Jeff Caldwell

About Jeff Caldwell

Originally from Detroit, I spent 18 years in Silicon Valley working with everyone from startups, musicians, and artists to Fortune 500 companies. I\'ve built successful brands, produced award-winning campaigns, and created innovative digital consumer platforms — and I\'ve led creative teams from early-stage stealth ventures all the way through successful exits.In the early aughts, I founded Vega Project, an award-winning San Francisco design studio. I\'ve also served as an advisor with Project M, a key force in the global design-for-good movement.Over the years I\'ve led the redesign of the world\'s largest wine store, rebranded the #1 children\'s reading app, and refreshed a biotech company that went on to be acquired.Most recently at Wayfair, I led the end-to-end design of their customer rewards program — brand, UX, illustration, and implementation — working directly with executive leadership and shipping in under six months. Wayfair had tried and failed to build a rewards program before I arrived. This one landed. We launched with 12 million founding members through Wayfair\'s existing credit card base, attracted one million net new paid members in year one, and are now driving 20% of Wayfair\'s U.S. revenue — with members converting on furniture at nearly three times the rate of non-members.I bring a rare combination of product thinking and creative range — UX research, 0-to-1 product building, brand strategy, and hands-on craft. I\'m equally comfortable leading a design system or building a brand from scratch. If that sounds like what you\'re looking for, let\'s connect.

Experience

1. Founder & Design Director

   The Vega Project

   Mar 2026 — Present · Detroit, MI, US

   I founded Vega Project to push design boundaries and feed an entrepreneurial spirit. Over the years I worked with startups, Fortune 500 companies, musicians, artists, and everyone in between, delivering everything from brand and UX strategy to award-winning campaigns and digital platforms. I\'ve led teams, helped companies find their voice, and guided projects through successful exits. Along the way I created a monthly SF gathering for clients and design peers that grew into a staple of the local design community.

Education

• Eastern Michigan University

  BFA, Fine Arts, Design

Skills

• Interactive Marketing
• Graphic Design
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Logo Design
• Interaction Design
• Photography
• Brand Development
• Print Collateral
• Adobe Illustrator
• Web Design
• Adobe Premier
• Html + Css
• Collateral
• Adobe Photoshop
• Digital Printing
• Mobile Web Design
• Web Interface Design
• Visual Design
• Packaging Design
• Art Direction
• User Interface Design
• Creative Direction
• Vector Illustration
• Dreamweaver
• Illustrator
• Concept Development
• Flash
• Visual Identity
• User Interface
• Mobile Interface Design
• Posters
• Photoshop
• Mac
• Packaging
• Flash Animation
• User Experience Design
• Poster Design
• Video Editing
• Videographer