Creative Director

Posted on: 2007-05-21

Sandy Baker Creative Director 34 Edward Rd Watertown, MA 02472 617-924-5340(home) 617-905-3620(cell) [email protected] Summary A skilled detail oriented Creative Director with a strong passion for design, looking for opportunities to create amazing advertising that will bring value to my employer. Excellent at conceptualizing ideas, conveying the process from concept to finish and always ready for challenging projects. Extensive art direction and execution. Strong management skills, know how to prioritize, motivate others, encourage thinking, generate enthusiasm and juggle workflow in a fast paced environment. An expert at managing change and enjoy digging into details and being a part of a strong creative team. Ensure that all objectives are met and consistently deliver with strong designs,photography and compelling headlines that will enhance your merchandise and propel sales. Professional Experience Filene\'s/Kaufmann\'s, Boston, MA 1993-2006 Division of May Company/Federated Department Stores Creative Director/2001-2006 • Directed the advertising for Filene\'s/Kaufmann\'s for 101 stores in 39 markets, including Boston, Hartford, Providence, and Albany. Stores in the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Akron & Syracuse areas operate under the Kaufmann\'s name plate with an operating budget of 100M. • Played an intricate part in the merger of Filene\'s & Kaufmann\'s which made us the largest May Company Division. Worked with over 90 newspapers ensuring correct content, logos & versioning all the ads to accomodate different sizes and special store hours for each name plate. • Reported directly to The Senior Vice President of Sales Promotion. • Managed a staff of 52 people that include Art Directors, Writers, Photographers & Stylists. • Worked closely with the CEO from concept to final release. • Oversaw the creative execution of direct mail of appoximately 97 catalogues & circulars a year & newspaper advertising with total annual impressions of 15,509. Responsible for the design of all billboards & mall kiosks. • Continually set May Company standards & best practices as a guide for all other May Company divisions. • Produced pages in national magazines (Marie Claire, Seventeen, Elle, Vogue, Boston Magazine, Pittsburgh Magazine, Connecticut Magazine & Hudson Valley). • Managed three photo studios, one fashion, one fashion still & one home. • Transitioned the photo studios from film to digital photography resulting in increasing our shot counts per day allowing us to view images immediately resulting in increased productivity. • Saved the company 200K in creative costs by working with top modeling agencies in the country by negotiating rates for models & travel for location shooting without sacrificing quality. • Produced billboards & store department posters that appeared in all May Department Stores. • Recipient of the Filene\'s Sales Support Executive Award \"For Excellence in Retailing \". Art Director/Direct Mail/1998-2001 • Oversaw all of the design for direct mail advertising and managed a staff of 5 designers. Planned and directed all photo shoots with fashion & home photo studios. Assistant Art Director/Direct Mail/1995-1998 • Oversaw all of the design for direct mail advertising. Planned and directed all photo shoots with fashion & home photo studios. Assistant Art Director/Newspaper/1993-1995 • Oversaw all of the design for newspaper advertising for approximately 60 papers versioning all the ads to accommodate different sizes and special store hours. Page 1 of 2 Lechmere, Woburn, MA 1990-1993 Designer • Designed layouts for circulars, newspaper ads, direct mail pieces & special inserts. • Planned & directed all photo shoots with our own in house studio. Earlier Retail Experience Grover Cronin, Waltham, MA Bradlees, Braintree, MA Freelance Accounts Hit or Miss, Zayre, Larkin Publications, Slalom Ski Wear & Northeastern University. Education Vesper George School of Art Major: Fashion Illustration Massachusetts College of Art Studied illustration. Page 2 of 2 Sandy Baker Creative Director 34 Edward Rd Watertown, MA 02472 617-924-5340(home) 617-905-3620(cell) [email protected]