JAY HEINZ
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 FRACTIONAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR | JAY HEINZ

Senior Creative Leadership for
​Ambitious Experience Projects

From the client chair to the director's chair.
​
You're building something ambitious and you need senior creative leadership to get it there.

​I've led both institutions and productions, so I understand your pressures before you have to explain them.
Why Teams
Call Me First

Because the vision is the project. Everything else is execution. 

​I help teams find clarity before the expensive work begins.
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Let's talk about your project.
Tell Me What You're Building →
What I Bring
Most experience projects need someone who can speak every language in the room. Fundraisers. Fabricators. Media teams. Visitors. I've worked inside institutions at the highest level, produced media shown in venues worldwide, and directed projects from first concept through final installation. I know what donors need to hear, what visitors actually feel, and when to push the technology further than anyone thinks is possible, including knowing when AI tools accelerate the work and when they don't. No handholding. No lengthy onboarding. Just senior-level creative leadership from day one.
Ways We Can Work Together
Engagements are tailored to your scope, timeline, and team. 
 
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​​Early Stage Concept & Direction
You have a vision but the path isn't clear yet.
We find the story at the center of your project and build a creative direction your whole team can follow.
You get: A clear narrative foundation and creative framework before the expensive work begins.
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Experience Review
Your experience is in development or open but something isn't landing.
We evaluate story, audience flow, and engagement using your visitor data and our experience.
You get: Clear, evidence-based recommendations to strengthen impact before you spend money fixing the wrong things.

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Vision Development & Pitch
You need funders and the board excited and the materials have to do the heavy lifting.
We sharpen the story and develop the concept packages, presentations, and media needed to make the case.
You get: Pitch-ready materials to build confidence and move people.
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Immersive Media Production
You have a story that needs to fill a dome, wall, or immersive space.
We develop the concept, shape the narrative, and lead the production from script to final delivery.

You get: A finished, exhibition-ready experience led by a director who understands both the story and the space it lives in.
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Fractional Creative Director
You need senior creative leadership for the long haul but not full-time. 
I embed with your team part-time, providing director-level vision, decisions, and oversight from start to finish.
You get: Consistent creative leadership without the full-time overhead.


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Case Studies
Short examples showing
​how ideas become experiences.
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REIMAGINING MOREHEAD PLANETARIUM

Challenge: Modernize a legacy science center while aligning university stakeholders, designers, media, and research.

Solution: Led cross-functional strategy, design alignment, and integrated media production.
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Outcome: Delivered a cohesive, research-driven experience that redefined audience flow and repositioned the institution.

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FREEDOM RIDES MUSEUM VR EXPERIENCE

​Challenge
: Bring a historic civil rights story into immersive VR while guiding a team new to the medium.

Solution: Led creative strategy and production of a photoreal, archival-driven Freedom Riders experience.
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Outcome: Expanded reach beyond the museum and received two major exhibition awards.

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HIDDEN NO MORE / NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

​Challenge
: Build a nationally scalable storytelling platform across formats and audiences.

Solution: Directed an integrated VR, film, and traveling exhibit strategy refined with subject-matter experts.
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Outcome: Rolled out 10 exhibits nationwide and launched on the Meta store, broadening reach and impact.
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UNDERSTANDING THE AMERICAN SOUTH
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Challenge: Build a multi-platform initiative exploring Southern history across fulldome, docs, and education.

Solution: Directed fulldome film, led a j-school doc series filmed across the South, and led a K-12 resource portal.

Outcome: A cohesive multi-platform experience connecting storytelling with community voices and academic partnership.


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ROBOTO OCTOPODO
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Challenge: Launch an original Meow Wolf-style immersive experience from scratch.

Solution: Co-founded the venture, assembled a creative team, and directed concept development and prototyping.

Outcome: Developed a viable concept framework for an original location-based entertainment experience.

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GALAPAGOS 360 / THE WASHINGTON POST

​Challenge: Bring environmental journalism to life through an immersive 360 video experience.

Solution: Contributed creative direction for a multi-story 360 experience built with custom camera technology.
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Outcome: Launched on WashingtonPost.com, expanding immersive storytelling into major national media


​Who I Work With
Cultural institutions, visitor centers, branded environments, and anyone using media and technology to bring a story to life in a physical space.


 
Got a project? Tell me about it.
[email protected]
  • About
  • Work
    • Projects
    • Experience
  • Consulting
  • Contact