Justin KiteCreative Director & Consultant

I make complicated things impossible to look away from.

Executive creative director and narrative strategist with 15+ years in media production and teaching. I build the story, lead the team, and still write, edit, and pick up the microphone myself.

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Or email me directly at jdkite@gmail.com

Portrait of Justin Kite

Work

  • Trailblazers of America

    Animated web series

    10M+ views. Respected even by ideological opponents of the organization behind it. Creator, writer, art director, and narrator (as “Cowboy Justin”), with complete editorial control. Made after the magazines proved popular. Wrote all seven scripts, created the visual style, and directed the illustrators, animator, and AI graphics artist. The episodes connect into one story of America, anchored by a 3D map that grows as the series does. Watch the seven-episode marathon, at 2M+ views.

    Trailblazers of America title logoThe Trailblazers of America cast of heroes standing on a rocky ridgeAnimated frontiersman firing a rifle beside a cannonAnimated horseback riders charging across the plainsFrontiersmen aiming rifles at a charging bear in a forestAnimated satellite map tracing an expedition route from St. Louis to Fort Clatsop

  • Trailblazers of America

    Print

    Seven biography magazines and a hardback compilation. Creator and co-author, with complete editorial control over the series. Chose the seven figures to tell the story of America’s first 125 years or so, and developed a “cinematic storytelling” style that puts present-tense, first-person scenes from each figure’s most dramatic moments inside the facts. Wrote those scenes for every issue, edited the rest from a writing team I managed, and art directed the designer behind the series. Every issue also features regional flora and fauna, period weapons and technology, and a map centerfold that grows as the series does. View the series on Amazon.

    Trailblazers of America: Heroes of the Frontier coverTrailblazers of America: Daniel Boone coverTrailblazers of America: Johnny Appleseed coverTrailblazers of America: Lewis and Clark coverTrailblazers of America: Davy Crockett coverTrailblazers of America: John Sutter coverTrailblazers of America: John C. Fremont coverTrailblazers of America: Bass Reeves cover

  • Leo & Layla's History Adventures

    70-episode animated series

    Briefed to build a competitor to BrainPOP for elementary students. Top episode at 2.3M views. Creator. Pitched the series with a sample script that became episode 3; wrote 31 of the 70 episodes, including 28 of the first 30, and directed the voice actors and sound engineers on 16.

    Leo, Layla, and figures from ancient Greece in front of Athenian templesLeo, Layla, and an astronaut beside a lunar lander on the moonAn animated Roman soldier standing in a legion campLeo, Layla, and two historical figures in front of a brick university building

  • The Chronicles of Jonathan Spencer

    Novels

    10,000+ copies sold. Tasked with a coming-of-age tale about a boy overcoming adversity, I drew on my own life: a family’s move from a small town to the city, a boy saved by his love and talent for basketball, and the mentor coaches who shape him, modeled on the coach I grew up to be. Creator and co-author, with complete editorial control over the series: conceived the story and characters, directed four rewrites of book one while writing throughout, finished book two from its second draft, and developed the plot and characters for the planned third book. View the series on Amazon.

    The Chronicles of Jonathan Spencer Book 1: The Tip-Off coverThe Chronicles of Jonathan Spencer Book 2: The Pivot cover

  • The Signers

    Graphic novel

    Tasked with a graphic novel for America’s 250th birthday about the writing of the Declaration of Independence, I built a Princess Bride–style “picture-in-picture” tale. In 1826, on the 50th anniversary, a Philadelphia blacksmith tells his 14-year-old apprentice the story of the founding. Readers step into the boy’s imagination, where five signers become superheroes. Creator, writer, and art director. Directed two looks: a realistic, AI-generated 1826 and a hand-drawn 1776 inspired by Batman: The Animated Series. View the book on Amazon.

    The Signers graphic novel coverThe Signers graphic novel back cover

  • Around the World

    Magazines

    On my first day I was handed a policy white paper and asked to make it work for kids. I created a series for American middle schoolers: each issue follows a fictional tween in a specific place on the globe, who has a relatable passion for art, dance, or sports and a strong bonded family, and who is living with the fallout of big geopolitical decisions. Readers see how similar they are to kids around the world, and how differently lives are shaped by the choices of a nation’s leaders. 22 stand-alone issues and 3 combined editions. Creator, writer, and art director. Wrote the opening issues, took the series back over, and wrote 12 of the 22. View the magazines on Amazon.

    Around the World magazine coverAround the World magazine cover: Felix Fights Equity, ChicagoAround the World magazine cover: Communism and Freedom of Speech, North Korea and Hong Kong

  • Around the World

    Video series

    The video side of the Around the World line, with a top episode at 4M+ views. Creator, writer, and art director; wrote the top episode.

    Three generations of women together in an animated kitchen sceneRed and blue boxing gloves colliding in a burst of orange and yellowAnimated Colombian police officer speaking with a young person in a forestAnimated news anchor beside a screen showing a speaker at the United NationsTwo animated boxers facing off in a ring beneath a Cuban flagHand-lettered animated map of Latin America with Colombia highlighted

  • TBH History

    Live-action web series

    History with a sense of humor. Concept originator and writer: originated the concept for a live-action answer to Crash Course World History and wrote the original script and first drafts.

    Two performers in colonial costume standing back to back in a stone alleyHost shrugging beside the words magna carta on a colorful setPerformers in comedic colonial costumes in front of a brick colonial building

Work shown was created while I served as Creative Director at PragerU Kids. All rights to these works, including their titles, logos, and trademarks, belong to PragerU. This is my personal site and is not sponsored or endorsed by PragerU.

The player-coach approach

I started at point guard in the 3A Texas State Championship game at seventeen, and I've led the same way ever since. I set the vision and direct the team, and when the moment calls for it, I step in and deliver from the front lines.

Across 8+ print and video properties, that has meant writing, lead editing, art direction, voice acting, and narration, often on the same project.

Before media, I taught AP US History and Economics and built SpEd and ELL frameworks for more than a decade. Teaching is where I learned the craft: make dense material clear for any audience without dumbing it down.

I hold an MA in History from Rutgers (Honors, published thesis) and a BA in Journalism from Pepperdine.

Consulting

  • Brand voice and narrative strategyDefine who you sound like and the story you tell, then make it consistent everywhere.
  • Building creative departmentsLaunch and lead cross-functional teams of writers, editors, artists, and producers.
  • Hands-on content developmentScripts, editing, art direction, and narration, delivered on an agile schedule.
  • Generative-AI production workflowsFaster pipelines for video and print without losing the human voice.
  • Making complex subjects clearTurn dense, technical, or high-stakes material into content people understand and trust.

Path

  • 2021 – 2026Creative Director, PragerU Kids. Launched a new multimedia educational department and led it, reporting to the CEO and VP.
  • 2020Founder, Mr. Kite's Pod Squad. A pandemic micro-school for 6th graders in Westlake Hills, TX.
  • 2008 – 2020Teacher and coach in Austin and San Antonio area schools, from AP US History to varsity basketball.

Let's talk

Hiring a creative director or need a consultant for a project? I'm based in Austin, Texas, and glad to work anywhere.

jdkite@gmail.com