SAW Communications Inc.Production Artist / Designer
Jun. 2007 - Jul. 2011While I was originally hired as a junior production artist (straight from my graduating class's "industry networking event") on the SAW Advertising design team, my responsibilities, challenges and experience evolved dramatically as the agency navigated the 2009 recession and its aftermath. I can credit this sometimes-rocky stretch of my career for testing and strengthening my problem-solving skills, expanding my design consciousness and building leadership instincts. I had the opportunity to work on completely unique projects for companies of all sizes—from established corporations to emerging import initiatives to seniors communities. Over my 4 years at SAW Advertising: • I completed design, typesetting and layout assignments, including logo design, book layout, advertisements, presentation folders, business cards, website elements, visual identity guides, custom point-of-sale materials and large-format displays • Fulfilled production requirements, which often involved creating dielines, preflighting and correcting documents, photo sizing and colour correction, matching publisher and vendor specifications, and troubleshooting production challenges • Managed client and vendor relations via project meetings and calls for the purposes of communicating design ideas, ascertained client goals and expectations, established workback schedules and processes, developed technical specifications and maintained clear lines of communication