Iota Creative Studios
Joe Klinker
Creative Director, Brand Storyteller and Communications Strategist
Profile
I came to creative work by way of the podium. Twelve years as a Coast Guard spokesman and media director taught me to find the true story under pressure and give it to people in words they could use, whether the moment was a hurricane, a rescue or a national press briefing. Since 2015 I have put that same discipline into brands: naming them, drawing them, writing their voice and building the places people meet them, from children's books on a bookstore shelf to the letters a bishop signs and the website a theater family opens on a phone.
Experience
Founder and Creative Director
2015 to PresentIota Creative Studios, Orlando, FL
- Lead brand, design and communications work for my own ventures and for clients, carrying each project from positioning and naming through visual identity, copy and launch.
- Created and designed the Tiny Saints children's brand: characters, packaging, product line and voice. Our Sunday Visitor published six Tiny Saints board books I wrote and designed in 2019, and the line reached bookstores nationwide through publishing and wholesale partners.
- Designed the Duckbill platform for community theater, including its brand, mobile-first show pages and digital programs that let audiences find a show, read the program and buy tickets.
- Directed donor and campaign communications for the Catholic Foundation of Central Florida and external communications for the Diocese of Orlando (2015 to 2017), ghostwriting letters, appeals and published pieces signed by Bishop John Noonan.
- Built crisis communication plans, playbooks and training through CommPrep, and spoke to PRSA Orlando and PRSA Space Coast. I use AI tools every day to draft, design and check the work.
Chief of Media Relations
2014 to 2015U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC
- Ran the service's media relations worldwide and wrote for its senior admirals, shaping what they said, when they said it and when they held back.
- Guided the media side of the 2014 Ebola response so the public heard one clear story from health officials.
Public Affairs Officer, Northeast
2010 to 2014U.S. Coast Guard, Boston and New York City
- Lead public information officer for Hurricane Sandy and part of the Boston Marathon bombings joint information center.
- Project officer for Disney's The Finest Hours, working with the filmmakers to tell a true Coast Guard rescue story on screen.
- Wrote a cruise ship crisis communication plan with input from cruise-line communicators, and taught corporate communication at Boston University.
Press Aide to the National Incident Commander
2010Deepwater Horizon Response, New Orleans
- Moderated Admiral Thad Allen's national press briefings, ran his media schedule and drafted his public remarks alongside White House and DHS communications teams.
Public Affairs and Command Center Duty Officer
2003 to 2009U.S. Coast Guard, Miami
- Spokesperson through hurricane seasons, rescues, Super Bowl XLI and a presidential press event at the Port of Miami, after learning on overnight watches to keep the facts straight and get them to the person who can act.
Skills
Creative Direction
Brand Identity and Storytelling
Graphic and Product Design
Children's Book Design
Content Strategy
Copywriting and Editing
Executive Ghostwriting
Donor and Stakeholder Communications
Marketing Campaigns
Crisis Communications
Media Relations
Web and Mobile UX
Public Speaking and Training
AI-Assisted Creative Workflows
Cross-Team Collaboration
Education
MA, Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill2010
BA, Philosophy, Belmont Abbey College2003