Matts’ digital shadow reaches far and wide. SamyciaWood.com brings all his ramblings and thoughts under one roof.

Content on this site pulls from the following sites:

Industrial Brand (this is where Matt works, the blog posts are daily inspirations and opinions)

Foodists.ca (a collective of like minded food worshipers)

Tourism BC (reviewing places within beautiful BC)

Twitter (delve into Matts’ more fun and whacky side)

Flickr (for Matts’ creative exploration with his camera)

You can also find Matt on:

LinkedIn (for all business reference and full resume)

Good Morning Movement (a Facebook group committed to enriching mornings for others)

Matt SamyciaWood has been branding companies for over 15 years, from London, England and now in Vancouver, Canada.

As a Certified Professional Member of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, Matt is in the top four percentile of Canadian designers with a masters in Graphic Design. He attended the Royal College of Art in London, England, the only fully post graduate art institution in the world. Since graduating Matt has worked in design, art direction, management, business ownership, sales training and marketing. Recently Matt was honoured to be asked to be a judge for the 2009 Salazar Awards.

With a passion for leadership Matt brings out the best in his teams often challenging them to grow to new heights; whilst creating great work on time and on budget.

Matt places great value on research and understanding. He rolls up his sleeves and gets dug in to see what makes the client tick. Full understanding of who they are, what they want to achieve and also their reasoning behind why they are doing what they are doing.

Matt has been part of the judging team for the Salazar awards for the past two years. He also enjoys giving back to the community by participating in portfolio reviews for students (Pogo) as well as professional photographers (CAPIC).

Specialties include: Branding, strategic creative design, creative thinking, leadership skills, entrepreneurial thinking, great problem solver, high energy and a great sense of humour.

What others say

“Working with Matt was a great journey. A four hour discovery session where he really pushed and prodded to understand me, my business and my clients. He started with a plan and kept us on task and on track while showing his creative flair throughout the process. A very professional and fun experience!”
Chris Obst, Owner, Jump Management Coaching

“Matt’s extensive design talent and experience, combined with his exhaustive attention to the important questions… “who are we speaking to”; ” what are we saying”; “why is this message important to them”; and “is our message congruent across all contact points” …makes him an important partner in the creative and branding process. His ability as a leader and as a manager to coach and inspire his teammates gives them the freedom, confidence and skills necessary to perform at their highest levels. I look forward to the next opportunity I have to work directly with Matt.”
Paul Keetch, Director of Marketing, Peak Potentials Training

“Working with Matt was an absolute pleasure. During a transitional period of company restructuring as well as the experimentation with the style of the brand, Matt was always organized, inventive and motivated. He has the ability to alleviate the tension surrounding stressful situations and imminent deadlines with his quirky sense of humour and enthusiasm. His delegative leadership style allows his teammates the autonomy to successfully get the job done while still providing inspiration and guidance through his effective coaching skills and inate design sense. As leader of the “Kulture Krew” (an internal group responsible for the social culture of the company), Matt brought innovation, creativity and enthusiasm to the planning and execution of birthday celebrations, summer BBQs and company parties which led to a refreshing office environment and a strengthening of company morale.”
Nuala O’Seasnain, Graphic Designer, Peak Potentials Training

“A true pleasure to work with, Matt lends his creativity and intelligence to every challenge. Projects are always eye-catching, and delivered on time and on budget.”
Nancy Wright, Vice President, Marketing, GLOBE Foundation

“Matt is hard working, dedicated, and most of all a lot of fun to have around! Not only is he an exceptional manager who always gets the job done, but he’s also a truly inspirational leader able to lead all types of people in all types of environments (both chaotic and stable). All of the people who come into contact with Matt always enjoy the experience, both personally and professionally. Overall, Matt brings a fun and vibrant, yet calming persona, to an otherwise chaotic world.”
Alex Read, Franchise Partner – New Jersey, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

“I first knew of Matt during my time as an intern at Industrial Brand and since then he is still by far one of the wackiest guys I have had the pleasure of working with. Matt is exceptionally intelligent. He proved to be a efficient during crunch time and can always count on him to deliver. Furthermore, his questions are always thoughtful and relevant to the discussions. Matt throws himself into his assigned projects wholeheartedly, and shows every sign of a great leader. He is exceptionally nice and considerate and sensitive. Not only good humored and friendly, but also is good at gauging other people’s level of knowledge and attitudes. In short, I give Matt my highest recommendation, and very much hope to continue working with him in the future.”
Stephanie Co, Project Manager, Industrial Brand

“It’s hard to choose JUST three attributes to compliment Matt.The BC Chamber of Commerce needed a new look to catch the eye of prospective business members. The Downtown business association market is competitive and offering the only link to Government can be a little dry. However, Matt rose to the occasion and provided a fresh look keeping our mission statement strong.”
Dana Smith, Director, Business Development, BC Chamber of Commerce

“I had the pleasure of working with Matt for a very intense period at Peak Potentials Training, where we had to reinvent and twist and turn as Peak is probably the fastest growing company I have ever worked for. Matt is flexible, creative, has a unmatched sense of humor and does contribute for a collaborative work environment. A great asset to any company and to any social group, Matt makes the hard look easy and challenges tasks with a great deal of savoir-faire.”
Ozz Lioi, Network & Infrastructure Administrator, Peak Potentials Training

“Coming from a place of both personal and business hardship, and a staff walk out that nearly left me bankrupt, Matt was the key in getting my business re-branded. We re-entered the market equipped with our new image and infused with the confidence and energy to make a significant impact on the business. Since that time, we have gone from a near bankrupt state to an amazing high, both in sales and service, which far surpasses anything we have done in our 8 years of business operation. I attribute a lot of our new found success to Matt’s ability to seamlessly fit us into the niche we were looking for, while still expressing our unique traits within the Hair Salon market. I have much admiration for Matt and have referred him time and time again to others in business.”
Emanuela Bertoia, Owner of Aveda / Farfalla Hair & Esthetics Salon, Whistler