Sarah Sears

About Sarah Sears

Sarah Sears is the Founder & Principal of S Design Inc, an award-winning design and brand strategy firm helping family offices, fractional leaders, and sell-side brokers prepare their companies for sale, roll out new brands and evolve culture. Sarah approaches brand strategy with the precision of a scientist and the heart of an artist. She has guided organizations through high-stakes transitions, ensuring their brands remain strategically positioned, financially valuable, and culturally aligned in the face of change. Case studies from S Design illustrate the significant return on investment achieved through effective brand positioning, alignment, and revitalization or rebranding for organizations experiencing modernization, acquisition, succession planning or sale.Most recently, Sarah earned the Brand Strategist, Brand Specialist, and Brand Architect Level C Certifications under international branding expert Marty Neumeier. She led a team of 25 designers in developing the new Oklahoma state visual identity, a process that exemplified her ability to unite multiple stakeholders around a cohesive brand vision.For the first two decades of her career, Sarah was an adjunct professor of illustration and typography, shaping the next generation of designers while building S Design. Her design education from the University of Kansas is rooted in Swiss and Bauhaus principles—an influence evident in her work’s clarity, balance and functionality.A champion for the design community, Sarah founded the Oklahoma chapter of AIGA in 1996, serving as its first president and later as a long-term board member and advisor. She is a three-time finalist for The Journal Record’s Woman of the Year, inducted into its Circle of Excellence, and honored with awards such as the Byliner Award for Business, Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year (OSU Riata Center), and The University of Kansas School of Architecture and Design’s Distinguished Alumni Award.Sarah is an alumna of Leadership Oklahoma Class 37 and Leadership Oklahoma City Class XXV. She continues to speak at conferences and industry events, sharing her expertise on brand alignment as a catalyst for business resilience and long-term success.

Experience

1. Principal

   S Design Inc

   Mar 1994 — Present · Oklahoma City, OK, US

   As Principal at S Design, I work with CEOs and marketing directors to improve customer and employee perception and build brand equity. I lead a team of designers, writers and UX and CX specialists and developers to design and implement brand creation, brand revitalization, rebrands and marketing programs.

Education

• The University of Kansas

  BFA, Design: Visual Communication and Illustration

Skills

• Corporate Branding
• Brand Development
• Graphic Design
• Brochures
• Posters
• Strategic Planning
• Publications
• Public Speaking
• Book Design
• Logo Development
• Typography
• Web Design
• Marketing Communications
• Logo Design
• Creative Direction
• Corporate Identity
• Layout
• Budgets
• Creative Writing
• Editing
• Advertising
• Logos
• Web Development
• Promoting
• Branding & Identity
• Budgeting
• Brand Implementation
• Social Media
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Marketing
• Photography
• Entrepreneurship
• Indesign
• Copywriting
• Art Direction
• Illustration
• Graphics
• Illustrator
• Social Media Marketing
• Photoshop