Cecil Cross
Vice President, Creative & Digital at Idea Grove- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Lisa Sarazin
Cecil is the most talented creative professional I've had the pleasure of working with. His passion for his work is contagious; in difficult periods, he's the type of team member to motivate the troops and, at the best of times, he motivates his colleagues to continuously raise the bar. I learned - and continue to learn - so much from Cecil, as he's always happy to share his insights without condescension toward those not as intimately familiar with branding best practices as he is (few people are). Bonus: he's a fun person with an incredible sense of humor and impeccable fashion sense.
Amanda Crawford
Working at Mavenir, a global company, I learned quickly that it is a "small but mighty team" as Cecil would say. He is lead of all graphics, videos and brand management. I had never worked in Marketing before so I appreciated each time he took a step back to explain the WHY and HOW to a task. He helped sharpen my eye of graphic design when creating header images for an event registration page or a pop-up banner for a meeting. He is big on teaching others how to fish, I am thankful for that because I am always wanting to learn and grow. It is because of his direction that I am able to be consistent in the company’s brand and ensure that others across the global landscape are as well. Aside from being the best dressed always - suited 98% of the time - his calm demeanor and sense of humor make work more enjoyable! His love of Marvel, film scores, FRIENDS and cookies helped that as well :) Any place of employment or client will definitely be better than when they started after working with him!
Lisa Sarazin
Cecil is the most talented creative professional I've had the pleasure of working with. His passion for his work is contagious; in difficult periods, he's the type of team member to motivate the troops and, at the best of times, he motivates his colleagues to continuously raise the bar. I learned - and continue to learn - so much from Cecil, as he's always happy to share his insights without condescension toward those not as intimately familiar with branding best practices as he is (few people are). Bonus: he's a fun person with an incredible sense of humor and impeccable fashion sense.
Amanda Crawford
Working at Mavenir, a global company, I learned quickly that it is a "small but mighty team" as Cecil would say. He is lead of all graphics, videos and brand management. I had never worked in Marketing before so I appreciated each time he took a step back to explain the WHY and HOW to a task. He helped sharpen my eye of graphic design when creating header images for an event registration page or a pop-up banner for a meeting. He is big on teaching others how to fish, I am thankful for that because I am always wanting to learn and grow. It is because of his direction that I am able to be consistent in the company’s brand and ensure that others across the global landscape are as well. Aside from being the best dressed always - suited 98% of the time - his calm demeanor and sense of humor make work more enjoyable! His love of Marvel, film scores, FRIENDS and cookies helped that as well :) Any place of employment or client will definitely be better than when they started after working with him!
Lisa Sarazin
Cecil is the most talented creative professional I've had the pleasure of working with. His passion for his work is contagious; in difficult periods, he's the type of team member to motivate the troops and, at the best of times, he motivates his colleagues to continuously raise the bar. I learned - and continue to learn - so much from Cecil, as he's always happy to share his insights without condescension toward those not as intimately familiar with branding best practices as he is (few people are). Bonus: he's a fun person with an incredible sense of humor and impeccable fashion sense.
Amanda Crawford
Working at Mavenir, a global company, I learned quickly that it is a "small but mighty team" as Cecil would say. He is lead of all graphics, videos and brand management. I had never worked in Marketing before so I appreciated each time he took a step back to explain the WHY and HOW to a task. He helped sharpen my eye of graphic design when creating header images for an event registration page or a pop-up banner for a meeting. He is big on teaching others how to fish, I am thankful for that because I am always wanting to learn and grow. It is because of his direction that I am able to be consistent in the company’s brand and ensure that others across the global landscape are as well. Aside from being the best dressed always - suited 98% of the time - his calm demeanor and sense of humor make work more enjoyable! His love of Marvel, film scores, FRIENDS and cookies helped that as well :) Any place of employment or client will definitely be better than when they started after working with him!
Lisa Sarazin
Cecil is the most talented creative professional I've had the pleasure of working with. His passion for his work is contagious; in difficult periods, he's the type of team member to motivate the troops and, at the best of times, he motivates his colleagues to continuously raise the bar. I learned - and continue to learn - so much from Cecil, as he's always happy to share his insights without condescension toward those not as intimately familiar with branding best practices as he is (few people are). Bonus: he's a fun person with an incredible sense of humor and impeccable fashion sense.
Amanda Crawford
Working at Mavenir, a global company, I learned quickly that it is a "small but mighty team" as Cecil would say. He is lead of all graphics, videos and brand management. I had never worked in Marketing before so I appreciated each time he took a step back to explain the WHY and HOW to a task. He helped sharpen my eye of graphic design when creating header images for an event registration page or a pop-up banner for a meeting. He is big on teaching others how to fish, I am thankful for that because I am always wanting to learn and grow. It is because of his direction that I am able to be consistent in the company’s brand and ensure that others across the global landscape are as well. Aside from being the best dressed always - suited 98% of the time - his calm demeanor and sense of humor make work more enjoyable! His love of Marvel, film scores, FRIENDS and cookies helped that as well :) Any place of employment or client will definitely be better than when they started after working with him!
Credentials
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New Manager Foundations
LinkedInApr, 2022- Nov, 2024 -
HubSpot CMS For Marketers
HubSpot AcademyMar, 2022- Nov, 2024 -
SEO Fundamentals
SemrushDec, 2021- Nov, 2024 -
Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design
CourseraMay, 2021- Nov, 2024 -
Developing a Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Program
LinkedInAug, 2020- Nov, 2024 -
Unconscious Bias
LinkedInAug, 2020- Nov, 2024 -
Inbound Marketing Certification
HubSpotJun, 2020- Nov, 2024 -
Neil Blumenthal on Branding
LinkedInJul, 2018- Nov, 2024
Experience
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Idea Grove
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United States
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Public Relations and Communications Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Vice President, Creative & Digital
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Feb 2023 - Present
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Creative Director
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Jun 2022 - Feb 2023
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Associate Creative Director
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Jun 2020 - May 2022
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CecilCross.com
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Dallas/Fort Worth Area
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Creative Director and Creative Consultant
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Oct 2008 - Present
Design, creative direction and creative consulting for wide array of businesses across multiple industries. Services offered include web design and consulting, digital marketing, logo, identity and brand design, image and photography consulting, brand guidelines development, and marketing strategy. Design, creative direction and creative consulting for wide array of businesses across multiple industries. Services offered include web design and consulting, digital marketing, logo, identity and brand design, image and photography consulting, brand guidelines development, and marketing strategy.
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Mavenir
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Richardson, Texas
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Manager, Creative Services & Brand
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Oct 2017 - May 2020
Creative direction of global creative assets, website and digital video production, brand design and guidelines, marketing collateral, digital and social media design, and global event experience design. Specific duties include: • Translate complex technical concepts into visually appealing video content, infographics, and campaign assets • Guide the look and feel of all customer-facing collateral, social media, presentations, web graphics, sales enablement, and event-related materials • Develop and evolve brand guidelines and develop/update image and icon library • Work with external vendors/agencies for design and development of marketing and multimedia assets
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Mitel
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Telecommunications
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700 & Above Employee
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Creative Services Manager, Brand
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Jun 2015 - Oct 2017
Responsible for execution of key creative content for global marketing initiatives, including video and animation, marketing collateral, web graphics, brand design and governance, infographics and events. Management of in-house creative services, translations, worldwide creative vendors and mentoring of designers and art directors.Brand guardian:Co-Created, evolved and enforced brand standards and templates to ensure a consistent brand experience across all touch points, regardless of creator or medium. Established global brand portal enabling brand equity and digital asset management. Created strategies, processes, tools and tactics to enable distributed design execution across the organization, reducing bottlenecks and increase speed-to-market.Creative direction:Ongoing direction, consultation and review for all creative deliverables from emails, web ads, white papers, product user interfaces to videos, product photography and web graphics.Resource management:Built, vetted and and managed a stable of internal and external design resources spanning multiple countries, continents and languages to meet the varied design needs of global and regional initiatives.
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Senior Digital Art Director/Lead Brand Designer - Digital Marketing
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Jan 2014 - Jun 2015
Senior level designer marketing collateral for global digital distribution, event graphics, emails, social media graphics, landing pages, web content and infographics. Led implementation of new brand guidelines across varied media. Management and mentoring of graphic designers, contractors and production artists. Worked directly with CEO and CMO on special projects.
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JCPenney
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United States
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Retail
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700 & Above Employee
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Art Director (Contract)
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Jan 2013 - Jan 2014
Art Director in the Brand Synergy Department. Duties include the concpeting and design of marketing and advertising collateral with extreme attention to detail and advanced typography in a fast-paced environment. Projects included: • Emails & Web Banners • Marketing Collateral • Ads • Coupons & Special Offers • Gift Cards • Miscellaneous Concepting Projects • Marketing Campaign Brainstorming & Creation Art Director in the Brand Synergy Department. Duties include the concpeting and design of marketing and advertising collateral with extreme attention to detail and advanced typography in a fast-paced environment. Projects included: • Emails & Web Banners • Marketing Collateral • Ads • Coupons & Special Offers • Gift Cards • Miscellaneous Concepting Projects • Marketing Campaign Brainstorming & Creation
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FOX 40 WDBD TV, Jackson MS
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United States
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Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
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1 - 100 Employee
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Art Director
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Nov 2009 - Nov 2012
Responsibilities: • Supported news and sales staff with creative solutions for internal and external needs, including magazine ads, window graphic treatments, billboards, banners, flyers, interim web management, static and flash web ads & graphics for both internal and external clients, vehichle graphics, and special event/large format graphics. • Represented the company in meetings with external vendors as needed. • Assisted Commercial Director/Director of Photography on photo and commercial shoots as needed. Accomplishments: • Successfully redesigned the visual idenitity of the television station through print/web media; art direction for new graphics package for news. • Under the direction of the Creative Services Director and Station Manager, designed and implemented new morning show idenitity, including coordination of photo shoots, designing visual identity, designing the set, and coordinating with vendors for execution. • Art Director for local television series “I.M.A.G.E.”
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Amerimail Digital Direct
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Jackson, Mississippi Area
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Graphic Designer
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May 2006 - 2009
Graphic and direct mail solutions, including brochures, logos and identity/branding, direct mail collateral, newsletters, invitations, and other design projects as needed. Graphic and direct mail solutions, including brochures, logos and identity/branding, direct mail collateral, newsletters, invitations, and other design projects as needed.
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Jackson Public Schools
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Education Administration Programs
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700 & Above Employee
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Graphic Arts Specialist II
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May 2001 - Oct 2006
Responsible for all aspects of graphic design for the entire school district of Jackson, MS. Projects included departmental and event logos and identity, banners, billboards, advertising and promotional collateral, brochures, posters, annual reports, and website support. Lead designer on various projects from concept to completion, dealing with vendors, conducting press checks and maintaining consistency. Responsible for all aspects of graphic design for the entire school district of Jackson, MS. Projects included departmental and event logos and identity, banners, billboards, advertising and promotional collateral, brochures, posters, annual reports, and website support. Lead designer on various projects from concept to completion, dealing with vendors, conducting press checks and maintaining consistency.
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Education
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1998 - 2001
Hinds Community College
Associate of Arts (A.A.), Graphic Design
Community
