Testimonials

I first became friends with Gene when he hired me to perform for the National Council for the Social Studies national convention. I soon hired him to run my website and newsletter, and he has transformed my business brand to a savvy, ultra-cool site. Gene is one of the most gifted, and amazingly fast, designers I have ever worked with. Being partners with him in the world of music, design, ideas and thought has been a real blessing. He is loyal, he is witty, he is capable of making something wonderful from nothing at all, and he knows how to use a computer like no one else I've EVER known. I can not say enough about the genius of Gene. I am very grateful to know him, and I know you will be, too, if you incorporate his powerful design sensibilities into your next creative venture.

Gene is the co-founder of the DC Shorts Film Festival. Since the beginning, Gene has provided print -- and most impressively -- motion graphics for our opening reel and film introductions. These digital animations encompass many elements: images from 150+ films, logos from sponsors, and a custom-written theme song. The 2013 Opening Reel was the winner of a 2014 TIVA Peer Award. Gene is a hard working, innovative and very practical designer. Human interface, usability and workflow always outweigh design for design's sake. I highly recommend Gene for any position he is aspiring for.

Gene Cowan is an incredibly talented designer and video editor. He is tremendously adept at assessing business needs and requirements and translating them into thoughtful, engaging and creatively themed assets—including print and multi-media. Gene is also very skilled when it comes to taking features and functions and expressing them in thought and emotion provoking ways that transcend base value prop and messaging. I highly recommend Gene as a professional designer, particularly for video-related projects.

Rarely do you find someone as positively relentless as Gene. He and I worked collaboratively on web analytics, promotional marketing pieces, and the like. I found him to be insightful, yet curious. And while others often pigeon-hole their skillsets, he seems to be a constant evolution. Whether it’s video editing, copywriting, web design, or even understanding the technical aspects of a product, I can rely on Gene to share his wealth of knowledge. As an expert or collaborator, Gene earns my highest recommendation.

I had the privilege of working with Gene at the National Council for the Social Studies from 1996-2000. I worked closely with him on all marketing and meeting materials for a large city wide meeting. Gene was an incredibly talented designer, a perfectionist if you will, and would not settle for the status quo. He always went the proverbial "above and beyond" in his quest to produce high-quality, aesthetically-pleasing material. Gene was cognizant of the importance of branding long before it became a common term. When I left NCSS for another job, I continued to use Gene on a free-lance basis even though I had designers on staff. His work simply eclipsed theirs. To this day, I continue to consult him. I would recommend him wholeheartedly.

Gene is one of those amazing developers who is both visionary and able to communicate with us common people. His sense of artistic vision, graphics design, program integrity and ability to communicate all the moving pieces to the client are outstanding! Always look forward to working with Gene.

Gene is brilliant with the tools for creating print, web and video content. He is thorough and reliable in his work. Creatively Gene is able to capture and distill messaging into sleek clear and visually beautiful content. With both technical and creative gifts Gene is an excellent addition to any creative team.

I've worked with Gene at a couple different organizations for a combined total of nearly seven years now. In all that time, his ability to sort through the clutter of technical documentation and messaging, and transform it into polished promotional pieces and communications tools has proven uncanny. Unlike many designers, Gene is a great copy editor as well as creative contributor. He doesn't just do what you ask him to, he asks the hard questions in response, to ensure he can clarify the goal of the communication fully. In so doing, he provides far more value than "just a designer" who simply takes design requests, or does what has always been done in the same way it has always been done.

I am in product marketing and have worked with Gene for more than 3 years. Gene is a great contents designer for marketing tools, such as website, product promotion materials, and videos. Not only does he create attractive marketing collateral, he understands product strategies and sorts out inconsistent requests from the marketing side from each region. He has great patience and reliable work ethic to respond to changing needs in timely manner.

Gene has great vision, design acumen and professionalism. Gene completely redesigned the user experience for Health Advocate’s newly launched member experience (mobile and web). Health Advocate’s member experience integrates over 19 products, content from multiple sources, and some self-service tools. Gene took these complex requirements and created an engaging and easy to use experience. The market has been very receptive to the new member experience, utilization has increased, and it has helped ensure that Health Advocate is still relevant in today’s marketplace. Additionally, Health Advocate has received a Bronze award from the Digital Health Awards for our new online member experience.