 |
        |
Printable versions of this resume: 
Microsoft Word format or 
Adobe Acrobat PDF.
Microsoft Word format or Adobe Acrobat PDF.Objective & Overview
I am seeking positions in the field of marketing and advertising, both print and online, and in user interface design. My goal is to build my expertise in art direction and project management as well as visual design.
Professional Experience
Interaction Designer, Xerox Corporation 2004 - Present
Palo Alto, CA
Palo Alto, CA
- Lead artist for the Xerox DocuShare Business Unit
- Principal contact for approval of DocuShare printed collateral and tradeshow graphics, new website visual designs and user flows, and coordination with corporate branding of internal overseas and third-party development, and external partners and resellers
- In charge of visual design for a new global header and footer redesign project of Xerox.com, strengthening Xerox’s online brand identity and creating a more seamless online navigation between online properties
- Lead the visual design of a new Production Equipment area of Xerox.com, increasing online leads
by 16-23%. - Created design guidelines website now used by all Xerox online properties as a reference for visual and UI standardization, and a resource for graphics
- Other current projects include: Xerox.com homepage redesign, DocuShare 5 and CPX product launches, industry segment-specific sites (Small Business, Government & Education, Graphic Arts, and Print Services Providers), and event mini-sites and associated advertisements both on- and off-site
Flash UI Designer, The Creative Group 2004
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco, CA
- Freelance position with a division of Convergys, formerly Digital Think, creating web-based interactive courseware focused on training managers in a variety of tasks and procedures
- Execution of UI prototypes using Illustrator, Flash and Photoshop, and planning user flow through scenes
Production Artist, Yahoo! 2003 - 2004
Sunnyvale, CA
Sunnyvale, CA
- Created online ad units, printed posters, screensavers and billboards
- Maintained corporate and affiliate visual design & UI standards
- Coordinated with Marketing, Writing and QA teams to fit the most content, messaging and interface elements as possible into each given ad unit size across all internal networks and paid placements on partner sites
- Participated in all user experience design meetings related to Personals search advertising
- Produced all ads from initial sketch through to finished code
- Worked closely with User Experience Design team and their site guidelines, as well as the Dallas multimedia group of Yahoo, to produce the Star of Sunset Boulevard website, with integrated live and archived video
Senior Web Publisher, Intel Corporation 2002 - 2003
Santa Clara, CA
Santa Clara, CA
- Planned user flow of 2,000+ page website for more intuitive browsing
- Lead site redesign to bring all pages into Intel.com visual standards, and simplified site construction using SSI
- Created more intuitive interlinking of content to allow researchers to more easily access information
- Increased user-view hits and search engine referrals by 14-20% for busy researchers
- Designed and produced animated Flash presentations for use on web and trade shows
- Coordinated QA testing and content writing, adjusting sitemap & UI design accordingly
- Created new templates for site design, and expanded Intel.com standard UI elements
Senior Artist, Ask Jeeves, Inc. 2000 - 2002
Emeryville, CA
Emeryville, CA
- Lead artist on 2001 site interface redesign
- Expanded company’s brand identity with expanded color palette and redesigned logo & lettering
- Designed 2001 annual report and other print collateral, coordinated with printers and content writers
- Created new ad solution for realizing full-page advertisements on homepage
- Lead construction of internal branding and design guidelines resource for all graphics files used on in-house, affiliate and customer visuals, from print (PDF, EPS, AI, etc) to online (SWF, HTML, CSS)
- Production of coded site designs for Development teams
- Created online advertisements used on partner and affiliate websites
Art Director, Montclare Technologies, Inc. 1999 - 2000
Oakland, CA
Oakland, CA
- Lead artist on customer website UI design, involved in all initial customer consultations
- Designed and produced corporate annual reports for 1999 & 2000, including press checks
- Produced customer websites from initial sketch through prototypes and UI sitemaps to final production
- Created online and print advertisements and data sheets for the company
Website Designer, The Depot 1997 - 1999
Greensboro, NC
Greensboro, NC
- Lead artist on customer website design: user interface and planning of site structure
- Lead designer and producer on internal news site designs and special projects
- Consultations with custom website clients for visual- and technical-related questions
- Production of all assigned sites from initial sketch to working HTML pages
Education
1992-1996
Maryland Institute, College of Art
Baltimore, Maryland
Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1996, in Visual Communications, Cumulative GPA 3.3
Baltimore, Maryland
Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1996, in Visual Communications, Cumulative GPA 3.3
Certification & Awards
Xerox Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Xerox Corporation
Xerox Lean Six Sigma speaks the language of business: improved bottom-line results. It combines the Six Sigma infrastructure and tools (to reduce variation and eliminate process defects) with Lean methods (to eliminate waste and increase process speed). The "Xerox" in Xerox Lean Six Sigma refers to the integration of these Lean and Six Sigma tools with our unique Performance Excellence Process, Benchmarking, and Leadership/Behaviors to improve the value we deliver to our customers. My training in LSS is at the level of project support and leading projects part-time.
Certified Web Publisher, Intel Corporation
Fully certified in Intel's Corporate Presence Server environment with an in-depth knowledge of legal guidelines for image creation and content writing. Qualified on Intel's proprietary content management solution and approved for training others.
Maryland Institute, College of Art
Presidential 4-year Scholarship
1992-1996 Dean's List
Inducted into the National Art Honor Society
1992-1996 Dean's List
Inducted into the National Art Honor Society
Sample URLs
- Xerox Global homepage: www.xerox.com
- Xerox Production Equipment: www.xerox.com/production
- Xerox Supplies redesign: www.xerox.com/supplies
- Xerox Product pages redesign: www.xerox.com/go/xrx/equipment/product_details.jsp?prodID=DC_5252
- The New Star of Sunset Blvd: personals.yahoo.com/julie
- Intel Research: www.intel.com/research
- The Minnesota Tribe: www.minnesotatribe.com
- Starmount Company: www.starmount.com
Printable versions of this resume:
Microsoft Word format or Adobe Acrobat PDF.
References available upon request.
Microsoft Word format or Adobe Acrobat PDF.References available upon request.
©2004: All rights reserved by the artist, Christopher T. Merkel, except where otherwise noted.
Any reproduction or distribution of the artwork presented here without the prior consent of the artist is strictly prohibited.
All brand names mentioned here remain the property of those companies. Artist claims no rights to any registered trademarks or service marks.
Any reproduction or distribution of the artwork presented here without the prior consent of the artist is strictly prohibited.
All brand names mentioned here remain the property of those companies. Artist claims no rights to any registered trademarks or service marks.