Translating complex ideas into visual stories across brand, design and motion, from print to film.
I can lead the creative, collaborate with an existing team, or take the work from idea through execution.
Selected Work
Anthropic
Visual campaign storytelling for Claude, translating enterprise AI into a clear, human narrative.
View case studySevenRooms
An ongoing motion and editorial partnership translating product features into premium brand content.
View case studySyfy
Network rebrand and on-air visual system, built for a network in cultural transition.
View case studyIBM
A technology storytelling film translating big data infrastructure into a clear visual explanation.
View case studyOther America
A directed documentary series, with storytelling depth beyond commercial work.
View case studyNBC Winter Olympics
Broadcast brand-systems design for one of the most watched live events in the world. Emmy Award.
View case studyBeyond the screen.
A focused, independent practice — design, motion and film for product and brand storytelling.
Explore Cogent ↗Brand Strategy & Identity
Building brands that hold together everywhere they show up, from a printed mark to a broadcast package, for organizations including Syfy, Honeydew, CBS Sports and NBC.
Syfy
Full rebrand from naming through brand mark and rollout across 87 countries.
View case study
A brand is a system, not a logo.
Design & Visual Systems
Visual languages built with intention, not instinct, so an idea holds its shape whether it's moving, printed or on screen, for organizations including Anthropic, IBM, SearchStax and Broadcom.
Anthropic
Visual campaign storytelling for Claude, translating enterprise AI into a clear, human narrative.
View case study
When there's no visual reference, every decision has to be invented and defended on its own terms.
Product Storytelling
Turning complex products into clear, compelling stories, for product and platform teams including SevenRooms, DoorDash, Reebok and IBM.
SevenRooms
An ongoing motion and editorial partnership translating product features into premium brand content.
View case study
Not dumbed down. Distilled.
Motion & Film
Motion and live-action craft built for meaning, not decoration, from award-winning brand films to network campaign work, for Investigation Discovery, Battlestar Galactica and NBCUniversal.
Investigation Discovery
A continuous overhead camera move, never cutting once. Clio Award.
View case studyThe harder the brief is to visualize, the more it matters to build something real.
Film Titles
Title sequences built to set the tone before the story even starts, for Pitch Perfect 2, Nitehawk Cinema, and feature work from Lionsgate and Rockridge Pictures.
Pitch Perfect 2
Opening titles built from handmade, in-camera light drawing. Universal Pictures.
View case study
The first thing anyone sees. The tone for everything after.
Personal Work
Work made on my own terms, without a client brief, still built with the same care as everything else: documentary, festival film, and authored design.
Other America
A directed documentary series, twelve films across fourteen thousand miles, screened at Nitehawk Cinema.
View case study
The work I make when nobody's briefing me.
Design, motion and film for product and brand storytelling.
An independent creative practice led by James Coulson.
You know what you've built.
The challenge is making everyone else understand why it matters.
Cogent turns complex ideas into clear, human stories.
Visual and campaign direction for Claude's AWS re:Invent launch.
View case study →What Cogent does.
Strategy & Creative Direction
Brand strategy, creative direction, concept development, campaigns, storytelling.
Design
Art direction, visual systems, brand design, storyboards, product & information design.
Motion & Film
Motion design, animation, editorial, live action, CG / VFX direction.
Senior creative direction.
Hands-on execution.
Scale when needed.
Cogent stays deliberately small. James stays close to the work from the first conversation through execution and delivery, using creative AI where it adds value to exploration, iteration and production, and bringing in trusted collaborators, specialists and production partners when a project needs more scale.