Christopher Payne — Richmond, VA
Chris Payne.
Brand Strategy Content Systems Creative Lead Culture & Change Video Production

15+ years building brand systems, content operations, and human-centered change programs for Fortune 500 organizations — Capital One, RTX, Stanley Black & Decker.

Story. Systems. People.
15+ Years
50K+ Associates reached
F500 Clients
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Story

Brand Strategy & Narrative

I help organizations find their story — then build the systems that carry it. From naming workshops to full brandbooks, visual identity to narrative architecture.

Capital One · CARD.AI · 2021
Organizational Rebrand

Naming workshop, brand positioning exercise, and full visual identity system for a 3,000-person division. PRIDSM+ became CARD.AI — with a custom logotype, brandbook, and activation across every touchpoint.

18+Logo concepts
FullBrandbook
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CARD.AI rebrand
Capital One · US Card · 2022
Internal Brand System

Built the US Card brand guidelines from scratch — Card Flare visual language, LOB logo redesigns for 9+ lines of business, and templates across every internal channel for 50,000+ associates.

9+LOB brands
~50KAssociates
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US Card Brand Guidelines
RTX · Payne Street Digital Studio · 2024
Brand Strategy & Internal Narrative

Brand strategy and narrative writing for RTX — delivered as a messaging architecture for internal communications and PR teams across Defense, Commercial Aerospace, Talent Acquisition, and Corporate Citizenship.

4Business segments
NDAOn request
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Work sample preview — NDA
RTX — NDA
NDA
Systems

Content Operations & Digital Marketing

Strategy without infrastructure is just a good idea. I build the machines that make content repeatable, measurable, and scalable.

Greenhouse Coaching · Payne Street Studio · 2024–25
Content System & Campaign Operations

Built a full content system for Greenhouse Coaching — content calendar, multi-format production workflow, and cross-platform distribution. One topic, four formats, three platforms. Video as the end product of strategy.

+46%Organic search
+289%Video views
+424%Email traffic
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Campaign visual — add image
Capital One · US Card · 2016–2023
Enterprise Content Campaigns

End-to-end content strategy and creative direction for Capital One's US Credit Card business — partnership launches, product campaigns, and weekly editorial content across email, intranet, and Slack for 13,800 associates.

72%+Engagement rate
13,800Associates
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Campaign examples — add image
People

Culture, Change & Experience Design

The best communications make people feel understood. I design the experiences and systems that move organizations through change — without losing the humans inside them.

Capital One · The Culturists · 2018–2021
Associate Experience Design Program

Led strategy and visual design for The Culturists — a cross-functional team bridging Capital One's tech transformation with human reaction to change. Empathy interviews, personas, prototype tools, and a 13-step change comms framework.

90%Awareness target
Engagement scores
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The Culturists
Capital One · US Card · 2016–2023 · Quarterly
Quarterly All-Hands Event Production

Full creative and production ownership of quarterly hybrid town halls for 1,000–5,000 associates — thematic creative direction, AV, speaker prep, run of show, breakout strategy, and on-site video capture.

1K–5KPer event
80%Satisfaction
73%Objective clarity
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Town hall Town hall Town hall Event
Stanley Black & Decker · Payne Street Studio · 2024–25
Enterprise Change Communications

Internal change management communications for Stanley Black & Decker's Global Tax Transformation (Pillar 2) — program identity, messaging architecture, and visual communications for 2,000+ employees.

2K+Employees
NDAOn request
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Work sample preview — NDA
SBD — NDA
NDA
Film

Video content & Storytelling

When the story demands it, video is the answer.

Capital One Shingles Tag
Corporate Storytelling
Capital One Shingles Tag
Producer · 2nd Camera · Editor · Capital One
Old Navy Leadership Offsite
Corporate Storytelling
Old Navy Leadership Offsite
Producer · 2nd Camera · Prophet / Brand Strategy
Future Fintech Vision Film
Vision Brand Film
Future Fintech Vision Film
Executive Producer · Payne Street Studio
Bono & Eugene Peterson
Nonprofit Storytelling
Bono & Eugene Peterson | The Psalms
Producer · 2nd Camera · Fuller Theological Seminary
Imago Dei
Nonprofit Brand Film
Imago Dei — That Changes Everything
Producer · Director · Editor · Faith-Based School
Jon Guerra Three Psalms
Music Film
Jon Guerra — Three Psalms
Producer · Camera · Audio · Editor · Laity Lodge
About
Christopher Payne

I'm a creative who loves solving juicy problems for people.

15+ years at the intersection of brand, content, and human-centered change — for organizations that want to communicate better and move faster. I started in documentary film and brand video, spent seven years inside Capital One building communications systems at scale, and now run Payne Street Digital Studio working with Fortune 500s and growth-stage businesses.

Design thinking has shaped how I work since the mid-2000s. I believe the best communications start with understanding people — their fears, their motivations, where they are in a change curve — before a single word gets written or a brand color gets chosen.

Based in Richmond, VA. Story + Tech.

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