JUSTIN RESTAINO
CREATIVE DIRECTOR | CREATIVE PRODUCER
JUSTIN RESTAINO
CREATIVE DIRECTOR | CREATIVE PRODUCER
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Promoted to lead all aspects of branding, marketing, broadcast, and social creative direction for the League Championship Series (LCS) at this renowned American video game developer and esports organizer.
● Drove agency briefings and the overall creative process by consistently facilitating the collaboration of various organizational pillars like Marketing, Product, and Content, resulting in a cross-functional creative direction that solved multiple business needs.
● Directed creative vision and content strategy for the League Championship Series (LCS) by hiring, managing, and mentoring a team of 20+ Motion Designers, Video Editors, Producers, Graphic Designers, and Social Managers that established the LCS and Riot Games as an award winning esports publisher.
● Led the ideation, design, and execution of integrated branded content by leading RFP briefs for third-party creative agencies and managing the day-to-day relationships with creative partners generating increased Instagram engagement by 40%, Twitter engagement by 18%, and TikTok engagement by 99%
● Oversaw creative strategy for marketing campaigns, live-event experiences, and social content, resulting in a viewership AMA of 200,000 across platforms and selling over 15,000+ tickets for our live events consistently.
RIOT GAMES | 2019 — 2021
Selected to oversee the creative direction for the League of Legends World’s Championship – the largest esports competition in the world, garnering 100,000,000+ million total viewers.
● Developed viral performances for the League of Legends World Championships by implementing innovative creative concepts and pioneering next generation technology, culminating in winning 3 Emmy Awards in 2017, 2019, and 2020.
● Blended creativity with strategic thinking to translate Riot's business objectives into action, showcasing strong leadership skills and resulting in the highest grossing game sales in company history.
● Crafted creative briefs and managed a team of stage designers, lighting designers, choreographers, and visual designers to build IP-driven opening ceremonies, resulting in record-breaking viewership metrics.
● Collaborated with renowned artists and utilized technologies like Augmented Reality and Holograms to pioneer the creative expression of key Riot Games IPs, resulting in 1.1 billion Twitter impressions, a 104% increase in Twitter Video Views, 13 million Facebook impressions, and a 221% increase in Instagram story engagement.
RIOT GAMES | 2016 — 2019
Actively recruited to lead the NA LCS, EU LCS, and global event graphics team in the complete overhaul and brand-new creation of high-end graphics packages and workflows.
● Enhanced collaboration and creativity by leading internal teams and projects at Riot, improving storytelling for live shows and ensuring the successful global launches of live data, augmented reality, and graphic applications.
● Sourced and managed production vendors for brand packages and onsite executions, ensuring seamless operations for both global and regional events.
● Pioneered the integration of Augmented Reality and Holograms into Riot Games broadcasts, serving as the key producer responsible for sourcing vendors, managing contracts, and allocating budgets.
Graphics Designer - Reality Check Systems
Jr. Graphics Designer - NFL Network
Post-Production Coordinator and Lead Editor - The Surf Channel
Sr. Manager, Engineering @ Riot Games
“Justin is an exceptional creative and technical producer, with a passion for storytelling and creating resonant fan experiences. His innovative vision, high-level collaboration, and composure in high-stakes production environments make him an invaluable production teammate.”
“Justin is able to explore the many different aspects of a brand experience - concept, visual, storytelling, music - and connect them all together in a unique fan experience. His holistic vision is followed by experience in production to ensure the delivery of projects that are clearly seen by fans as high quality, cohesive and innovative.”
Director, Esports @
Riot Games
Global Head of Strategy @
Riot Games
“In 2021 I had the pleasure of hiring Justin as the Creative Director for the League Championship Series, the North American esports league for the Riot Games, League of Legends. Justin's vision for reshaping our content, storytelling and live events was compelling and our fans took notice of the shift in tone almost immediately with a significant and measurable lift in sentiment. His ability to sell an idea in to senior stakeholders was a joy to watch (and to be sold to), and Justin's work elevated our product and messaging during his tenure. Justin was a consummate team player, open to feedback and an overall joy to work with day-in and day-out. “
I have always had a passion for all of the above. Within my life and career, I have been fortunate enough to have experiences in all of these spaces. Whether it has been getting engaged backstage at Hamilton on Broadway, creating graphics packages for NFL on CBS, March Madness, and UFC, winning three Emmys for my time at Riot Games, to making fictional dragons and video game characters perform live on stage in front of 30k-40k people in a arenas and stadiums, my passion for pushing creative forwards is unparalleled.
From pioneering new technology to utilizing standard techniques in unconventional ways, my experience demonstrates my desire to not only push myself and my team to the next level, but to push beyond industry standards as I develop projects that challenge traditional paradigms and create never-before-seen experiences for worldwide audiences.
I’M A NATIONAL CHAMPION PUBLIC SPEAKER.
MY FAVORITE VIDEO GAME IS THE WITCHER III.
MY FAVORITE TV SHOW IS BREAKING BAD.
I’VE TRAVELED TO 6 COUNTRIES.
MY GO-TO KARAOKE SONG IS DADDY WONT SELL THE FARM.
MY FAVORITE MOVIE IS SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.
I PROPOSED TO MY WIFE IN LIN-MANUAL MIRANDA’S DRESSING ROOM.
I’M A DIE-HARD FOOTBALL FAN.
I HAVE TATTOOS.
I HAVE A TWO-YEAR-OLD SON NAMED JUDE.