Brooklyn, NY – Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Forest Young is acknowledged as a Pinnacle Professional Member Inner Circle of Excellence for his contributions to Advancing Creative Leadership in a Changing Digital Landscape.
Forest Young has established a distinguished career as an artist and design leader known for shaping thoughtful and strategically grounded brand experiences. His creative journey was influenced early on by a family environment that valued both creativity and practical skill. Growing up alongside relatives working in engineering, firefighting, and law enforcement, Mr. Young developed an appreciation for how artistic thinking can coexist with structure, discipline, and real world purpose.
This early perspective became the foundation of a design philosophy that balances aesthetic expression with analytical thinking, curiosity, and intuition. Mr. Young is widely regarded as a thought leader in design and brand transformation, creating work that is visually compelling while remaining deeply connected to business strategy and organizational goals.
Mr. Young earned a Bachelor of Science in human development from Cornell University in 2000 and later completed a Master of Fine Arts in design from Yale University in 2006. He has been an active member of the AIGA Association in New York and has built a career spanning more than two decades across creative leadership, brand strategy, and advanced technology driven design.
Beginning in 2016, Mr. Young reached a major professional milestone when he joined Wolff Olins as head of design. Over the following four years, he advanced to global principal and ultimately to chief creative officer. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in reshaping the brand identity of Uber during a period of significant organizational challenge. His holistic approach included the development of a new logo and a redesigned mobile application, a transformation he considers the greatest achievement of his career. The rebrand helped shift the company from a period of low morale to a more engaged workforce and coincided with Uber’s valuation increasing from approximately sixty six billion dollars to one hundred twenty billion dollars, contributing to the company’s landmark initial public offering.
After leaving his full time role at Wolff Olins in 2021, Mr. Young served as a board member with PlantLife, global head of brand for Rivian, and executive director of design at FundamentalCo. In 2025, he returned to Wolff Olins as a global design and artificial intelligence resident, continuing to explore the evolving relationship between creativity and emerging technology.
In addition to his corporate leadership, Mr. Young has owned and operated his own creative practice, Young Studio, since 2000. He views the studio as an essential way to remain connected to the broader artistic community. His creative development has been shaped through collaboration with acclaimed artists including poet Dwayne Betts, artist Leslie Hewitt, conceptual artist Tavares Strachan, and painter and filmmaker Titus Kaphar.
Outside of his professional work, Mr. Young enjoys powerlifting and collecting baseball cards. He is a devoted husband to his wife, Jane Forest, and a loving father to one child.
Looking ahead, Mr. Young is focused on empowering young designers and expanding understanding of artificial intelligence within the creative field. He views emerging technology not as a threat, but as a powerful opportunity for designers to assume larger and more influential roles within organizations.
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