Peter van Dam
I’m a collaborative and strategy-driven designer with a strong track record of partnering with cross-functional teams to define and achieve long-term goals. I apply best practices and data-driven insights to inform thoughtful design decisions, working closely with UX and development teams to validate and iterate throughout the process. My design philosophy emphasizes atomic design systems—building from the smallest elements up—to deliver scalable, high-quality, user-centric solutions.
Education
Western Washington University
BFA in Graphic Design | 2005 – 2010
Experience
Elva
Design Director | 2017 – 2025
As Design Director at Elva, I helped lead and scale the design practice, fostering a collaborative and growth-oriented culture across the UX and UI teams. I played a key role in developing and maintaining scalable design systems and file structures, both internally and for clients, ensuring consistency and efficiency. I led major platform migrations and built flexible, branded digital experiences that balanced creativity with system-level cohesion.
Live Area Labs
Art Director | 2014 – 2017
In this role, I created high-impact conceptual pitch work to help win new business, translating ideas into compelling visual narratives. I collaborated closely with UX and development teams to ensure best practices and elegant technical solutions were integrated from the start. Working with production designers, I helped scale initial concepts across complex, large-scale projects—ensuring consistency and responsiveness across a wide range of pages and viewport sizes.
Smith Commerce
Designer | 2010 – 2014
Collaborated with art directors and senior designers to extend existing design systems by building additional screens, states, and assets. Supported the delivery of large-scale brand work across both digital and print, ensuring alignment with client goals and brand standards.
References
Available upon request