About
Hi! I’m an urban designer, strategist, and creative director with a passion for uncovering the hidden qualities of places and creating spaces of inclusion and imagination. With a master’s in city planning from MIT and a background in cinematography, I bring expertise in narrative strategy and experience design to place-based projects of all scales, helping organizations shape their environments to reflect user stories and deepen connections between people and place.
The output of my work spans design strategy frameworks and resiliency masterplans to cinematic place visions and platforms for collective imagination.
In my recent role as a Senior Designer and Creative Director at Arup, I led design teams and narrative strategy on several resiliency and sustainable transportation plans throughout North America and co-founded an internal studio that provides visual storytelling, placemaking, and wayfinding services in client projects. I also helped project teams across multiple disciplines to better understand stakeholder needs, simplify complexity, and develop user-centered design solutions.
Previously, I co-founded and ran a Los Angeles-based practice called Invisible Cities Studio, which helped organizations use immersive storytelling to shape public perception, win work and recognition, and strengthen the social impact of their projects. Some of our work won awards, including an Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
If you want to work together or just say hi, feel free to reach out!
In my recent role as a Senior Designer and Creative Director at Arup, I led design teams and narrative strategy on several resiliency and sustainable transportation plans throughout North America and co-founded an internal studio that provides visual storytelling, placemaking, and wayfinding services in client projects. I also helped project teams across multiple disciplines to better understand stakeholder needs, simplify complexity, and develop user-centered design solutions.
Previously, I co-founded and ran a Los Angeles-based practice called Invisible Cities Studio, which helped organizations use immersive storytelling to shape public perception, win work and recognition, and strengthen the social impact of their projects. Some of our work won awards, including an Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
If you want to work together or just say hi, feel free to reach out!
john.s.moody@gmail.com
Expertise
Research
archival research
community engagement
ethnographic studies
existing conditions
interviews
opportunities & constraints
site documentation
spatial (GIS) analysis
user surveys
community engagement
ethnographic studies
existing conditions
interviews
opportunities & constraints
site documentation
spatial (GIS) analysis
user surveys
client intelligence
content strategy
contract negotiation
cost estimating
impact strategy
pitch decks
place branding
proposal & grant writing
teaming
workshop facilitation
concept development
creative direction
graphic design
persona development
scripting
sketching
storyboarding
style guides & mood boards
user journeys
animation
cinematography
copywriting
design visualization
document layout
photography
report writing
video production
Clients
- American Academy of Arts & Sciences
- Amtrak
- BART
- Boston North End Waterfront Alliance
- California High-Speed Rail Authority
- Caltrans
- Centralny Port Komunikacyjny
- City of Las Vegas, Nevada
- City of Melbourne, Australia
- City of Niagara Falls, Ontario
- County of San Diego
- Delta Airlines
- Empire State Development Corp.
- Google
- LEVER Architecture
- Mi5 Security Service
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- New Jersey DEP
- Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
- Southern California Association of Governments
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
- Stanford University
- State of Colorado
- WXY Studio
- Zoological Society of London
Experience
- Senior Designer & Creative Director, Arup • 2022 - 2024
- Co-Founder & Creative Director, Invisible Cities Studio • 2016 - 2021
- Digital Imaging Technician, Int’l Cinematographers Guild • 2010 - 2021
- Multimedia Designer, MIT • 2014 - 2017
Appointments
- Fellow, Urban Design Forum • 2023 –
- Co-Founder & Board Member, Co-Solve Collective • 2020 –
- Member, Video Consortium • 2020 –
- Steering Committee, Arup Social Value & Equity • 2023 – 2024
- Screening Committee, SFUrban Film Festival • 2021 – 2023
- Design Critic, Harvard Graduate School of Design • 2021
Awards + GrantsFinalist, Istanbul Architecture & Urban Films Fest • 2019
Best Film, Documentary Short Film Festival • 2019
Honor Award, ASLA Professional Awards • 2018
Best Documentary Short, DTLA Film Festival • 2018
Finalist, Architecture & Design Film Festival • 2018
Best Urban Design Film, Better Cities Film Festival • 2017
Bill Mitchell ++ Fund, MIT SA&P • 2015
William Emerson Travel Grant, MIT DUSP • 2015
Best Urban Design Film, Better Cities Film Festival • 2015
Eagle Scout Award, Boy Scouts of America • 2002
EducationMaster in City Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology • 2016
Bachelor of Arts in Film and Video, Pacific University • 2007
Illustration coursework, Concept Design Academy • 2018 - 2022
Study abroad program, University of Granada, Spain • 2005
Full CV available upon request.