Hi, I am Chris Manfre
I’m a motion designer, creative technologist, and educator working
across 2D, 3D, design, and emerging creative tools.
I’ve spent my career creating work for brands, agencies, and creative teams while continuing to explore new ways of making things. I’m always interested in experimenting with new techniques, technology, and ideas that can change the way we approach design and motion.
Alongside my professional work, I teach design and motion at the college and high school levels. Teaching keeps me curious and gives me another way to stay connected to the creative process.
I enjoy collaborating with designers, studios, agencies, and clients on interesting projects. If you have something you’d like to work on together, get in touch.
Select clients & studios I have had the opportunity to work with:
Clients:
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Microsoft
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Apple
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Samsung
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Google
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Adobe
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Netflix
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Shopify
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The Food Network
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Weave
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Degreed
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Cloudera
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Broadcom
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Bruker / Inscopix
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Lowes
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Boston Dynamics
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Malwarebytes
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University of Utah
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Spy Hop
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Preservation Utah
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Primary Childrens Hospital
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Huntsman Cancer Institute
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Utah Division of Arts and Museums
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Utah Aids Foundation
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Utah Film Commission
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Craft Lake City
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Genetic Science Learning Center
Studios / Agencies:
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Gantry
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Cheil
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Instrument
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Weimar Pictures
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Heck
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Struck
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Underbelly
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Boncom
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Run Studios
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Witness
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Bowen Studios
Services:
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Motion Design 2D & 3D
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Look Development
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Style Frames
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Brand Design
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Creative Tool Development
Tools:
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Cinema 4D
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Octane & Redshift / Render Engines
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After Effects
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Figma
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Plnty AI
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Rive App
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Lottie Animation Studio
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Photoshop
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Illustrator
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X Particles
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Gaea
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Character Creator
Awards:
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AGIA 100 Show Copper Ingot x 3
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Telly Award
Education:
Associate Degree: General Education with
emphasis onMultimedia. Salt Lake
Community College.
Bachelors Degree: Biomedical Visualization
& Design. Custom major combining science and design/motion. Westminster College.
MFA Student: Communication Design.
Kutztown University.
About Me.
I was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a construction worker who helped build the World Trade Center and an Italian with serious attitude from Bensonhurst. Growing up inspired by Nintendo game sound effects and Garbage Pail Kids, all I wanted to do was create music and design.
Through a chance encounter, I found a mentor who taught me the trade of live audio. I spent about 10 years as a live audio engineer, getting to work with and meet many of my favorite bands. If you know Salt Lake's music scene, I was behind the board at The Urban Lounge, Salt Air,
Avalon Theatre, Lo-Fi Cafe, and Harry O Park City.
To give my ears a break, I pivoted to studying design at Salt Lake Community College, which led to a career as an in-house designer, illustrator, and mentor at Spy Hop. Spy Hop teaches teenagers filmmaking, design, and audio engineering—basically everything I love. I spent 13 years there,
diving deep into design and animation while helping mentor the next generation of creatives.
In 2015, I decided to finish my bachelor's degree and created a custom major at Westminster College called Biomedical Visualization—a mix of microbiology, healthcare, and 3D design that somehow made perfect sense to me. I later gave a TEDx Salt Lake City talk about this combination
at Abravenal Hall.
That unique background landed me at Intermountain Healthcare in 2018, where I worked as a 3D animator and designer creating patient education solutions. Two years later, I joined Gantry's team, crafting 3D and 2D animations for clients around the world.
These days, I'm freelancing as a motion designer while teaching at Salt Lake Community College's visual art and design department and running 3D animation classes at a local high school.
I'm constantly inspired by seemingly random stuff: 1980s New York, microbiology, early 1900s inventions, architecture, rollerskating, skateboarding culture, graffiti, 90s hip hop, and collecting cassette tapes. My current obsession is A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders.