PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
An experienced creative director and team leader of creatives with most recent work experience leading a Studio team of UX and graphic designers, copywriters, animators, video producers and editors. Responsible for concepts through delivery on vast experiences through multi-channel content creation across print, web, social and exhibits with primary focus on digital work.
A graphic designer with career expanding from print communications into a digital world of motion and storytelling. This background and experience provides a deep understanding of the creative process that maximizes and empowers teams to develop imaginative solutions notable for their clarity, creativity and engagement.
A hands-on futuristic leader with curiosity. Connecting design and technology with passion for the impact of creative as we move into more personalized communication and how it touches all aspects of a brand. Applies strategic focus on creative work shared through both internal teams and clients. A confident, engaging and approachable director leading with a pragmatic approach to timelines and financial expectations.
Leads award winning jobs with a sense of responsibility and commitment to the team and their individual success, encouraging creatives to explore learning to take calculated risks to surprise and delight our audiences. A strong belief in developing talent by offering opportunities and instilling self-assurance and confidence in their skills.
SKILLS
- BFA, Graphic Design
- Strong design and direction skills
- Sketching and storyboarding for efficient ideation
- Strategic thinker creating impactful experiences
- Constantly curious about new communication and marketing opportunities for clients
- Visual storyteller rooted in simplifying the complex
- Builds reliable partnerships with Account and PM teams
- Skilled collaborator with UX, development, animation and video production
- Inspiring team leader with a proven history of growing and retaining creative talent
- Highly effective at presenting creative to clients
- Optimizer of creative workflow and team utilization
- Fluent in Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Figma, Keynote, Miro, Microsoft Office, Spatial (VR)
WORK EXPERIENCE
Real Chemistry, Florham Park, NJ. November 2016 – October 2022
Group Creative Director, Art and Design
Created and led the first Experience Studio at Real Chemistry, a large healthcare agency with a team of more than 20 graphic designers, animators, UX designers, video creators and production, providing campaign and corporate communications services for the top global healthcare companies.
Inspired team as a director and manager with a focus on high level of creative standards and a true collaborative work environment as well as leading the team into new technologies and platforms that expanded our creative reach and allowed for a deeper level of personalized communication and storytelling for our audiences.
Established the creative staffing for jobs and process management of creative workflow in addition to working closely with Account and Project Managers to provide detailed creative estimates across print and digital scopes. This included being responsible for the integrity of creative team’s time sheets and tracking billable hours and staff utilization.
Brought innovative creative ideas for engagement through animation, video and interactive experiences to inspire our internal teams and generate new strategic opportunities with clients.
Led direction of on-site photo and video shoots with patients, corporate executives and brand influencers, coordinating people and resources for maximum effectiveness and results.
Directed creative team through internal Account meetings with a collaborative approach. Facilitated creative presentations, pitches, creative concepts and deliverables throughout simultaneous jobs, such that clients were surprised and delighted. Provided expertise of specific healthcare regulations and mandatories across individual brand requirements in addition to aligning brands and assets to ADA compliance standards.
Sentient, Morristown, NJ. January 2012 – November 2016
Creative Director
Worked as lead designer and director for a newly established agency that grew to a total of 60 team members and was acquired by Real Chemistry (formally W2O Group) in 2016. Specialized in healthcare with additional non-healthcare clients.
Led all creative work and staffing and built team from inception to 12 creative team members across design, copy and animation while managing outside freelancers and contractors. Responsible for leading creative pitches and presentations to clients and brought an understanding of multi-channel design and a mobile first experience as critical to user’s experience.
Managed creative scopes and staffing while coordinating with Account Leads and Project Managers on timelines.
Established and built reliable and efficient processes for design and front-end developers to work in a more integrated collaborative way, excelling the quality of our deliverables to clients. This built efficiencies with early adaption of applications such as Sketch for web and moving into prototypes to share true experiences with clients in early stages of creative assets.
Ruderman Design, Boonton, NJ. March 2001 – Dec 2011 / Nov 2022 – Current
Co-owner/Creative Director
Created and led an independent studio providing graphic design services in print and digital corporate communications and advertising jobs across a range of industries including: financial, travel, transportation, e-commerce, healthcare and professional services. Clients included Avis and Budget Rental Car, Westfield Group and Omnicom Health.
Provided a trusted and decisive resource for large and small clients as well as partner agencies in producing logos, identity programs, print collateral, website design, animations and exhibit and displays.
Built a reliable network of developers, print and production resources to fully service clients from concept through fulfillment of deliverables with exceptional overall quality control.
Enock Interactive, New York, NY. January 1999 – March 2001
Design Director
Led a creative team of five graphic designers in various branding and digital engagements with focus on financial marketing and online product design for large companies such as Nasdaq, TIAA and Citibank.
Creative voice for digital innovation from early implementation of web sites and communications. Led design on various identity, print and digital jobs on agencies primary accounts. This included first generation interactive websites, B2B online applications and motion graphics.
World Trade Center Planning & Design (PANYNJ), New York, NY. June 1991 – November 1998
Designer, Senior Designer, Design Director
In-house graphic designer working with team of industrial and interior designers, engineers and architects responsible for the tenant and public spaces of World Trade Center complex in lower Manhattan.
Designed various communications across print, corporate presentations, exhibits and displays. Highlights included design of the World Trade Center Observation Deck, at the time one of New York’s most popular tourist destinations. Additional work included signage systems for public spaces and responsibility for design direction and implementation of the holiday displays throughout public areas which included project management of budget and third-party vendors.
EDUCATION
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
BFA, Graphic Design
AWARD HIGHLIGHTS
2022 One Show – Gold Pencil, House Rules campaign website for Evofem’s phexxi.com
2020 Fierce Pharma Marketing and 2019 PM360 Pharma Choice Award, Conference booth AR experience for veterinarians by Stallergenes Greer
2017 MM&M Silver Award, Patients on Statin Therapy VR experience by Livalo