Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cameron. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Cameron thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Starting Rennacker Studio
One of the most meaningful projects I’ve undertaken was founding Rennacker Studio. At the time, I had been working across multiple sectors—packaging, UX, product design, photography—and while I was proud of the work, I found myself craving a space where creativity, strategy, and storytelling could exist without compromise. Starting Rennacker Studio wasn’t about launching a business at all; it was about building an agency where brands could be developed with both narrative and function at their core. It forced me to define my values as a creative leader, to think about what types of brands I wanted to help shape, and to assemble a network of collaborators who shared that same commitment to meaningful design. Every client partnership felt like an opportunity to reaffirm why storytelling matters in branding. Rennacker Studio taught me how to find my voice as a leader within the design industry and to lead with scientific strategy and an unrelenting authenticity—and that’s stayed with me in every project since.

Teaching at ASU
Teaching at Arizona State University has been a transformative project in its own right. Stepping into academia meant stepping into a role where the impact wasn’t measured by campaign success or product launches, but by the growth of my students. When I joined ASU’s Graphic Information Technology program, I knew I wanted to do more than deliver lectures—I wanted to prepare students to think critically, create authentically, and advocate for themselves in an industry that evolves faster than the textbooks can be written. Building coursework that combined technical rigor with real-world expectations was one of the most challenging and rewarding projects I’ve ever taken on. Watching students grow from hesitant beginners into confident designers and problem-solvers has been a constant reminder of the long-term impact education can have. Teaching has deepened my own practice, too, pushing me to stay curious, relevant, and humble.

Rennacker Art as an Ongoing Passion Project
While Rennacker Studio and my work at ASU have shaped my professional path, Rennacker Art has been the most personal and enduring project of them all. It started more than twelve years ago, when I picked up a camera for the first time. Every afternoon after school, I’d hike along creeks and cliffsides, chasing light and perfecting my exposures until I captured something that felt just right.

What began as a solitary creative outlet evolved into a lifelong journey—one I now share with my husband, Josh. For the past nine years, we’ve roamed together across 38 national parks and 14 states, often driving for hours just to take a photo at golden hour. We’ve logged over 300,000 miles, taken more than a million images, and never once taken the same road twice. Rennacker Art isn’t just a catalog of beautiful landscapes—it’s a love letter to public lands, dark skies, and the spirit of exploration.

This project is meaningful because it grounds me. It’s where I return to reconnect with nature, with myself, and with the original spark that made me fall in love with visual storytelling in the first place. It’s a reminder that some of the most important work we do as creatives is sharing our passion for what we make with others.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For those who may not have read about me before—hi, I’m Cameron Rennacker. I wear a few different hats: I’m the founder and head of creative at Rennacker Studio, a professor teaching design and technology at Arizona State University, and the artist behind Rennacker Art, a passion project rooted in landscape photography and conservation.

My journey into this field started back in high school when I first picked up a camera. Growing up in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California, I spent my afternoons photographing creeks, forests, and mountain vistas. Photography became my first real love—and my introduction to storytelling through visual mediums. That spirit of exploration eventually led me to pursue a career in design, visual communication, and creative leadership.

At Rennacker Studio, I help brands and organizations tell their stories in ways that are strategic, authentic, and human. We specialize in brand development, creative direction, UX/UI design, and marketing support—essentially bridging the gap between narrative and functionality. Our projects span everything from consumer product packaging to digital experiences. The problems we solve usually center around clarity: how to help brands articulate who they are, connect with the right audiences, and grow sustainably. What sets us apart is a deep belief that great design starts with a great story—one that is rooted in truth, strategy, and care. I don’t believe in “making things pretty for the sake of pretty.” Every project we take on is built to serve a purpose and to build real, lasting connections.

Through my work at Arizona State University, I’m also passionate about empowering the next generation of creatives. I teach classes in the Graphic Information Technology program where I focus on helping students develop their skills to navigate the evolving world of design and technology with confidence, resilience, and critical thinking. I often tell my students: I’m not here to teach you what’s trendy—I’m here to teach you how to think like a designer.

Meanwhile, Rennacker Art represents a different side of me—one that’s slower, more meditative, and deeply personal. It’s a landscape photography project that I share with my husband, Josh, documenting our adventures through national parks and protected lands. Over the past nine years, we’ve traveled through 38 national parks, driven more than 300,000 miles, and taken over a million photographs. Rennacker Art is all about conservation, connection, and storytelling through nature. It’s my way of preserving the fleeting moments and fragile spaces that too often go overlooked—and inviting others to slow down and see the beauty around them.

What I’m most proud of is the consistent thread that runs through everything I do: a commitment to thoughtful, purpose-driven work. Whether I’m building a brand, mentoring a student, or capturing a sunset on the edge of a canyon, my goal is always the same—to create things that matter, and to do so with honesty, craft, and care.

If there’s one thing I want potential clients, collaborators, or followers to know, it’s this: I believe the best work comes from genuine connection. I’m less interested in quick wins and more interested in building something lasting—whether that’s a brand that grows with integrity, a body of art that celebrates the natural world, or a student’s first steps toward a fulfilling career. If you’re looking for a creative partner who values story, strategy, and authenticity—you’re in the right place.

You can follow our photography adventures at @rennackerart on Instagram, or learn more about our creative services at RennackerStudio.com.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One of the greatest examples of resilience in my life unfolded across the span of 2024—a year that was simultaneously one of the most spectacular and one of the most challenging chapters I’ve ever lived.

The year began with excitement: trips to White Sands and Joshua Tree, reconnecting with lifelong friends in California, and celebrating major personal milestones like my husband, Josh, becoming a licensed Professional Engineer and me earning my master’s degree, capped by several awards. We celebrated those achievements with a trip to Hawaii—taking time to breathe, reflect, and feel grateful.

Then, life shifted dramatically. Early in the year, we found out that my mom had been diagnosed with cancer. She asked if we could come live with her in rural Montana over the summer while she underwent chemotherapy. There was no question—of course we would. We decided if we had to uproot our lives temporarily, we’d make the best of it. On the way to Montana, we stopped at every national park we could, turning a moment of fear and uncertainty into one of awe, exploration, and gratitude.

Life in Montana wasn’t easy. My mom lives hours from the nearest major town, deep in a remote part of the state. Between chemo treatments, we squeezed in adventures—bushwhacking down rugged forest roads to hidden waterfalls, driving ten hours north into Canada just to stand at the edge of Jasper National Park, and racing back through wildlife-strewn darkness. There were moments of deep worry, hope, exhaustion, and joy—sometimes all in the same day.

Midway through the summer, I had to fly back to Phoenix for an interview for my dream job: teaching design at Arizona State University. I flew back to Montana afterward, full of nerves and hope. Spoiler: I got the job.

When my mom’s treatments ended and she was declared cancer-free, Josh and I decided to complete the Great Western Loop we had started—driving and hiking across the Pacific Northwest, the Oregon coast, the Redwoods, Lake Tahoe, Death Valley, and the Eastern Sierra Basin, covering over 4,600 miles and hiking more than 80 miles in under two weeks.

That year tested us physically, emotionally, and mentally. We learned to stay grounded through uncertainty. We learned to celebrate even small victories. And we learned that resilience isn’t just about surviving hardship—it’s about finding ways to fill even the hardest seasons with beauty, love, and adventure.

What I’m most proud of isn’t how many parks we saw or miles we logged—it’s that even when life got heavy, we kept choosing to seek out wonder. We kept moving forward, together.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

If I could go back and give my younger self one key resource, it wouldn’t be a book or a software tool—it would be a mindset given to me by a mentor:

It’s people all the way down.

You may have heard a variation of the old saying, “It’s turtles all the way down,” a phrase that speaks to infinite regress—a chain where each entity depends on the one before it. Over time, I’ve come to reinterpret that idea through a different lens: It’s people all the way down.

No matter how many times you ask “why” about a decision, a system, or a process, if you dig deep enough, the answer always comes back to people—their needs, motivations, fears, ambitions, and constraints. Understanding this earlier would have dramatically changed how I approached creative work, leadership, and collaboration.

When I first started, I believed tools and processes were the ultimate keys to success. Master Adobe. Master Figma. Create a portfolio. Organize your files. And those things are important—but they’re not most important. Using the 80/20 rule, I now believe 80% of your focus should be on the people you are designing for, collaborating with, or supporting. Only 20% should focus on the tools and processes. Because if you fail to put people first, even the most beautiful designs and most efficient workflows will fall flat.

Beyond that philosophy, there are five traits—resources in themselves—that I wish I had known to invest in earlier:

1. Consistency: Consistency in how you approach problems and solutions builds trust and credibility over time. Embracing productive constraints and maintaining a consistent design process actually frees creativity rather than stifling it.

2. The Ability to Listen: Truly listening—not just waiting for your turn to talk—is a superpower. The way you make space for people to think and share ideas has a direct impact on the quality of their communication and collaboration with you. Listening improves the thinking of everyone around you.

3. Embracing the Goals of Others: Your value as a teammate, designer, or collaborator multiplies when you genuinely care about the goals, constraints, and needs of the people you work with—clients, project managers, engineers, users—not just your own.

4. Building Credibility: Domain knowledge matters. When I started my first design job at La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, I didn’t care much about furniture sales. But once I leaned into understanding fabrics, ergonomics, and customer pain points, I became a credible contributor. Research, documentation, and excellent writing are massive differentiators in any creative field.

5. Finding a Mentor: Growth is exponential when you have someone to guide you, challenge you, and hold you accountable. It doesn’t have to be a mentor in your exact discipline—it just needs to be someone invested in your growth and capable of helping you see further than you can alone.

Two more hard-earned lessons:

1. Work from within: Your creative work will only ever be as healthy as your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Take care of yourself first.

2. Work with the garage door up: Get comfortable creating in public, sharing unfinished work, and inviting critique. Nothing accelerates growth faster than transparency and openness. Insecurity, pride, or fear can make people hide their process—but the ones who grow the fastest are the ones who aren’t afraid to say, “Here’s where I’m at. How can I make it better?”

When you keep people at the center of everything you do—your users, your peers, your community—you naturally build work that resonates deeper, functions better, and lasts longer.

People over process. Always.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rennackerstudio.com/
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/cameronrennacker
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crennacker/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rennacker-studio
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rennacker-studio-goodyear
• Other: Website for Rennacker Art: https://rennackerart.com/

Image Credits

All images were photographed by Cameron Rennacker