Helping Businesses get Better at Creativity, and Creatives get Better at Business
WILLIAM WARREN | ENTREPRENEUR. AUTHOR. SPEAKER. ILLUSTRATOR
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About
William C Warren
William is a creative-turned-entrepreneur with a life and career centered on visual thinking and communication. His professional mission is simple: to help businesses get better at creativity, and creatives get better at business.
Since 2013, William Warren has led The Sketch Effect, a premier visual communication firm helping top brands like Marriott, Chick-fil-A, Delta, and Oracle make their ideas more understandable and actionable through visual communication and visual strategy. He is also the author of The Conquering Creative, a 2023 Goody Business Book Award finalist and Amazon best-seller, equipping creatives with essential business skills. As a dynamic speaker and workshop leader, William shares insights on visual thinking and leadership with audiences nationwide, often drawing live on stage as he speaks. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, making BBQ, scuba diving, traveling, and riding his Onewheel around Atlanta, GA.
The Conquering Creative
Check Out William’s Book:
Simply put, this is a fully-illustrated business book for creative people. The reality is that most creatives love to create—not handle the “businessy” side of things. However, building a successful creative career or growing a thriving creative business requires mastering fundamental business skills that may not come naturally. This book equips creatives with the tools, insights, and encouragement they need to succeed not just in their craft, but also in the business of their craft.
“The Conquering Creative” has been recognized as a 2023 Goody Business Book Award Finalist in Business-Career Success, an Amazon Best Seller and “Hot New Release,” and earned #1 New Release status in the Entrepreneurship and Vocational Guidance categories.
Speaking
Looking to bring in a fresh voice to your next corporate event?
William shares at events of all shapes and sizes, offering his unique perspective on business, creativity and visual thinking from nearly 20 years in the field of visual communication. He offers inspirational and educational keynote-style presentations, practical training on small business entrepreneurship, as well as more in-depth visual thinking and creative workshops for corporate teams. To learn more, check out the “signature talks” below.
signature talks
Victorious Visuals
Critical charts to conquer your obstacles and grow your business.
Running a business is no easy feat. It takes strategy, sales, systems…and everything in between. In this engaging talk, William draws from his own journey of launching and scaling a creative business, sharing key lessons and the essential visual frameworks that empower entrepreneurs to grow and thrive.
Visual Leadership
Combine your visual and verbal brain to think, communicate, execute, and lead.
Our brains were created for multi-modal learning. And yet, in the modern workplace we default to words, words, and more words! In this informative and actionable talk, William shares the incredible power of visual learning and how the best leaders leverage it to improve how they strategize, manage, and drive successful outcomes.
Visual-Storytelling
The incredible science, history and power of visuals, from cavemen to TikTokers
Humans are wired for visual stories. While the mediums have evolved over generations, the principles of powerful visual storytelling remain the same. In this talk, William traces the roots of visual communication and shares modern strategies for impactful storytelling. Whether in marketing, management, or sales, those who master storytelling will win the day.
Speaking Experience
Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Oracle
Savannah College of Art and Design
Plywood Presents
Entrepeneurs’ Organization
The Serious Business Conference
Startup Mountain Summit
The Graphic Artists Guild
UPS
Midwest Digital Marketing Conference
Atlanta Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
Speaking Experience
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Testimonials
“Visionaries must articulate a picture of the future that produces passion in others. William, in his creative communication style, helps bridge the gap between business and creativity. Across both Chick-fil-A and at Trilith, William has come alongside us as we unpack some of our most complex business challenges in a fun and creative way that keeps us pursuing our future goals and aspirations.”
Dan Cathy Chairman, Chick-fil-A, Inc. | Founder & Chief Visionary, Trilith
“William Warren was an outstanding speaker at our 2024 Startup Mountain Summit! He was incredibly professional and easy to work with from start to finish. His talk on the power of visual storytelling was engaging, well-prepared, and interactive, delivering valuable insights in a way that truly resonated with our audience. He has a unique ability to make drawing feel approachable and less intimidating, encouraging everyone to leverage visual communication in their businesses. I highly recommend William for any event looking for an informative and dynamic speaker who knows how to captivate a room!”
Adriana Dew Program Director at Founders Forge
“We had William speak at our department's Development Day in 2024 and he was a fan favorite! He was a pleasure from preparation to delivery of content and we would recommend his content on visual communication and visual thinking to any size group in any industry. He is dynamic and professional and his content is instantly applicable.”
Savannah Leigh White Chick-fil-A Financial Services
William C Warren’s Reel
Popular reels
Blog
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The Two “Boss Trades” Every Creative Freelancer or Entrepreneur Makes
When you’re considering launching a creative freelance or entrepreneurial career, the appeal of “being your own boss” is very real. After all, you’ll get to work when you want, take
Delegation for Dummies (Like Me)
It was nearly four years before I got someone to help me with invoicing. Four long years doing something that I was terrible at, didn’t enjoy, and wasn’t worth my