britotires.com →
▸ Solo · Pre-AI build Fiamma Napoletana — Neapolitan pizzeria full website
02 · Fiamma Napoletana2025

An 800° oven, and the site to match it.

Full restaurant website for an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria in Bartlett, IL. Hero, story, full menu (Pizze Rosso/Bianca, Antipasti, Pasta, Dolci, cocktails), space, reservations. Shipped solo before AI tools entered my stack.

Brand·Web Build·Photo Direction·Menu System
fiammanapoletana.com →
▸ Preview live Exotic Pavers & Landscaping — full website rebuild
03 · Exotic Pavers & Landscaping2026

The same hands. Every yard.

Full website rebuild for a Chicagoland paver-and-landscape company. Editorial cover, forest-green + paver-charcoal palette pulled from the existing brand guidelines, process-as-proof narrative. Full-bleed Amling's-style hero.

Strategy·Brand System·Web Build·Photography Direction
epl-bones-preview.netlify.app →
▸ Live Divebar Boyz — Chicago dive bar editorial field guide
04 · Divebar Boyz2026

A field guide to 58 Chicago dive bars.

Editorial field-guide site for friends running a dive-bar review project on Instagram. Wanderlog-fed bar roster, Morty mascot, Chicago-flag palette, voice-locked Zeke narration. Launched, then refreshed at 58 bars.

Brand·Editorial Direction·Web Build·Mascot System
divebarboyz.com →
▸ Preview live PaiGE — AI phone support product launch site
05 · PaiGE — AI Phone Support2026

A 24/7 AI receptionist that picks up.

Product launch site for an AI-powered phone-answering service. Cold-open hero: press-to-connect → chime → split-flap reveal → animated underline → blue bloom. Departure-board ticker, pillars, problem narrative, dark how-it-works board.

Brand·Web Build·Motion / Microinteractions·Product Narrative
paige-preview.netlify.app →
▸ Preview live Yered Mora — bilingual marketing portfolio
06 · Yered Mora Portfolio2026

A portfolio for a bilingual marketer.

Single-page portfolio built from Yered's PDF — real work (Alma Lasers, Westchester Park District, freelance roster). Forest green + cream + tan, "Mora" monogram, masonry galleries, scroll-reveal, button glow.

Web Build·Brand Mark·Portfolio System·PDF→Web
yered-portfolio-preview.netlify.app →
▸ Pitch preview Smash Jíbarito — Puerto Rican smash burger concept
07 · Smash Jíbarito2026

A smash burger. A jíbarito. One concept.

Pitch preview for a Puerto Rican smash-burger concept. Real gorilla badge wired into cover + footer, hero menu, story/historia, proof, ritual sections. Owner-facing pitch deliverable.

Brand Concept·Web Build·Pitch Deliverable
smash-jibarito-preview.netlify.app →
▸ First framework validation Casa del Rocío — Latin culture-first marketing collective
08 · Casa del Rocío2026

A culture-first Latin collective.

Mini-site for a Latin-focused creative marketing collective: "a culture-first collective building meaningful experiences for Latin artists, brands, and communities." First validation of the four-pillar Invoke framework.

Framework Design·Brand Voice·Web Build·Cultural Strategy
casa-del-rocio-preview.netlify.app →

▸ Where it started

The Iuventus archive.

Youth Culture through art. Six projects from 2021 – 2023 that taught me everything about visual identity, photography, and building a brand from the inside out.

▸ Get in touch

Let's make something.

Open to creative direction, brand strategy, web build, photography, and paid media engagements. Chicago-based, comfortable hybrid or remote, bilingual English / Spanish.