Sam Shelton

Principal/Creative Director, KINETIK

Sam Shelton is a designer, educator, and business strategist, and a founding partner of KINETIK, a Washington, DC–based design firm. His belief in design as a strategic force for positive change has guided the firm’s work in an evolving cultural and business landscape. This passion is evident not only in the projects he directs, but also in his longstanding commitment to design education and professional service.

Sam has been deeply involved with AIGA, the professional association for design, serving as a past member of the AIGA National Board and as a former board member and president of the AIGA Washington, DC chapter. Following his National Board term, he took a two-year sabbatical from KINETIK to work at the AIGA National Office as Director of Corporate Sponsorship and Chapter Relations. His volunteer leadership also includes committee work focused on chapter sponsorship, board nominations, and design for good initiatives.

An adjunct faculty member at the George Washington University Corcoran School of Art and Design, Sam leads the Design Ignites Change initiative, which enables third-year design students to collaborate on business and design strategies addressing real issues within their own communities. He has held advisory roles with Northern Virginia Community College and AIGA DC’s Continuum Fund and currently serves as chair of the DC Design Continuum Fund Endowment Committee.

Sam holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Arts and Design from Virginia Commonwealth University and was named an AIGA Fellow in 2006 in recognition of his contributions to the design community.