Peter Paul Payack

It’s a little weird, but doing this in the third person seems easier …

Peter Paul is a Boston-based graphic designer and award-winning editorial cartoonist with 14+ years of experience working in various creative settings. He’s currently a design manager on the in-house creative team at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

Peter Paul’s interest in graphic design began with ClarisWorks on the family Mac back in the 90s. He mostly treated art as a hobby, but when he realized it could be a real career path, Peter Paul chose graphic design for his major at Stonehill College. While in school, he also minored in journalism, worked for the school newspaper, played football for 2 seasons and spent a semester abroad in Florence, Italy.

In addition to design, Peter Paul has been making editorial cartoons for various publications since 2010. He also loves running, traveling and sometimes traveling to run. He currently lives in Cambridge, Mass. with his wife Brianna, dog Chupa and cats Obi and Jax.

Say Hi

I'm always looking for new creative opportunities. If you have one, contact me through one of the platforms below.

Work

Design Manager
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (Boston, MA)
April 2022 – Present
I lead a team of designers within our in-house creative agency, delivering cohesive omnichannel design solutions and upholding brand standards. I collaborate with other managers, designers, writers, account managers, clients, event planners and outside vendors. I also partner with cross-functional leaders to develop innovative strategies to enhance our brand and advance our company’s mission and values.

Graphic Designer
September 2015 – April 2022
Designed B2B and B2C print and digital marketing material for our in-house creative agency—website and app assets, email templates, social media graphics, print ads, event signage, fact sheets, mailers and more. Collaborated with other designers, writers, account managers, event planners and outside vendors. Also assisted in a company rebrand.

Production Design Specialist
October 2010 – September 2015
Designed and maintained government-mandated benefit communications and assisted our in-house creative agency on B2B and B2C marketing material. Upheld brand standards and collaborated with benefit specialists, account managers and outside vendors.

Senior Associate
Black Lion Strategies (Boston, MA)
May 2023 – Present
I lead all internal and external design and branding initiatives.

Freelance Editorial Cartoonist
Banker & Tradesman (Peabody, MA)
March 2013 – March 2024
Made a weekly editorial cartoon about timely business news in Boston, Massachusetts and New England. Collaborated with editors while developing, writing and illustrating the cartoons, which were published online and in print.

Director of Digital Media
Samuel Gebru for Cambridge City Council (Cambridge, MA)
September 2016 – November 2017
Created a brand identity and applied it across a print and digital landscape—website, email templates, social media graphics, signage, stickers, mailers, business cards and more. Directed design work, managed external print vendors, provided oversight on all outreach material and social media strategies and worked closely with the director of communications, campaign manager and candidate.

Freelance Editorial Cartoonist
Cambridge Chronicle (Cambridge, MA)
December 2010 – March 2017
Made a weekly editorial cartoon about timely news and events in Cambridge. Collaborated with editors while developing, writing and illustrating the cartoons, which were published online and in print.

Freelance Copyeditor
DigBoston + BeerAdvocate (Boston, MA)
April 2010 – September 2010
Copyedited and fact-checked news articles and wrote creative body copy for multiple print and web publications in accordance with a style guide. Communicated with news sources and worked collaboratively with writers and editors.

Features Editor
The Summit (Easton, MA)
August 2008 – May 2009
Assigned, organized and edited feature articles for Stonehill College’s student-run newspaper. Oversaw the complete redesign of the 16-page newspaper and laid out the Features section of each issue. Interviewed news sources, took photographs and wrote news, feature, editorial and sports articles. Worked collaboratively with writers, photographers and other editors.

Staff Writer
December 2006 – August 2008
Wrote news, feature and sports articles for the newspaper. Interviewed news sources, took photographs and worked collaboratively with editors.

Awards

2023 NENPA New England Better Newspaper Competition
3rd Place - Editorial Cartoon

2022 NENPA New England Better Newspaper Competition
2nd Place - Editorial Cartoon, Specialty

Education

Stonehill College (Easton, MA)
August 2005 – June 2009
Bachelor or Arts, Graphic Design and Journalism

Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici (Florence, Italy)
January 2008 – May 2008
Semester Abroad, Academic Programs International