Senior Art Director
Infinity
Total years of experience :20 years, 7 Months
Playing a vital role in delivering integrated campaigns. Handled the conceptualization of creative strategies, cultivating 360 integrated campaign ideas for print & online campaigns for over a range of 12 products, exclusively for Doha Bank. Arranging photo shoots, retouching artworks, creating marketing videos & directing campaigns. UI/UX, app ideas/integration, UAT. Bagged new clients for our agency adding MNC clients such as QDVC, Palma -Aura Group, Galaxy Sports Qatar. Palma is into hospitality line of business, hosting big brands like Orient Pearl, Damasca One, Megapolis, Camillies Ice-cream, Debs Remman, Montessori Al Nebras, etc.
Trained Graphic designers who are now capable of working on multi disciplined medias. Helped transform a traditional Art Studio to a full fledged Integrated Solutions Agency (Digital & Traditional).
Formul8 LLC - Art Director (Interactive & Traditional Advertising)
Directing and Managing Digital, Offline creative campaigns for mobile, IOS and Social Media platforms. Creating doodle designs, wireframe, IA & GUI for websites and mobile interfaces. Applying human factors to prototypes, designing target specific UI and testing its usability. Capable of designing and managing third party applications for social media campaigns using Offerpop and North Social. Creating rich media banners, animating characters in flash, designing flash interactive games and interfaces for parallax html pages. Managing design team in UAE and IT team in Singapore for several ongoing mobile and portal projects. Also involved in conducting interviews to recruit new team members.
Emirates Motor Company, Meydan Group, Emirates Money Bank, Standard chartered - Singapore, DWTC-UAE.
Managing Digital, Offline creative’s and social media campaigns for Retailer Giants like Sharaf DG, Danube, Label24, Iconic, Brands, Baby shop, Centre point, Royal Furniture, Harman House & Continental Coffee. Liaising with technical teams to deliver apps. Hands on design, animations, creative for pitches. Creating concepts, lining up strategies, preparing mechanics-scope of work-process and generating reports for online applications. Managing online reports tracking success of each campaign. Managing outsourcing of projects, development and usability tests suggesting features that would be better for the client in terms of ROI. Full on knowledge of using third party applications on Facebook-Twitter for Photo/Video-contests, Referral apps, Sweepstakes, Fanfaves and video virals. Key responsibilities to lead creative also include resource pooling of developers and companies catering to IOS services, mobile applications, web applications and Facebook ecommerce. Additionally, I also make sure the virility of apps gets stronger by acquisition through Facebook ads, Emailers and Wall engagement.
Nervora is a full-fledged digital/interactive advertising agency in the UAE and GCC region, expanding its branches to the US.
Role:
As a Creative Lead/Art Director reporting to the VP/Creative Director, my daily tasks include decking up proposals, ideating concepts, leading brain storming sessions and creating mockups to final production and QA. Supervising a team of action scripter’s, junior visual designers and scheduling tasks for the week for online ad campaigns, games for i-pod, i-pad and i-phones, integrated print ad campaigns. Trained designers on flash and inducted teams on project guidelines. All our projects
are aligned with STAR COM MEDIA VEST, LOWE and TONIC. Involved in setting online marketing strategies and content for SEO.
Client relationships, creating new innovative ad formats and concepts for social and online media. Project management with full understanding of client’s requirements, branding guidelines and project goals. Applied UAT. Active on design, flash animation and flash integration. Helped achieve sales target 500K USD by assisting VP on business proposals.
As an Art Director & Innovations Manager lead and directed the digital creative output of interactive projects from business proposals, concepts to completion as part of the ongoing integrated global corporate communications.
Helped define how a new visual identity system behaves alongside motion graphics and user interaction to create a consistent yet compelling campaign that represents the external expression of client’s activities in addressing their business objectives. Highly involved in creating concepts, art works, GUI, prototypes, web design ux, instructional design, flash animations, illustrations, digital marketing for in-house products. Responsible for in-house brand management and online/offline marketing of partner products like Cegos. Involved in studying constantly evolving learning & online trends.
Contributed to achieve sales target for around 1.9 M USD in past two years through Pre-Sales, bringing Sales leads & Content Development. Project - National Corporation of Excellence and Learning (Digital Repository of the GCC) and China Banking Association. Content development included heading a team of multimedia developers and graphic designers to create state of the art digital content, games and setting up a architecture which allows tracking user activities on the created content. Responsible for Content development and QA/QC of Al Maknaz Portal(GCC’s no.1 digital repository), Saudi Arabia HYPERLINK "http://maknaz.elc.edu.sa/portal/" http://maknaz.elc.edu.sa/portal/. Delivered 1.5 hours of interactive learning module for Etihad. Also responsible for UX/UI Design & QA/QC for customizing the Talent Management System according to their branding guidelines.
Delivered digital content around 500 Hrs for accounts below: Average project range 64000 - 1.9 M USD
• As an Art Director(Offline and Digital) developed successful working relationships with clients like Mahindra, Con Agra Foods managing creative comms for products like ACT II Popcorn, Sun-Drop Oil, JWT Steel, Mahindra Scorpio 4X4 cars, Mahindra Logan, Mahindra World City. Worked on all creative assignments for above clients across B2B, Direct, Online, Viral & TVC media.
• Helped build one of the first integrated digital departments within a DM agency. Ensured audience turnaround on client micro-sites through emotion testing, user surveys, user trend analysis.
• Creative lead on rich media advertising, email marketing and micro-site projects for all above accounts.
Worked closely with print production team to secure services for costs and under conditions in line with agency's needs.
• Sales revenue for Mahindra Scorpio increased by 27% in a month, after their re-launch deal with us.
The way we presented 42 new features was a turn around on the number of customers, both offline and online
• Aids poster won One Show in India published in Dainik Bhaskar Newspaper.
As Team Lead Visual Communication Designer (Art Director) led and directed teams of designers and developers on learning solutions, advertising campaigns, websites, games, display advertising, event brandings and email campaigns for in house projects and various clients including Abu Dhabi Men’s College, Baker Hughes, British Airways, Indian Navy, Samsung Mobiles, Thomson Southwestern, Pearson, Pinnacle Studio, HCT - UAE, NetG, Hodder Science Labs, Lippincott Williams worth - UK, American Sports Medicine. Delivered and managed accounts for around 200 hours of learning. Directed and teamed up with copywriters to brain storm strategies to promote TIS as the most innovative learning solutions provider.
• Received first prize for Abu Dhabi Men’s College - UI, UX and Digital-Interactive Learning project in 2006 - UAE IT AWARDS.
• Article published for award: http://www.uaechallenge.com/results2006/winners%202006.htm#Organisational
Lead 57 Hours of digital content over 23 months on subjects like Math’s, Management, Business Logistics, UAE infrastructure for learning, etc. Develop innovative proposals to capture both account growth and new business opportunities. Involved in re-structuring TIS website to match latest UX UI trends and establish a greater connect with existing and aspiring clients worldwide. Acquired and applied knowledge of customizing Plateau interface, Web 2 technologies and UAT. Led team’s sized 20-30 on project deliverance, graphic-visual quality, animations and QA-QC. Continually improve production methods, problem solving models & best practices. Reported to the Deputy General Manager and Line of Business Head. Lead Multi-media Team in creating 14 games for Thomson Southwestern - US
• Solution building, providing estimations, creating design concepts, strategies and presentations. Reviewing designs, involvement in critical project setups, innovations in design, mentoring.
SOTC World Tours, SOTC total finance & Christopher Columbus Holidays. Responsibilities included conception for both strategic media and upcoming tours brand.
• Directed team on Brochures, Fliers, e-Mailers, Press Ads, TVC's & micro-sites. Creating new brand identities for emerging brands .Consulting/negotiating for initial and ongoing brand marketing efforts. Effectively communicate creative ideas and strategies to all assignment stakeholders. Lead the brochure department under the supervision of creative director managing team of graphic designers, multimedia artists, writers and brand managers. Worked and briefed teams in Saatchi & Saatchi on propositions and marketing ideas for in-house brands.
As Assistant Art Director reported to the CEO and Brand Director.
Role:
Responsibilities included creating brand identities, micro-sites, set designs, event branding, promotional strategies & DM collaterals.
Achievements:
Directed event concept, created fashion ramp walk & event branding for SMIRNOFF Club-Look events.
This event creative was applauded by creative biggies like Prahlad Kakkar. Sales went up by 200000 USD quarterly.
Concept, Set Design and event branding - Main Hoon Don event for ICICI Bank hosted by Mr. Amitabh Bacchhan.
Re-enforced to team up with Creative Director in brand research, client meetings, and creative presentations.
Manage Production team for events.
Setting up architectural flow for websites and ATM Machine Advertisements. Involved in launching the concept “I believe in freedom” for Standard Chartered Bank teaming up with LOWE India and Sound.Com. The idea was floated as a invite in a bird cage with a door cracked open. This success opened up more gateways to the corporate sector bagging three more banking accounts.
To name a few, ICICI bank, PNB Paribas and Priority Banking joined our accounts list.
2 years Masters with on campus training and lectures. Majors - Marketing, Negotiations and Business Organisation
3 Year Degree - Distant Education Programme for Commerce and Industry
3 Year Graphic Design and Visual communication Design Degree Learnt Art Direction, Advertising, Campaigns Creation, Product Design, Typography, Photography, Fine Arts and Exhibition Design
