Bio

Chris Bye spent his youth outside Philadelphia tediously crafting a claymation masterpiece, “The Greatest Pizza Ever Sold,” a short about a boy and a duck who are sent by Gosh, God’s favorite brother, to deliver a piping hot tomato pie. After winning a few local film festivals, Chris moved to New York City. There he worked on TV commercials and music videos for such artists as U2 and Janet Jackson. On seeing a job post for “an art director with huge balls,” he inflated a pair of beach balls, stuffed them into a refrigerator box, slapped on some postage and asked, “Are these big enough?” What followed was a triumphant career at several prominent agencies where he led multi-disciplinary teams working on national brands like Campbell’s, Speedo and Comcast. In 2010, he co-founded Tonic Design Co., a digital product design company committed to its people and obsessed with craftsmanship.

As CEO of Tonic, Chris led a fearless community of strategists and makers—human technology experts who shared a belief in the value of design as a business-driving force. The agency earned an impressive client list that featured household names and global retailers and won multiple awards for inspired work that fostered meaningful connections between brands and consumers. One especially notable achievement was the 7-Minute Workout app designed for Johnson & Johnson. Downloaded more than 1 million times, the app has been showcased by Apple and enjoys a 5-star rating on iTunes.

In 2015, with over five years of entrepreneurship behind him, Chris decided to leave Tonic to pursue new ideas and ventures. He now consults with his company, ByeDesign, for forward-thinking enterprises ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups about digital product design, customer experience, and the way technology can utilize empathy + insights to improve people's lives.