The following examples highlight my proven track record in leading and managing teams, influencing outcomes, applying insights and creative expertise.
Proven experience in:
LEADING/MANAGING AND DRIVING OUTCOMES FOR A LARGER TEAM.
In my current role, I’ve instigated several initiatives that help improve the quality of our work for our clients, covering topics such as event design, motion, and social. One that really stands out is creating templates geared towards making the content more accessible for our clients. I saw this as an opportunity to help set us apart from the competition, improve the quality and consistency of our work and enable us to become a voice in best practice brochure design.
The result of this is that it has enabled team members without much experience to easily work within this medium. It helped speed up workflow and enabled us to produce high quality, on brand creative for our clients.
Proven experience in:
STRONG LEADERSHIP, INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING.
I think a good leader needs to understand the strengths of their team and bring out the best in them. We had some digital designers not being fully utilised, so I saw this as an opportunity for us as an agency to train them in different fields (motion and print). The biggest challenge was getting them up to speed quickly and in a way that they felt empowered to do so in their own time; to see this as an opportunity to improve themselves as creatives.
Thankfully I had some great Senior Designers in my team and over time they’ve been able to learn and adapt their skillset to be able to do brochures, event design and animated gifs in After Effects. It’s enabled them to develop as creatives and become more valuable to the company.
Proven experience in:
SUCCESSFULLY INFLUENCING AND DRIVING GREAT CREATIVE OUTCOMES IN MY CAREER.
I think it’s incredibly important that I not only drive and initiate a creative culture in my workplace, but continuously look at ways to improve myself as a creative, so I stay current, relevant and innovative.
Before my time at DLO I was lead creative on the London Boat Show and was able to gain a ‘boat-load’ of experience in event design, which I brought into my new role. One situation that I think illustrates how I have driven successful outcomes was seeing an opportunity to work towards getting bigger, more established events at DLO. To do this I constantly researched event design, looked at trends and best practice, helped develop good client relationships with key stakeholders and constantly delivered great work—powered by research and relevance—that gained clients’ trust. The result of this was we obtained a portfolio of marquee events, helping the company be seen as the ‘go to’ supplier for event solutions.
Proven experience in:
CREATIVE INSIGHT AND EXPERTISE ACROSS ALL CHANNELS.
As I’ve progressed as a creative, I’ve become a better leader by developing a wide breadth of skills across all channels, so I can talk natively with many people. A good example of this was when I was working on a big event in Barcelona. The creative solution needed to work across all aspects of design, from way-finding, environmental, activation, digital, print, motion and PPT. With my broad experience I was able to produce work that could easily translate across different mediums, work holistically, and deliver results for our client. The success of this enabled us to retain the high-profile event for several years.
Proven experience in:
OFFERING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS WHILE THINKING ON MY FEET.
For me, the secret to thinking on my feet is, simply, to be prepared. Whether it’s client meetings, brainstorming sessions or inspiring other team members, knowledge is the power that fuels creative problem solving. When I understand the brief, the communication problem, the needs of the client and the brand, I have everything required to answer difficult questions that come my way.
Probably the best example of thinking on my feet is within client meetings. I’ve been in many sessions where the client is struggling with the concepts presented, or challenges us with a curly question, and all eyes turn to me. I was at big ideas session and we were challenged with some serious questions around event activation and engagement. I was well-prepared and could excel in my responses and creative solutions. The client was impressed with my knowledge, and creative problem-solving, leading to them following up to find out more about what we did as an agency—a great outcome.
Proven experience in:
UNDERSTANDING THE BROADER LANDSCAPE OF CLIENTS AND HOW IT INFLUENCES CREATIVE DECISIONS.
Over the years I’ve gathered a lot of experience in many areas, and I’m committed to keeping my skillset current and relevant. I believe it’s imperative that my team and I understand the creative landscape that we live and work in: what’s trending, what’s not; the technology that influences, the clients, and the competition.
Although most of my work at Designlogic has been with one (very big) client, I maintain my hunger and passion for design by working on personal projects. Often, I will go back to my roots and do some branding, or motion work. It helps me keep the creative cogs turning and stay sharp. This approach helps me stay fresh and enables me to constantly deliver compelling ideas and creative solutions across all our disciplines.