ABOUT
Becca “B.” Kao (formerly known as Rebecca Kao) is an art director and brand designer born, raised and currently working in the San Francisco Bay Area. They love getting hands-on, designing individualized, eye-catching and tactile brands that convey strong, meaningful narratives.
They are currently collaborating on strengthening KQED’s brand narratives and immersive event experiences as an Art Director on KQED’s Creative Team. Beyond branding, they also love getting their hands dirty, exploring all sorts of tactile endeavors like illustration, embroidery & printmaking — imbuing their creations with a balance of their bold, graphic sensibilities and elegant meticulousness drawn from their Taiwanese roots.
FEATURED ART
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FEATURED ART •
Becca creates handmade, original work under the moniker “Strike.”
Their creations are inspired by the diverse Bay Area environment they grew up in — from the delicate, hand-crafted signs adorning decade-old stores to the collage of ever-changing street art peppered across city streets. Their style balances distinct facets of their identity and personality and is heavily inspired by graffiti and tattooing subcultures.
View more of their work at instagram.com/becca.strike.
EXPERIENCE
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March 2023 – Present · San Francisco, CA · Hybrid
Art directing, project managing and designing brand systems and narratives for KQED property brands including award-winning video podcasts like Hyphenación, television shows like Check, Please! Bay Area, live events like KQED Fest and Reframe Festival and more.
Creating visual narratives and experiences for marketing campaigns that span out-of-home, television, radio, digital and social through collaboration with both in-house Marketing teams and stakeholders, as well as external agencies and vendors.
Developing, improving and establishing design workflows and processes both intra- and inter-departmentally.
Delegating design projects among KQED Creative team members.
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June 2019 – March 2023 · San Francisco, CA · Hybrid
Designed brand systems for KQED property brands including award-winning podcasts and radio shows like Political Breakdown and Forum, news series like Rebel Girls from Bay Area History and That’s My Word, the live events series KQED Live, marketing campaigns and more.
Coordinated with in-house clients and print vendors to facilitate smooth prepress and print production processes during the creation of branded print materials like brochures, magazines, postcards, and a variety of swag and merch.
Lead the re-design and implementation of KQED social media templates, focusing on eye-catching, legible and consistent posts for the KQED social audience as well as ensuring a smooth workflow transition for the Audience Development team and respective departments per social media channel.
Collaborated with the Lead Designer to produce motion graphic-based digital videos to drive engagement to evergreen news articles.
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August 2018 – December 2018 · Berkeley, CA
Lead the re-brand and design of the company product line Leo Family loudspeaker systems, creating internal-facing assets such as a style guide as well as external-facing assets such as print and social ads.
Designed promotional merchandise and marketing materials for Meyer Sound at various international music festivals including the Roskilde Festival.
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June 2018 – August 2018 · Berkeley, CA
Adhered to brand guidelines in the designing promotional merchandise and marketing materials for Meyer Sound at various international music festivals and concert venues.
Lead the design and print production of physical wayfinding signage for the in-house production space, focusing on ease-of-use for in-house staff.
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June 2018 · San Francisco, CA · Hybrid
Designed promotional materials for the Above the Noise podcast ad campaign, quickly understanding and expanding on the brand system and assets provided.
Designed ads for BART and AC Transit out-of-home audio/radio campaigns.
EXHIBITIONS + RECOGNITIONS
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EXHIBITIONS + RECOGNITIONS •
2025
Rosebud Gallery • The Themeless Show
“COOL CAT”
Ink + Acrylic on Wood Panel, 8x8"
Rosebud Gallery • The Second Annual Frankenshow
“SCORPION STRIKE”
Ink + Acrylic on Wood Panel, 8x8"
2021
Society of Professional Journalists Northern California • SPJ Norcal Honors 2020 Excellence in Journalism Award (Design)
Won alongside Bryan Bindloss, Kate Hawkins, Kelly Heigert, and Nastia Voynovskaya of KQED for the web/mobile design of an interactive timeline for the KQED Arts series “Our Turbulent Decade.”
2020
San Francisco Center for the Book • Small Plates 2020
“The Red Thread”
Letterpress + Digital Printing, 4x4"
Edition of 100, Signed & Numbered
2019
California College of the Arts • Graphic Design Thesis Award