John Kidon

With the U.S. Army firing shot after shot directly at him, John Kidon stayed alert, cool and focused. Why? As the goalie of Rutgers’ lacrosse team, he couldn’t let his teammates down. Ultimately, John blocked 32 shots that day – a school record – and Rutgers claimed victory. Today, working as a designer, that capacity to stay cool under pressure makes him a game-saver for clients, too.

“As an athlete, I learned to stay focused on the ball no matter what other distractions might pop up,” he said. “As a designer, I also refuse to let distractions divert my attention from where it needs to be.”

John, who joined ROI Communication in 2015, has worked as a designer and creative director since 1995, when – at the dawn of the Web – he went to work in the newspaper industry. Next, he worked in the insurance industry as a graphic designer at New York Life and Prudential, developing digital and print marketing and sales materials, CD packaging and personalized print-on-demand collateral that nearly doubled response rates. Subsequently, John launched Kedodesign, working with a wide range of commercial, non-profit, religious and community clients to develop websites, logos, signage, letterhead, menus, business cards and sales materials.

John also served for more than a decade as the Creative Director at Davis & Company, an employee communication consulting firm in New Jersey. In this leadership role, he managed the company’s five designers and set the creative direction on projects that included intranet design, corporate identity, brochures, newsletters, iBooks, video, presentations, advertising and employee engagement campaigns.

“I’m a creative person who loves solving problems, and there’s always a new problem to solve,” John said. He credits his problem-solving ability to three things: his experience and enthusiasm as a team player, his artistic talents, and his proficiency programming websites and content management systems. “I have a creative side and a technical side. Having that technical know-how helps me design things that work better,” he said. “My aesthetic sense makes them more engaging.”

John earned a BA in Visual Arts from Rutgers University, and has pursued additional coursework at Bloomfield College and the School of Visual Arts. When he’s not assisting clients, John loves learning new computer languages, building things out of Legos with his boys, playing hockey and running fantasy sports leagues for his fellow football and baseball fans. He lives in New Jersey.