Objective
My objective as a graphic designer is to successfully hold a position with a dynamic team where I can utilize and further explore my creative abilities while working for a company that projects a strong future and promotes personal growth, strong ethics, and personal well being.
Professional Strengths:
• Developing and overseeing projects from beginning stages to final production.
• Collaborating in development of brand identity.
• Producing fast & precise work within budget.
• Marketing / Advertising design development.
• Organized and comfortable in a fast paced work environment.
• Working in both Mac and Windows OS platforms.
• Working under management, Leading Design Team, Mentoring younger staff.
• Strong grasp of marketing knowledge and how it relates to design.
• Working with a wide range of personalities and establishing a strong foundation of communication that is imperative for productivity.
Skill Set & Current Software Knowledge:
Indesign Adobe CS6/CSCC (advanced)
Adobe Photoshop CS6/CSCC (advanced)
Adobe Illustrator CS6/CSCC
Acrobat Professional
Microsoft: PowerPoint & Word
Adobe Flash
Photo retouching and working with color house
Setting up and photographing products
Correcting intermediate Mac based software/hardware computer problems
Minimal Experience: Adobe Premiere, DVD Studio, Sketch-up, Dreamweaver, Prezi, WIX web designer (WYSIWYG). Working with a plotter and Wasatch Rip software.
Current Employment:
Graphic Designer in Marketing Department
U-Haul International (Self Moving/Rental Company)
Employed: March 2014—Present
While working at U-Haul I have worked closely with our fleet design department to help increase efficiency in production of vehicle graphics by working with our in-house pressmen (3 day intensive visit and onsite meeting) and educating fellow designers of the process at hand. Creating a method that allowing designers to work faster and easier in generating vehicle graphics that are supplied to the printer has streamlined the process, saved money and time and touched on related adjacent department needs. This particular task would allow U-Haul to produce 3 unique vehicle
graphic a week to apply to our TM moving vehicle ranging in thousands of installments onto the trucks.
Responsibilities:
• Assisting in various aspects of art/brand visual design needs.
• Reporting to two Art Directors in the marketing division
• Collaborate with 17+ staff designers on the marketing floor.
• Maintaining and adhering to strict brand look and working with in-house printer(s)
• Create life size mock-ups that are applied for review.
• Assist other departments when requested.
• Contribute and newly acquired knowledge during weekly meetings to keep co-workers up-to-date with new challenges to keep department running smoothly.
Contract Work (part-time):
Art Director – position currently
Brilliant Publishing LLC.- privately held company out of North Carolina
(Provided service for Brilliant Publishing 5+ years)
Currently design and maintain two publications for Brilliant Publishing.
These are monthly magazines designed form front cover to back cover and ads designed as needed also. Media kits, online ads and any responsibilities in keeping integrity of magazine are maintained. All communication, proofing and reviewing for magazine are over phone and email making it imperative to communicate well.
Past Employment:
Graphic Designer
NextCare Holdings (Hospital & Health Care industry)
Employed: December 2008–2014
As the first and only designer brought onboard at NextCare, I was charged with the task of developing the position and laying out the organization and process of creating graphic work for the company. Graphically managed the collateral for NextCare's Urgent Care centers: serving 99 clinics in 8 states. Working directly with management to define this process allowed fast and creative work and developed into a productive team. This position allowed me to expand on my role in brand management and working with upper management to help develop a growing company.
Responsibilities:
• Maintaining collateral for established Brands (7 in all) in various media types.
• Development of new creative campaigns for marketing solutions in advertising
• Collaborating with vendors in development of various collateral development
• Design collateral ranging from mailers, door hangers, bus wraps, Out-Of-Home ads, table tents, posters, brochures, in-house company newsletters, business cards, folders, animated web ads, movie loops for trade-shows, trade-show booth graphics, vehicle wrap graphics, flyers, promotional product design, Shelter Ads, banners, retail building signs, feather flags and much more.
Achievements:
• Creating a successful campaign that increased awareness of NextCare brand, generated positive number based results, and ran consecutively for 3+ years.
The idea was conceived by my own research and exploration.
Production Designer
Martz Agency
Employed:(March 2008–Sept.2008)
Short employment due to company financial problems.
Responsibilities:
• Preparing files for final output to press
• Making corrections to existing collateral when needed
• Working with videographer and assisting in graphics for videos.
• Creating various ads, art for established identities (clients) and to assist art directors with larger projects to ensure deadlines are meet.
• Designing from scratch mailers, door hangers, bus wraps, signage and many other types of agency design work.
~Martz contacted me several months later to offer me a position. I declined the offer feeling NextCare Urgent Care was best fit at that time.
Art Director
Virgo Publishing—privately held publishing industry
Employed:(May 2000 – June 2003) & (October 2004 – March 2008)
Working at Virgo gave me a strong foundation of managing a magazine and working with various departments simultaneously. Learning to adapt to situations quickly and taking on challenges outside of basic responsibilities has taught me to go beyond the boundaries of what is expected. As an designer that was always striving to bring new creativity and learn more about marketing I was able to step outside of my job duties and assist in developing new product.
Responsibilities:
• Design and layout/creative look of magazines (2-3) allocated to me each month.
• Development of Media kits, Advertisements in all sizes, posters and brochures.
• Working directly with managing editors, publishers, and traffic coordinators on daily basis. Assisting co-workers when circumstance calls for team effort in meeting deadlines.
Achievements:
• Awarded responsibility of largest and most profitable magazine in company after eight months employment.
• Collaborated with VP of marketing to develop custom magazine to pitch toward potential client that was successfully obtained bringing in new revenue.
• Successfully developed new B2C magazine from concept to final production, leading team in development and design of product at all stages and working closely with publishers, editors on creative.
Assistant Art Director
Cities West Publishing
Employed: (June 2003 – September 2004)
Working on Phoenix Home & Garden magazine allowed me to raise the bar on design and the level of participation in collaboration with staff. I was able to not only learn from staff but also contribute my skills as a designer and ad my technical skills in photoshop and indesign application.
Responsibilities:
• Conceptualizing and laying out pages daily
• Performing critical color corrections and Photoshop retouch editing when needed. • Working closely with a color house.
• Working closely with editing staff to maintain integrity of the "look" of magazine.
• Directing photo shoots.
• Designing ads for VP clients.
• Designing custom collateral for annual events.
• Maintaining folders / forms on server used by staff to ensure easy access.
• Delegating work for freelancers or entry level designers.
• Assisting with purchase orders for photo assignments.
• Assisting Art Director in producing a quality magazine in a fast paced flexible environment on a monthly schedule.
• Scheduling photo shoots and contacting photographers to prepare photo shoots for Art Director.
Graphic Designer
United Advertising Publications, For Rent Magazine
Employed: (October 1997 – May 2000)
Responsibilities:
• Developing page layouts in 2-color and 4-color.
• Development mock-up ads for sales presentations
• Developing trade shows themes and executing trade-show booth production
• Attending trade-shows in assisting sales with managing the booths
• Stand-in for photographer when needed.
• Interviewing/screening prospective design employees.
• Issue-leading responsibilities by being on call 24hours from time book goes to production to print to ensure quality is met Once a month. (3-4 day duration)
Achievements: Assigned managing design responsibilities of Tucson office for the duration of 3 months while retaining primary job responsibilities in Phoenix until position was filled.
Education:
A.C.G.D.S. (1995 – 1997)
Associate of Arts in Visual Communications, G.P.A.=4.0(Asked to represent and promote school for future attendees.)
Scottsdale Community College 1993-1994
General Education/Interior Design.