Jason Malmberg
I’m Jason Malmberg, an art director and creative director based in Sacramento, California, with more than twenty years of experience across branding, editorial design, illustration, digital campaigns, and publication design. I’ve worked with clients including Microsoft, Facebook, Amtrak, the California State Fair, and Live Nation, building visual identities and campaigns that hold up across every medium they touch.
My approach starts with research. Every project — regardless of scale or category — begins with a deep dive into the subject matter, the audience, the competitive landscape, and the cultural context around the work. That foundation is what separates a strong concept from a pretty one. From there the goal is to follow the idea all the way through: a brand concept that can’t survive the jump from a billboard to a mobile UI to a social animation isn’t a strong enough idea. I work at the level where strategy and craft meet, and I don’t let go of either one.
On the music side, I design gig posters, record covers, and festival branding under my studio name Decabet, which I’ve operated since 2004. That work includes official concert posters for Foo Fighters, Metallica, Kings of Leon, and “Weird Al” Yankovic, commissioned through Live Nation and the bands’ official touring programs.
I’m also an award-winning illustrator. My work has been recognized by Communication Arts and the World Illustration Awards, and has sold on six of seven continents. Still working on Antarctica.
Reach out. Let’s make something worth making.
Awards aren’t why we do what we do
But when the work echoes back, it’s a reasonable measure that we’re doing it right.
Communication Arts / Typography
Western Publishing Association Maggie Awards / Best Overall Design, Best Cover, Best Editorial Layout, Best Table of Contents
World Illustration Awards / Longlist, Advertising
AAF ADDY Awards / Gold (x4), Bronze (x2)
Hermes Awards / Gold, “Pride is a Protest” campaign; Honorable Mention, “Communities Against Sexual Harm”
Folio Magazine Awards / Best Feature Design, Best Design of a New Magazine, Best Cover Design
National City & Regional Magazine Awards / Best Spread Design
Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California / Best Design
More recently, as Creative Director at 3fold Communications, my work has picked up a few more. A drone show I directed for Los Rios Community College District, created in partnership with Sacramento Republic FC, won Gold at both the Community College Public Relations Officers Awards (CCPRO) and the AAF ADDY Awards, in the Novelty and Wild Card categories. That same run of recognition extended to campaign work for Southwestern College’s international student enrollment initiative, Los Rios’ “Meet Future You”, and Sacramento Green Team’s organics recycling campaign, work rooted in what we call Cause Performance Marketing: advertising built to genuinely improve lives and communities, which in turn builds stronger brands.
PRESS & CREDITS
Beyond the studio work, a few other credits worth mentioning: I have an Art Department credit on IMDb for Scamps & Goons (2015), and a growing list of release credits on Discogs for album and record cover design work.