Dan Polyak is a versatile creative powerhouse.

A native Chicagoan born in 1989, Dan honed his skills at Columbia College Chicago, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design with a focus on Advertising Art and Printmaking. Simultaneously, he was creating merchandise for pop-punk sensations like Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship, Taking Back Sunday, and Panic! at the Disco with his designs adorning shelves in retailers and sold on international tours.

In 2012, Dan's talent catapulted him to the role of Art Director at the renowned Metro/SmartBar. His distinctive style characterized by bold typography, iconic imagery, and vibrant pops of color caught the attention of indie musicians like Chance The Rapper, CHVRCHES, Sleigh Bells and The Faint.

In 2018, Dan embraced independence and shifted gears towards the vibrant up-and-coming world of drag culture. He became the go-to designer for branding, websites, and merch for today's top drag artists while concurrently joining Shea Couleé as her Art Director. His portfolio boasts collaborations with queens from every American season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Immersing himself in the culture, Dan started to help produce QUEEN!, a house and disco underground party, helping the residency reach legendary status with multiple Chicago nightlife awards and breaking the SmartBar 30+ year capacity record. 

Since then, Dan's work has reached new heights: his creations have graced billboards promoting Squarespace, been featured in Pride campaigns for Facebook, Foxtrot Market, and AllBirds, and even made appearances in prestigious publications like Vogue, Paper Magazine, and GayTimes. In 2021, It’s Nice That celebrated Dan's branding renaissance of the Drag World.

In 2022, driven by a passion for music but lack of musical talents, Dan returned designing in the music industry. He’s since collaborated with renowned artists such as Britney Spears, Adam Lambert, David Guetta, Bebe Rexha and Ava Max. Notably, his artwork for "I’m Good (Blue)" by Guetta and Rexha soared to #1 on the iTunes Worldwide Charts, amassing over 2 billion streams.

Beyond notable accomplishments, Dan boasts a broad skill set: branding design, album art design, print graphics, merchandise design, textile design, silkscreen poster design and printing, editorial layout design, live visuals, video editing, color grading, packaging design, website design, on-set art direction, event production and overall creative direction/consultation.

Keep an eye out for his ever-evolving portfolio; Dan's creative journey is far from over…

CLIENT SNAPSHOT