Personal Profile
Reliable, resourceful and hardworking Graphic Designer who is experienced in the successful delivery of artwork, brand identity, catalogues, advertisements, flyers and other print media. Career has been built around working for a Grammy nominated independent record label using creative and management skills to oversee the entire printing process, including the selection of printing partner and price negotiation. Multi-skilled and always striving to improve and learn new skills in order to stay at the forefront of this sector.
Selected Achievements
- Redesigned CD packaging, which led to an immediate 115% increase in sales in month one and 11 times as many sales as originally forecast for the first quarter
- Received excellent reviews on completed projects from respected individuals within the industry; “the packaging is as luxurious as we have come to expect”, “the packaging is, as usual, the most elegant in the business”
- Through redesign and negotiation, reduced the cost of a printed quarterly direct mailing catalogue by 40%
- Approached by Luciano Pavarotti’s and Nigel Kennedy’s Manager to redesign her company’s corporate branding
- Increased the company’s annual revenue by 10% as a result of making their music available for digital download
IT Skills
Adobe Creative Suite 5 (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat) / QuarkXPress 8 / Cinema 4D / WordPress
Apple Mac and Microsoft Windows / Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
Further Development
Since being made redundant in August 2010 have continued to develop creative skills and knowledge of design programmes by exploring new avenues such as the 3D design programme Cinema 4D successfully creating interesting designs and animations, and WordPress to create professional looking websites with an easy to use CMS.
Career History
Graphic Designer / Production Manager May 2004 – August 2010
Opera Rara, Independent Record Label, London
- Responsible for the company’s entire graphic design and DTP including CD packaging and disc
artwork, catalogues, advertisements for industry press, photography and photograph retouching, flyers and other print material - Managing all outsourced work and freelancers such as proofreaders, copywriters, printers and CD manufacturers and planning production schedules for all CDs, catalogues and promotional material
- Taking care of the typesetting and selecting the print partners and negotiating prices, successfully working within tight budget restraints
- Creating and advertising promotions through online marketing and creating online promotional videos, presenting new CD releases to their UK distributor
- Promoting events such as concerts and charity fundraisers and creating and managing social networking pages
- Maintaining their e-commerce website using the CMS to upload new releases
- Managing stock levels, accepting and checking deliveries and responsible for global distribution of products
Clerical Officer June 2002 – March 2004
British Telecom, Croydon
Major Business Billing and Payment Department
- Managing daily reports using Excel and BT’s own database, adding additional detail as required
- Liaising with all team members to ensure reports were processed within tight daily deadlines
- Reporting any potential issues to managers within a timely manner
- Review processes to ensure accuracy and improve efficiency
(April 2001 – May 2002: Sabbatical in Australia and S.E. Asia)
Site Sharing Officer June 1999 – April 2001
British Telecom, Croydon
BT Property Department & Aeronautical & Maritime Billing Department
- Liaising with other telephone companies (including Orange and Dolphin) in the placing of aerials and other communications equipment throughout the UK
- Checking and approving detailed drawings/plans of the placement of communications equipment
- Data cleansing, migration of data to new systems and managing databases
- Investigating any problems with customer accounts and rectifying as necessary
Design Projects
- Designed logos and promotional material for new business start-ups, including corporate logo design, business cards, flyers and posters for a wide range of online companies and music production company
- Worked closely with a professional photographer to create a strong brand identity logo, business cards and flyers and worked on photo restoration projects including damaged photos and removal of subjects
- Created professionally rendered 3D logo animations and posters for local bars and clubs
- Worked with an online forum in association with Sideshow Collectables to create a selection of
promotional postcards - Directed a photo shoot for a DJ and used the final photos to design and set CD artwork and
promotional material
Education & Qualifications
Distinction – GNVQ Advanced Art and Design
8 GCSEs (Grades A–D) including Art and Design, English,
Mathematics, Information Systems and Science
