In a move designed to further integrate creativity at the start of a project with high-end graphics technology, Swell named Mike Czerniuk creative director of Bazooka, Swell’s six-person graphics division.
Czerniuk, who moved over from the Flux Group after four years, “sees himself as an in-house resource,” said Swell’s Mike Topel. “He thinks from a brand strategy perspective. He doesn’t care what box it is, just how does that interact with the agency’s brand strategy. He wants to get into the job in the early stages and be able to make a contribution on the storyboard level.”
Some agencies take advantage of in-house resources more than others, Topel noted, “using them to supplement their own work and the process becomes more collaborative. Mike is available for that role, of participating early on.”
A University of Illinois graduate, Czerniuk’s career evolved in the design departments of Kemper Lesnik, Torque Creative, Otherwise Inc. and Bagby + Associates. Flux hired him as creative director on the basis of his design portfolio, although he had no prior postproduction experience.
