About

Dakota Piteo

Designer | Developer | Creative

About

From an early age, I’ve been fascinated by the intersection of art, technology, and compelling storytelling. That passion is what drives me to combine technical skill in both 2D and 3D animation with a strong sense of visual narrative to produce impactful, award-winning projects that captivate attention. Every story can be elevated through dynamic motion graphics and quality visual effects.

Experience

Sr. Motion Graphics Designer

Straight Arrow News

May 2023 – Present

  • Create brand packages, weekly custom explainer animations, and motion graphic templates for the weekly Weapons and Warfare Podcast
    • Increasing viewership from 0 to 20,000/ep
  • Collaborates rest of the SAN Design team to create company-wide design initiatives, complex animations, and brand packages for newscasts, promos, and social media.
  • Provides design feedback & technical assistance to other designers

Lead Technical Designer

TEGNA

APR 2021 – Present

  • Create engaging still and motion graphics / videos for use online, in app, and on broadcast
  • Collaborate with producers and other designers
  • Ensure graphics meet a strict brand standard
  • Design and build motion graphics templates
  • Communicate with clients
  • Provide training and feedback to producers and fellow designers

Motion Graphic Designer

TEGNA

DEC 2018 – MAR 2021

  • Created engaging still and motion graphics / videos for use online, in app, and on broadcast
  • Collaborated with producers and other designers
  • Ensured graphics meet a strict brand standard
  • Designed and build motion graphics templates
  • Communicated with clients
  • Designed and build motion graphics templates
  • Provided training and feedback to producers and fellow designers

Graphic, 3D, and Web Designer

Freelance

JAN 2013 – Present

  • Design, develop and manage graphics, animations, and web assets including branding, animations, marketing materials, websites, and 3D renders

Outdoor Adventurer Programmer

Buckley Airforce Base: Outdoor Recreation

JUL 2017 – DEC 2018

  • Planed and lead recreational adventures
  • Designed flyers, posters, booklets, and other physical marketing materials along with social graphics.
  • Ran marketing campaigns (email, social media, etc)
  • Instructed client and staff classes

Skills

After Effects

Cinema 4D

Premiere

Photoshop

Illustrator

Blender

InDesign

XD

MS Office

HTML & CSS

Javascript

PHP

Education

Full Sail University

Bachelors of Science in Computer Animation – Compositing

AUG 2012 – JUN 2014
• Salutatorian

Recent Awards

  • 2024 Telly Award
  • 2023 Promax Award
  • 2022 Pacific Southwest Regional EMMY® Award
  • 2022 New England Regional EMMY® Award
  • 2022 National Capitol Chesapeake Bay Regional EMMY® Award
  • 2021 MarCom Platinum Award
  • 2021 AVA Digital Design Platinum Award

Skills

  • Motion graphics
  • 3D modeling / retopo
  • Shading / texturing
  • Animation
  • Sound design
  • Video editing
  • Infographics / explainers
  • Data visualization
  • Mapping
  • Video editing
  • Website development
  • Problem solving
  • Project management
  • Attention to detail
  • Communication
  • Creativity
  • Adaptability
  • Self-motivation

Interests

  • Hiking & camping
  • Photography & videography
  • Woodworking
  • Tinkering
  • Sports
  • Video Games
  • Running
  • Board Games
  • Family Time