Creative Direction • Brand Systems • Live Production

Building living design systems and cinematic realities.

I'm Chaz Ornelas, a creative director and brand architect based in Arizona's Gila Valley. My work lives where careful visual craft meets real-world pressure: institutional identity systems, live experience and A/V production, and cinematic storytelling. I've built a regional medical center's first brand style guide, directed six-figure fundraising galas, and lit shoots like scenes from a film. The same care runs through my studio, Lamplight Digital.

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10+Years Directing

$140K+Raised in a Single Gala

60+Projects Delivered

1Set of Hands, Start to Finish

Selected Case Archive

Institutional systems, live productions, and independent work.

A cross-section spanning staff and contract creative direction for regional institutions and independent client work delivered through Lamplight Digital.

Identity Systems Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center wordmark over the Mt. Graham range and hospital campus

Staff Creative Role Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center

The First-Edition Brand Style Guide

Created the medical center's first board-approved identity system, bringing every department under one set of visual guidelines, from the wordmark and color palette to typography and everyday use.

Brand GovernanceStyle GuideCreative Direction

Live Experience & A/V Heart
of the
Valley

Staff Creative Role MGRMC Foundation • Signature Gala

Directing a six-figure fundraising night

Creative direction and full live production for the Foundation's signature “Heart of the Valley” gala: event branding and a 3D copper-heart animation carried across print, decor, projection, and screens; point-of-sale for auction and donations; an introductory explainer film; plus on-site A/V engineering and follow-up recap media.

$140K+Raised in one evening

360°Brand, A/V, POS & film

Event BrandingLive A/VPOS SystemsVideo

Digital Architecture EAC

Staff Creative Role Eastern Arizona College

Campus ticketing & point-of-sale, end to end

Set up and managed Eventbrite ticketing and point-of-sale for campus events, connecting behind-the-scenes operations with a smooth ticket-buying experience, and training staff to run it confidently on their own.

EventbritePOS SetupStaff Training

Science & Technology The Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope and Large Binocular Telescope at Mount Graham International Observatory

Contract Technical Role University of Arizona • Mt. Graham Int'l Observatory

Digital operations for a world-class observatory

Contract technologist for MGIO base camp, maintaining web content, supporting observatory crews, and keeping the IP camera network running for a site housing the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, the Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope, and the Large Binocular Telescope, the most powerful telescope on Earth.

Web ContentOn-Call ITIP Camera Systems

Brand • Web • Video Graham County Fair parade

Via Lamplight Digital Graham County Fair

Rebranding a nearly-centennial tradition

A new wordmark, a Webflow site the Fair's own staff can update, and cinematic parade coverage took the historic Fair off a county government page and nearly doubled site traffic in a year.

30,18490-day views (from 15,211)

41.6KFacebook reach (from 13.2K)

IdentityWebflowCinematography

Brand • Web • Photo Mestizo Healing founder Gregorio Acuña

Via Lamplight Digital Mestizo Healing

Authentic identity for an Indigenous healer

A visual identity rooted in Huichol symbolism, sacred fire, and the founder's own handwriting, paired with a rebuilt website and ceremony photography that finally let the right clients find him.

IdentityWeb UXPhotography

Hybrid Event Production APIC Grand Canyon Chapter members gathered at the Mix & Mingle networking event

Via Lamplight Digital APIC & HonorHealth

A 7-hour hybrid conference, held as one room

Technical direction for a mid-pandemic infection-control conference: projection, A/V switching, multi-camera capture, and a ticketed Zoom/Whova livestream with moderated Q&A bridging in-person and virtual attendees.

A/V EngineeringLivestreamShow Calling

Brand • E-Commerce • Video Kellibars stop-motion campaign frame reading 'A Powerful New Flavor Coming Soon'

Via Lamplight Digital Kellibars

A health-food brand, from concept to checkout

Helped an entrepreneur build and sustain her protein bar brand from the ground up: branding and concept, e-commerce, and point-of-sale. Then we launched her newest flavor with the stop-motion video campaign that became her best performer.

Brand & ConceptE-Commerce & POSStop-Motion Ads

See the full commercial archive at Lamplight Digital →

Good Company

Institutions, brands & artists I've served.

A Specialized Focus

Premium video & brand work for science, medicine & healing.

Credibility and human warmth rarely live in the same frame. I build both, for founder-scientists, medical device makers, health systems, and holistic practitioners who deserve creative as thoughtful as the work they do.

Explore the Health & Wellness Practice

Consure MedicalMedical Device

Mt. Graham RegionalHealth System

APIC Grand CanyonInfection Prevention

KellibarsHealth Food

Mestizo HealingTraditional Healing

Red Sky VisionsWellness Media

The Common Thread

Four disciplines, one point of view.

Whatever the medium, the intent is the same: remove the friction, honor the story, and build something that holds weight for years.

Brand Systems & Identity

Institutional style guides and identity systems built to stay consistent through every future vendor, not just look good at launch.

Live Experience & A/V

Galas, conferences, and hybrid livestreams: staging, projection, sound, multi-camera capture, and point-of-sale, all running under real pressure.

Cinematic Video & Photo

Narrative films and photography with an atmospheric, high-contrast eye. Exact color, correct perspective, and a mood that means something.

Digital Architecture

Websites, CMS platforms, and ticketing systems, from point-of-sale setups to Webflow builds designed for search from day one.

The Professional Ecosystem

Networks I build and operate.

My work scales through specialized operations built to command regional and commercial landscapes.

Founder & Creative Director

The commercial engine: a creative studio bringing cinematic vision, brand thinking, and search strategy to clients across Arizona.

Visit the Studio →

Gila Valley Hype

Publisher & Architect

A living, hyperlocal media platform tracking the news, events, and heartbeat of Eastern Arizona, cared for like any client project.

See the Media Engine →

Let's build something
that lasts.

An institutional rebrand, a night that can't go wrong, a film that has to move people. Tell me what you're making and where it's stuck.

Contact Direct →