experience
Art Director :: Strayer University / Herndon, VA
2017 – Current
- Director of multiple brands under the Strayer family of companies including Strayer Education, Degrees@Work, Joe Gibbs Performance Management, and New American Apprentice
- Active involvement in all aspects of creative and operations of full-service projects:
CREATIVE —
Art Direction
Concept Development & Research
Comprehensive Designs
Production Design
PRODUCTION —
Consulting
Vendor Selection & Instruction
Production Scheduling
Distribution
MANAGEMENT —
Client Communication
Team Collaboration
Budgeting
- Areas of expertise:
Brand Standards
Image Editing
Print Collateral Design
Digital Publication
Infographics
Signage & Environmental
Logo Design
Packaging
Web Design
Art Director & Partner :: Apsara / Reston, VA
2008 – 2017
- Cofounder of creative studio that specialized in brand development focusing on boutique retail & services, arts & lifestyle, and gourmet food businesses
- Acquired over 100 unique clients, completed over 500 projects, and maintained client relationships of up to 7 years
- Conceptualized and executed extensive brand foundation and development campaigns by gaining a strong understanding of client background, goals, targets, and customer base; collaborated with business partner and specialist contractors adhering to project milestones and strict deadlines, resulting in high-end creative
Art Director & Partner :: Apinya Thai Food Co. / Reston, VA
2012 – 2017
- As art director: developed an extremely comprehensive brand for premium, gourmet, Thai food business. Starting with logo and brand standards, conceptualized then designed and produced print materials including sell sheets, ads, stationery, product packaging, labels, environmental, and signage
- Produced fully responsive e-commerce website with advanced CSS animations and custom location maps on WordPress CMS. Provided creative direction for product photography and custom illustrations. Created digital collateral including presentations, video, and social media branding
- As partner: formulated eight flavors of chili sauce, two flavors of snack bites, and two spice mixes. Marketing outreach resulted in 100+ wholesale retail accounts across the US and Canada, including Whole Foods, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Mom’s Organic Market; secured 20+ high level press features including GQ’s 50 Best Things to Eat, Men’s Journal, Zagat’s DC Food Artisans You Need to Know, Playboy.com, The Washington Post, Washingtonian Magazine, and The Gourmet Retailer’s Editor’s Pick
- Responsible for every aspect of business development and management: vendor and ingredient sourcing, coordinating manufacturing, managing logistics, new product innovation, quality control, marketing and sales, order fulfillment
Freelance Graphic Designer :: Self Employed / Washington, DC
2005 – 2008
- Designed primarily for print in contract, remote, or temporary positions for businesses and creative agencies
Senior Graphic Designer :: National Science Foundation / Arlington, VA
2005 – 2006
- Collaborated with speechwriters to design presentations for the director and deputy director of NSF
- Designed print materials including reports and promotional collateral
Graphic Designer :: Touch 3 / Fairfax, VA
2004 – 2005
- Designed columns and features for industry magazines under self-direction
- Created marketing materials from concept to completion, communicating with clients and printers
Multimedia Assistant :: MITRE / McLean, VA
2000 – 2002
education
Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors, Graphic Design :: George Mason University / Fairfax, VA
2004
skills
SOFTWARE —
Design (Mac & Windows)
Adobe Creative Cloud
/ Acrobat , Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, After Effects, XD
Microsoft Office
/ Excel, PowerPoint, Word
Keynote
Web Design
Axure, WordPress, WP Bakery, WooCommerce
OPERATIONAL —
Client Communication
Data Organization
Direction & Consulting
Milestone & Deadline Adherence
Print Specifications & Preflight
Project Management
Proposal Writing & Budgeting
Work Autonomous or on Team
Vendor Sourcing & Supervision
Alphabetizing Lists
publications
Flexible Packaging :: Sendpoints Publishing
2017
Beyond Illustration :: Sendpoints Publishing
2013