Rick Livingston is Senior Director of Media at Encyclopaedia Britannica, where he leads the strategy, production, and innovation for the company’s video, animation, and interactive media offerings. Since joining Britannica in 2019, Rick has guided the transformation of the organization’s multimedia approach, elevating educational storytelling with compelling, high-quality visual content designed to engage learners in the digital age.

Under Rick’s leadership, Britannica’s media team has earned industry recognition, including a Webby Award for the Demystified video “How Are Sports Chosen for the Olympics?” and a Davey Award (Silver) for the Britannica Money video “How Do Credit Scores Work?”

With more than 15 years of experience spanning media, advertising, and educational technology, Rick has overseen creative development for national campaigns, interactive platforms, and branded content initiatives. Before Britannica, he served as Director of Postproduction at The Onion, managing a team of more than 30 creatives, and produced 4,000+ annual videos across brands including AV Club, Clickhole, and internal advertising agency Onion Labs. He has also held leadership roles at Umault, InContext Solutions, and Pipe Dreams Productions, directing cross-functional teams and partnering with clients such as SC Johnson, Dr. Pepper, Deloitte, Porsche, HBO, Ben & Jerry’s, and Hellmann’s.

Rick’s early career as a senior consultant at IBM provided a strong foundation in strategy and operations skills he now uses to balance creative excellence with scalable production processes.

EDUCATION AND EXPERTISE

Rick holds a B.A. in film and computer science from DePauw University and brings a deep passion for the intersection of media, technology, and education to his work. His expertise includes visual storytelling, team building, cross-platform content strategy, and emerging technologies such as augmented reality and interactive video.

IN RICK’S OWN WORDS…

I’ve always loved a good rabbit hole, the kind where you look up one quick thing and suddenly it’s two hours later and you’ve learned way more than you meant to (but you're not mad about it).

At Britannica, I get to help build those kinds of experiences on purpose. We’re using media—videos, interactives, and photography—to make learning feel more like exploration and less like obligation. If we’ve done it right, it doesn’t feel like learning in the traditional sense, it just feels engaging, surprising, and worth your time.

It’s not about simplifying the content, it’s about opening the door, sparking curiosity, and creating something memorable enough to stick.