Resume of Design Director

Title
Design Director

Primary Skills
Demonstrated expertise in design direction, global brand and product management, and strategic planning.

Location
US-OH-Columbus

Posted
Jan-03-08


CHIEF INTERACTIVE DESIGN OFFICER

Dynamic Visual and UI director and designer with 14 years of experience and a track record of substantially increasing traffic / click through rates, enhancing global web portals and branding, and developing award-winning multimedia and print marketing solutions. Demonstrated expertise in design direction, global brand and product management, and strategic planning. Accomplished team leader with proven ability to add value by managing projects and mentoring colleagues.



Brand Development * Design Templates * Interactive Design * Advertising Design
Team Leadership & Development * Client Relations * Cross Functional Collaboration
Product Development * Partner Relations * Logo Design * Offshore Management
Customer Retention Features * Site Features * Graphics Delivery * Flash Applications



PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

AOL LLC, Columbus, Ohio * 1994 to present
Global web services company and advertising network with 113M unique monthly visitors.

Design Director (2005 to present)
Manage Design and UI Design Group's operations and development of strategic plans, including provision of design and UI for AOL International Brands, Netscape, and partners including HP, Dell, and Sony. Lead team in User and Visual design for client applications, web applications, and marketing / branding initiatives. Devise and deploy logos and products, including creation of complementary requirements and branding materials. Facilitate achievement of objectives across functions by supplying templates, specifications, brand / product expertise, and UI wireframes as needed. Leverage knowledge of interactive, advertising, and marketing design to optimize quality and customer satisfaction. Oversee International Design and Branding Group's relationships with partners, product managers, and business managers (internal and external). Coordinate U.S. - offshore projects and cooperation. Review staff performance and advise on areas for improvement and career development. Supervise 6 direct reports and 25 member team.
Grew daily click through totals from 70M to 140M by leading project to revamp and enhance Netscape homepage and Channel Portals.
Enhanced operations of AOL International Portals for 35 countries by expediting creation and deployment of improved Global Branding Guidelines and related documents.
Expedited establishment of templates and standards by managing collaboration of offshore resources with U.S. Lead Design and UI groups.

Art Director (2002 to 2005)
Oversaw design of products, services, and brands. Managed UI and visual design projects, including portal enhancements, consumer-facing sites, and promotional microsites. Cultivated relationships with internal and external customers to optimize customer sites. Recruited and assessed staff members, contractors, and interns.
CHRISTOPHER EHREN * Page 2 * HYPERLINK "mailto:ceca1f7@westpost.net" ceca1f7@westpost.net


AOL LLC (continued)

Bolstered market penetration of CompuServe (internal) and Wal-Mart Connect (external) by spearheading overhaul of both online and print marketing programs.
Developed logo / branding style guides that became template for AOL Global Branding after initial creation for CompuServe and Netscape.
Devised Netscape branding elements later deployed across brand on sites, portals, and channels.

Senior Designer (1998 to 2002)
Created and implemented AOL Time Warner internet product branding and graphics programs. Devised and deployed Flash games to maximize return visitors. Developed and published daily sites in collaboration with product managers and editorial programmers. Enhanced sites' appeal by modifying 3rd party games and features for incorporation into AOL, Netscape, and CompuServe channels and publishing models.
Tripled return traffic by creating Flash games for Celebrity and Movie Channels.
Provided eventual AOL Channel standard through development of new Netscape Photo Gallery application.

Senior Designer, CompuServe (1994 to 1998)
Oversaw design and graphics delivery for CD-ROM multimedia magazine. Enabled provision of rich media content broadband Internet service by creating interface and content. Optimized graphics and application delivery by revamping templates and design models.
Earned Gold Award for CD-ROM multimedia from New Media Invision Awards, Optima Design Silver Award for CD-ROM Packaging Design, and New York Design Festival Bronze Medal for Interactive Multimedia.
Bolstered disk and online presentation of CD-ROM content by developing Photo Gallery feature.

NORTHLICH / STOLLEY / LaWARRE, Cincinnati, Ohio (1993 to 1994)
Advertising and branding agency with $32M in annual billings.

Art Director
Managed graphics and logo art / design programs for Procter & Gamble's branding agency. Devised packaging and advertising programs in collaboration with creative directors and clients. Developed logo / brand kits and style guide kits.
Developed graphics templates for logo / brand programs, including related documentation.
Won Best of Category AAF from Addy Awards and Platinum Award from Mondo 2000's Practical Reality Show.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design / Advertising Graphics
University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky/University of Toronto, Toronto, ON

Associate of Arts in Commercial Art / Photography
Jefferson College, Louisville Kentucky


ADDITIONAL SKILLS & DEVELOPMENT

Expertise in leading Visual and UI Design applications, Flash, and Adobe Creative Suite
PhotoshopWorld Co-Instructor, Senior Technical Editor of Using Photoshop (QUE/Macmillan)

Certifications
See above


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