Skills

  • 15 yrs experience in the design industry, including 10 yrs in the planning, design, development and maintenance of small to enterprise-scale websites, online contests, online communities, Flash games, and MMOGs (virtual worlds)
  • 10 yrs specialization creating entertaining, engaging and highly usable online experiences for kids and tweens
  • 7 yrs experience hiring, managing and leading an integrated team of Designers, Production Designers, Game Developers, Producers, and Project Managers as well as sourcing and overseeing freelancers and vendors to extend production capabilities and workflow
  • An ongoing passion for creating rich, highly usable online brands and experiences, combined with a practical knowledge and application of current design trends, usability theories and production best practices
  • Able to work closely with internal and external Tech teams to define and develop a variety of tools and applications such as: contest/sweepstakes mechanics, webmail, forums, chat, IM, video players, CMS systems, and e-commerce applications. As a result, I have a solid understanding of the opportunities and constraints of database and web programming
  • Experience designing, packaging, and delivering broadband video content, infrastructures and workflows
  • Ability to create excellent professional relationships across all business units (Sales, Marketing, Broadcast, Production, Programming, I.T., Finance, H.R. and Facilities)
  • Thorough understanding of the broadcasting industry, including hands-on experience in pre and post-production facilities
  • Professional photographer, specializing in event and nature photography

Experience


    Aug. 2010-April 2011
    PARTNER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR
    Hank Studios
  • Partner and co-Creative Director in a digital content start-up
  • Specialized in creating digital content for viral campaigns
  • Clients included the Canadian Red Cross and Crayola Canada

    Apr. 2008-July 2010
    CREATIVE DIRECTOR
    Earth Rangers
  • Provided creative vision for Earth Rangers brand, across all mediums (online, print, broadcast)
  • Worked directly with Live Show team to ensure event signage, sets, and a/v support material were on-brand
  • Collaborated with Marketing, Development, Tech and Content teams to plan and execute online and offline programs
  • Recruitment, supervision and mentoring of Creative Services team (4-6 reports)
  • Developed mutually beneficial partnerships with freelancers, vendors, and external production companies to expand production capabilities

    Oct. 2006-Apr. 2008
    CREATIVE DIRECTOR
    Corus TV Interactive, Corus Entertainment Inc.     

    In addition to previous responsibilities as Art Director:

  • Provide online creative strategy for all Television brands, and work with all business units to ensure integrated growth across conventional and non-linear channels
  • Plan and manage Departmental budget (in excess of $2M)
  • Direct supervision and mentoring of Tech Manager (3 reports), Art Director (6 reports) and Community Producer (8 reports)
  • Recruitment and mentoring of all Interactive Production staff
  • Develop mutually beneficial partnerships with vendors, and external production companies
  • Lead Creative and Usability strategies and ensured quality implementation for The Big Rip network of virtual worlds (GalaXseeds.com and Skittlization.com) and support websites

    2004-Oct. 2006
    ART DIRECTOR
    Corus TV Interactive, Corus Entertainment Inc.     

  • Oversaw career development and daily workflow for Creative and Production staff
  • Provided creative, user-experience and production strategy for Corus TV websites
  • Lead brainstorming sessions and creative/functional critiques
  • Developed and maintained policies and procedures for Operational Team
  • Worked with website producers to define online brand experience and ensure a positive user-experience across all properties
  • Liaised with various Corus business units to determine and execute creative strategies across websites
  • Assisted Sales & Co-Marketing departments in the ideation and creation of 150+ integrated online marketing campaigns

    2002-2004
    SR. DESIGNER
    Corus TV Interactive, Corus Entertainment Inc.     

  • Oversaw team of 6 Web Designers and 4 Flash Game Developers
  • Worked with Art Director to establish production procedures and policies
  • Creative lead for YTV.com, Discoverykids.ca, Docschannel.com, and Yabber.net
  • Re-architected, and re-designed YTV.com from a static 45 page website to a 250 page dynamically-driven site.
  • Completed IA, Design and Production for YTV.com’s first membership system (YAP!)
  • Creative Lead for the development of Sitekick – established branding, and micro-site development

    2000-2002
    WEB DESIGNER
    YTV New Media (now Corus TV Interactive)     

  • Hired to design and build Yabber.net, an online community for kids.
  • Responsibilities included IA, Design and HTML production for entire site (150+ pages), as well as weekly graphical updates and new feature development post-launch.
  • Helped grow Yabber.net membership from 0 to over 150,000 members within 2 years

    1999-2000
    USABILITY DESIGNER
    Bell Mobility E-commerce Division     

  • Designed and built bilingual interfaces to support on-site promotion and e-commerce activities
  • Worked with marketing teams to ensure print and television campaigns were mirrored online in a successful and usable manner
  • Performed daily graphical and content updates to www.bellmobility.ca and www.bellmobilite.ca websites
  • Tested and maintained new and existing features to the website

    1993-1997
    DESIGNER/PRODUCTION MANAGER
    Logo Graphics Ink.     

  • Ensured efficient, quality workflow for a garment imprinting business with average annual sales of $1 M
  • Responsible for maintaining product and supply inventory
  • Developed training program for new hires
  • Created and prepared artwork for screen-printing process
  • Developed Corporate identities and collateral

Education & Skills Development

  • B. Design, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, 2000
  • Digital Art & Design Diploma (2yrs), Thompson Rivers University, 1995
  • Birkman Method® Assesment and Birkman 360° (Summaries available upon request)
  • Leadership For Results I: Conflict Resolution, Corus U, 2005
  • Leadership For Results II: Performance Management, Corus U, 2005

Associations

  • Interactive Ontario, Working Group (Content Chair), INplay 2010 Conference, Toronto
  • Judge, 2007 PROMAX|BDA Awards

Awards

  • 2004 Promax Award, Website – Network/Cable, YTV.com
  • 2003 CAB (Canadian Assoc. Broadcasters) Gold Ribbon – New Media, YTV.com
  • 2002 BDA International Design Award – Consumer Website, Broadcast, YTV.com