Senior Graphic Designer
Visualize & Create Graphic Solutions that Capture Attention & Improve Brand Awareness
Innovative professional with extensive experience in graphic design, production and all phases of creative processes in corporate environment, working with marketing professionals and company principals to help strategize and implement projects.
Dedicated team player who believes strong relationships established in close communication, mutual trust, and collaboration are essential to success.
Adept at conceptualizing marketing objectives and developing effective visual solutions while ensuring quality in highly productive, fast-paced team environments under tight deadlines. Strong organizational skills, handling multiple projects simultaneously, and collaboration with cross-functional teams.
Marketing Communication Materials | Brand Design and Development
Interactive Design/Animation | Infographics | Email Design | Digital Marketing
User Experience | Project Management | Fluent in English and Japanese
Professional Experience
Informa Markets – Engineering | Santa Monica, CA (formerly Canon Communications and UBM) | 2007–2020
Graphic Designer
Worked closely with marketing team and was involved in all phases of the creative process, from initial brainstorming through final design and production.
Designed marketing pieces that effectively communicated with audience while understanding goal, main message and audience, ensuring client satisfaction and trust.
Built numerous e-mails and tested extensively in ECN (Knowledge Marketing email deployment system), Outlook and other email clients, mastering in hand-coding inline CSS and solving unanticipated issues caused by ECN and Outlook 2007.
Redesigned multiple editorial eNewsletters with liquid and user-friendly design, resulting in greatly increased click-through-rates of 55% and ad performance rate of 800%.
Created various infographics used in multiple channels, such as UBM Canon websites, eNewsletters, social media, visua.ly, slidehare, and as printed giveaway at events, driving traffic.
Took initiative and worked with web product team to design website homepages using Hero shots, overseeing production of multiple websites in Drupal and improving streamlined workflow with marketing, design and production teams.
Helped to research, test, customize and implement InMotion (enterprise-level workflow management system (WMS) for creative services team) using detailed expertise and solid understanding of department needs.
Completed service-level-agreements (SLAs) and built accurate workflow templates / job request forms for InMotion.
Refined job categories, naming conventions, and job request forms.
Re-organized job folder structure to work with InMotion.
Resulted in a 9% velocity gain in average project completion times.
Streamlined project and proof management netted 7-10 hours of labor-saving per week contributing to a 22.5% decrease in freelance costs.
Conducted visual audits for 5 events throughout year and initiated Life of Event document for Battery Show brands, helping marketing team to strategize and plan for future projects. Worked closely with Battery Show team as lead designer, elevating collaterals and organizing / templatizing show signage.
Updated Medical Device Excellence Awards (MDEA) poster by effectively using newer, high-resolution images in spiral shape to present 15 years of history, addressing resolution problem and visually representing anniversary.
Received 5 Powerful Performance Awards by demonstrating creativity, dedication, and extraordinary / over-performance. 2018 MDDI Media kit was finalist on Folio Awards 2018 Medical Category.
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Spectrum Chemicals | Gardena, CA | 2004–2007
Graphic Designer
Collaborated with marketing team and company principles, provided design solutions with high visual impact and completed projects from concept to preproduction by adhering to tight schedules.
Developed user-friendly, easy to navigate homepage for visitors to easily locate information or products, ultimately increasing sales.
Designed and oversaw 50–2K+ page product catalogs, facilitating sales to generate revenue.
Guided outside vendors for successful, cost effective productions, allowing company to be visual in industry.
Directed on design of 10’ x 30’ and 10’ x 10’ exhibition booths which increased chances to meet and connect with prospective customers, and discovered suppliers that help business grow
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QIAGEN Inc.| Valencia, California | 1999–2004
Graphic Designer
Provided design direction and technical expertise, integrating corporate branding on print and multimedia projects.
Produced ad campaign, increasing number of leads generated by 300%.
Initiated personalized PDF seminar materials, boosting registration rate by 20% and saving $20K on printing and mailing cost.
Received several awards through exemplary marketing knowledge and execution.
Achievement Award (2003): Worked with marketing communications manager and developed ad campaign “Your Smile” from concept to multi-deliverables (ad series, website, postcards), helping to increase revenue. Oversaw photoshoot of employees.
Employee of the Year (2000), Marketing Team Achievement Award (2000): Understood goal, main message and audience, designing innovative marketing pieces that effectively communicated with audience.
Achievement Award (1999): Introduced up-to-date design trends for US markets (creative team in corporate office in Germany was in charge of design / production before I was hired).
Additional Relevant Experience
Self-Employed | Torrance, CA | Freelance Graphic Artist
Dynaword Inc. | Tokyo, Japan | Graphic Artist
Nissen Create Corporation | Tokyo, Japan | Production Artist
Skills
TECHNICAL: Proficient in all Adobe software for print and web
DESIGN:
PERSONAL:
LANGUAGES:
Education
B.A.: Fine Art, Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan (1988)
Diploma in Graphic Design and Certificate in Multimedia. Platt College, Los Angeles, CA — Selected to design newsletter for Platt College from an applicant pool of 200 students (1999)