Experience
Minnesota Department of Health
Creative Director
January 2021 - Present (4 years 3 months) St Paul, Minnesota, United States
Work to advance the agency's mission, goals, and messages by facilitating and overseeing the production of high quality, multimedia communication materials. Lead the Minnesota Department of Health Communication's creative team, and develop and maintains appropriate standards and accountability measures to ensure communications and outreach materials developed across the agency align with the MDH and State of Minnesota Brands.
• Serve as the agency's expert in creative services, including directing creative services strategic development, determining priorities, setting goals, and monitoring performance.
• Supervise and align creative team in areas including web, social media, graphic design,
videography, photography, content development, and accessibility, providing leadership, training, coaching, guidance, technical assistance, supervision and direction to all areas of the creative team.
• Design, maintain, and operationalize the MDH brand across communication platforms, including developing and implementing policies, procedures, standards, and best practices to ensure quality and consistency.
• Build the agency's capacity for creative work across program areas by designing systems for providing technical assistance, training, and assessments of opportunities and gaps.
Pix Revival
Managing Designer
May 2018 - January 2021 (2 years 9 months) St Paul, Minnesota, United States
Part Time
Perform graphic design and photo restoration for a variety of clients including: Red Table Talk: Photo restoration
St. Paul JCC: Graphic Design
Dr. Corey Yeager, Life Coach, Detroit Pistons: Website design and maintenance www.doctorcoreyyeager.com
Captain Mike & the Totems: Videographer; Website Design www.captainmikeandthetotems.com
Hour Media
Production / Creative Manager
November 2019 - April 2020 (6 months)
Covid 19 layoff
• Manage the production process for fifteen bi-monthly and annual publications & five annual city-wide events
• Create project timeline and schedule, facilitate deadlines and approval stages
• Worked with print vendors acquiring price quotes; paper specs and printing schedules. Evaluate vendor specs, understand and communicate file setup needs to production teams
• Provide status updates to keep team informed of progress
• Manager deadlines and coordinate balance with other teams
• Created pagination plans for all publications
• Approved creative concepts
• Maintained email system and IT for the organization
• Check and approve invoices from vendors
Red Circle Agency
Design Supervisor
April 2019 - October 2019 (7 months) Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area
- Designed and Art Directed print, web and email collateral for external clients
- Managed deadlines, presented concepts, organized and implemented feedback
- Supervised production staff of 4, performed annual reviews, recruited new employees, assigned projects and managed work
Target
Sr. Designer/Art Director
October 2001 - February 2018 (16 years 5 months) Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area
Sr. Art Director Digital UX Design
- Responsible for the visual style and images for Target.com (Categories: Hardlines, Baby, Home)
- Developed creative solutions by photo art directing or designing with existing photography
- Lead team of production artists locally and in India: Assigned and approved projects, set goals, managed workflow
- Directed stylists, photographers and retouchers during photoshoots
- Independently maintained a high-volume workload while complying with company standards for quality and keeping multiple projects moving and on time.
Art Director, Target Creative
- Concepted and created graphics for print, web, social and campaigns (Holiday, ISM) with an emphasis on storytelling
- Directed stylists, photographers and retouchers during photoshoots
- Created stories that spanned multiple mediums in order to promote a cohesive concept
- Projects included gift cards, United Way giving internal campaign, Holiday Toy Catalog, Baby category updates, B2B campaign
- Developed creative campaign for Pharmacy Rewards program: Direct Mail; Email; Coupons
Sr. Graphic Designer
- Planned, prepared, coordinated and implemented strategic communications and marketing efforts to raise awareness and engagement of fellow team members
- Created visual concepts to communicate ideas for print, web, video, email & motion graphics for internal meetings & events teams
- Developed the overall layout and production design for printed and electronic invitations, signing, credentials, & brochures
- Supervised a team of full and part-time contract graphic designers: Recruited and hired talent, set schedules, assigned projects, set and managed deadlines, presented concepts, organized and implemented feedback
- Managed print vendors, approved budgets and printers’ proofs
- Wrote and edited internal communications for benefits team
- Concepted and designed projects for walk-up internal projects (invitations, flyers, posters)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Graphic Artist
September 2000 - August 2001 (1 year) Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Graphic Artist for Marketing department of Pulitzer Prize winning daily newspaper
- Worked with writers to create advertisements for external clients and Marketing material for the newspaper
- Prepped files for printing and performed proofing duties and press checks
- Created photography and cataloged images
Meet Minneapolis
Publications Manager
July 1993 - August 2000 (7 years 2 months) Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area
- Partnered with VP of Marketing to plan, and implement strategic communications and marketing efforts to promote the Greater Twin Cities area
as a travel destination for business and leisure as well as marketed the area as a key destination for national events and conventions
- Directed the work of on-staff and freelance graphic designers, printers and other outside vendors to produce materials
- Developed & wrote content and coordinated production of monthly travel publications with private publishing partners
- Produced and developed creative for annual reports, press kits, advertorials, articles, and communications for national, local, and trade media distribution. Managed production and printing of all publications
- Selected and managed vendors, including printers, creative agencies and contract staff
- Wrote and edited monthly membership newsletter as well as internal benefits communications
- Managed all print projects for the organization from beginning to final publication
Education
Southwest Minnesota State University
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Graphic Communications