ABOUT LEIGHTON MCDONALD
Leighton McDonald is a Brooklyn-based AI creative director and designer blending generative technology with culture-forward storytelling, product innovation, and immersive media. He transforms cutting-edge tools like Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, ComfyUI, Kling AI, and Runway into creative systems for fashion, sports, AR, and content.
He’s collaborated with global leaders including Under Armour, NFL, NBA, Meta, Snapchat, Netflix, CFDA, Elena Velez, Scholastic, and WGSN, delivering generative visuals, spatial experiences, trend insights, and scalable pipelines that redefine how brands create, launch, and communicate.
Leighton currently works as Senior Designer, Generative AI at Under Armour, where he builds next-gen creative workflows that fuse seasonal concepting with 3D, AI, and motion design. From collaborating on visual development for the 2025 UA x NFL campaign (1.8M+ views) to producing the largest AI-generated visual installation at NYFW to date, Leighton brings cross-functional creative and technical fluency to every project.
Selected Career Highlights
2021 — Created the Blacksoul Gallery for the launch of Snapchat Spectacles 2, spotlighting emerging Black artists in immersive AR, and presented during Snap’s product keynote
2021 — Awarded Best Lens that “Informs and Innovates” at Snapchat’s Lens Fest Awards
2022 — Featured in Netflix’s The Future Of (Season 1, Episode 4: Gaming) for his vision on AR and AI-driven creativity
2023 — Selected by Meta to showcase a custom AR gallery at Black Creator Day in Los Angeles, recognized by Mark Zuckerberg
2023 — Featured in Scholastic's “Making AR Magic”, highlighting his use of Instagram AR filters for storytelling and student engagement
2023 — Designed an Instagram AR filter for the NBA’s Christmas Day games, in collaboration with Meta Spark and the NBA brand team
2024 — Led youth workshops in Detroit and Fort Lauderdale with CFDA Impact, using AI-assisted 3D printing for fashion accessory design
Feb 2025 — Created the largest AI-generated visual display ever shown at New York Fashion Week, designing a cinematic oceanic motion environment for Elena Velez’s runway show at ARTECHOUSE NYC
Spring 2025 — Collaborated with UA’s Brand team on the Under Armour x NFL campaign, training photoreal facial models and generating cinematic motion via AI-to-video pipelines that reached over 1.8M views
Across all work, Leighton focuses on translating emerging technology into repeatable, culturally resonant creative systems that push industries forward—merging design, trend, and innovation.
