BY EMILY HALNON
BIO
- B.S. ’06, UBalt’s Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences
- Transfer student from Anne Arundel Community College
- Art director, integrated design, FX Networks
- Credits include Shōgun, The Bear, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
When Kyle Holtgren, B.S. ’06, showed up for his first day of work at Warner Bros. Pictures, he was instantly transported back to his seven-year-old self.
He looked up at the historic water tower, branded with the classic WB logo, and remembered watching Tim Burton’s Batman as a kid, after the studio released it in 1989.
“Batman transformed my life,” he said. “The marketing for that movie changed the game for superhero movies in a way that’s still rippling through the industry today.”
Years later, Holtgren was aware that a career path existed to do that kind of work, but it felt out of reach. He got his professional start in the beverage and lifestyle sectors and for him, “it seemed like a bridge too far” to connect those with the entertainment industry.
So, when Holtgren was hired to work for DC Universe, a Warner Bros. streaming service, he could hardly believe he’d worked his way into such a dream job. He produced and directed art campaigns at DC, which hosts a digital library full of animated series and films based on DC Comics, including Batman. Holtgren worked on branding across the suite of DC Comics and created digital content to promote specific characters and comics, from the Justice League to Gotham City. He even got to design graphics to celebrate Batman’s 80th birthday in 2019. There was a little bit of luck involved with landing that first job at Warner Bros.—Holtgren was placed in the role through a creative agency based in Los Angeles. But it was his seven-yearold self, bolstered by his versatile background in creative content production, that helped it stick.
“ I have to pinch myself all the time that I get to work in entertainment.”
He found that his childhood memories didn’t just fill him with nostalgia for his favorite superhero movies, they ignited a passion and imagination that he masterfully infused into the graphics and campaigns he designed for DC Universe.
“I channeled so much energy and enthusiasm into the content I was creating,” he remembers. He was told that it was his passion that secured him the job after his first interview. Later, one of his supervisors at Warner Bros. recruited him for his next position at The Walt Disney Company because she was so impressed with the energy and talent that he brought to DC Universe. While he’d never worked in entertainment before, he racked up some impressive marketing and branding experience creating an exclusive nationwide brand for Target stores and collaborating on campaigns with the likes of Pharrell Williams and Oprah.
His work at Warner Bros. catapulted him into his current position at FX, the television channel owned by Disney, where he’s the art director for the integrated design department, which is embedded in the larger award-winning marketing team at FX. Holtgren is responsible for communicating brand standards for the key art and motion graphics across FX shows and ensuring consistency across marketing uses, including streaming services and digital billboards.
Some of the shows he works on include Shōgun, which received the most Emmy nominations in 2024 with 25; The Bear, which topped Emmy nominations for a comedy show; American Horror Story; What We Do in the Shadows; and the long running It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is going into its 17th season.
It hasn’t gotten old for Holtgren to see his work stretched across billboards all over the world and presented across platforms like Hulu. He doesn’t anticipate pivoting away from his work in Hollywood anytime soon—or ever. As soon he got his foot in the door at Warner Bros., he was hooked on entertainment.
“It’s been a 360 moment to get to actually work in the industry,” he said. In addition to loving superhero movies as a kid, he remembers writing film reviews when he was in middle school and has always been a huge fan of the storytelling and marketing behind movies and TV. “I have to pinch myself all the time that I get to work in entertainment.”
While his love for films and television started well before he attended The University of Baltimore, UBalt played a critical role in preparing him for success in the field by helping him expand his graphics and marketing skills. When he started as a transfer student from Anne Arundel Community College, he knew he wanted to study graphic design because he’d developed an interest in graphics designing flyers for his gigs as a DJ. When Holtgren learned he could major in Corporate Communication, which incorporated print design, project management and video and audio production, it stood out as an ideal academic track.
“It was a great fit for me,” he said. “I love that the major introduced me to such a wide variety of media and let me explore so many different aspects of marketing and branding. It’s definitely helped my career.”
He appreciated the creative freedom he found at UBalt and the department’s emphasis on emerging technologies, which are vital in marketing today. He could have fun with his ideas and didn’t have to hold back on projects he pursued, which he says is the foundation for the best advice he’d give any current student chasing their own dream job in marketing, especially in the entertainment industry: “Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and explore your wildest ideas.”