Experience

• 

  Accenture Song

  • Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

  • Creative Director

    • Nov 2022 - Present
    • Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

• 

  King James

  • South Africa
  • Advertising Services
  • 200 - 300 Employee

  • Creative Director - Swift

    • Feb 2015 - Present

    As the Creative Director of Smart Design, my responsibilities include the smooth running of the creative studio as well as management. I have a hands-on approach to assisting my team. I’m involved in the administration of jobs, future planning, scheduling of workflow in the studio, achieving, set deadlines while maintaining the quality of work. Building stronger relationships with clients and suppliers we strive to constantly raise the bar, challenge the norm and do your utmost to be innovative. The client list is extensive and we look after brands corporate identities. We work closely with all the stakeholders to ensure the brands identity is maintained on a brand CI point of view as well as developing new assets based on the CI's.The brands we work on are: Brand House; Bell's and Johnnie Walker, Kulula, Hammer (the agencies experiential arm, assisting with pitches and event collateral), Glacier, New Balance, Parmalat; Steri Stumpie, Pick n Pay, Sanlam; Sanlam, Investments, Private Wealth, Santam and Vital.

  • Freelance: Art Director

    • Feb 2015 - Feb 2015

• 

  Self

  • Cape Town Area, South Africa

  • Freelance Art Director

    • Sep 2014 - Feb 2015
    • Cape Town Area, South Africa

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  Singh and Sons

  • Cape Town Area, South Africa

  • Freelance Art Director

    • Jan 2015 - Jan 2015
    • Cape Town Area, South Africa

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  O, The Oprah Magazine

  • Cape Town

  • Art Director, stylist and designer

    • Apr 2012 - Aug 2014
    • Cape Town

    I direct a strong, creative but also cohesive and reader-friendly ‘look’ for O, The Oprah Magazine that reinforce the brand at all levels. I oversee the visual direction of all locally produced shoots, art/creative direction and design of all special projects and supplements and manage the art department and liaise with all external suppliers.I ensure the senior designer is suitably briefed and trained and to manage and oversee the picture editing process to reinforce the brand for all repro work.I assist with creative pitches to advertisers and with advertorial and promotional ideas to ensure that these are always in keeping with the brand values.I work closely with the respective department heads (Fashion and Beauty, Food, Health and promotions), overseeing all concepts, attending shoots and ensuring that local shoots are in keeping with the brand values and that pages are cohesive and of a consistent high standard.Working with the digital team to ensure our brand values are maintained and ensuring that the print medium is extended into the digital and social arenas of our communication.I am a talented and proficient art, creative, designer and illustrator who is detail oriented.I am proactive and demonstrate creative initiative and passion for the Oprah brand.Team player and capable of working with others departments.Be able to lead, mentor and motivate a team.Be able to work fast and independently under pressure and work outside of regular hours to meet deadlines if need be.Work within a budget and work closely with the managing editor to ensure that our budgets are met, maintained and we maximise workflow to ensure that our budgets are not overinflated.I currently run the Pinterest account and work closely with the team and content manager to ensure our website reflects our brand and positioning.

• 

  Draftfcb

  • Studio Manager at Draftfcb Cape Town

    • Dec 2010 - Mar 2012

    Working in the Advertising industry for over 13 years, I’ve gained the experience as an Art Director, Concept Director and Magazine Director to show the ability to change and adapt in our environment. My strong conceptual and creative skills, as well as organizational skills have endorsed me to move into a challenging and ever changing role. My promotion as a Creative Studio Manager has honed in on my abilities to demonstrate not only creative, but leadership skills. I’m instrumental in providing creative direction to the very successful brands in our business by inspiring a team of Art Directors and Designers and managing the service we provide. Our services are not only creative, they include the relationship we have with our Production department and our suppliers. In many cases I wear the hat of client service to brief a team and liase with clients on projects – further building our relationship and ensuring they are involved in the creative product.As the Creative Studio Manager, my responsibilities include the smooth running of the creative studio as a whole (both technically and logistically) as well as management. I have a hands-on approach. I’m involved in the administration of jobs, future planning, current scheduling of workflow in the studio, budgeting (working with project managers and production), achieving set deadlines while maintaining the quality of work. Building stronger relationships with clients and suppliers we strive to constantly raise the bar, challenge the norm and do your utmost to be innovative.

• 

  Draftfcb Cape Town

  • Senior Art Director/Fast Track

    • Jan 2008 - Mar 2012

    Part of a team of creatives working in a extremely busy studio under incredible pressure, imense workload and very tight deadlines. Apart from coping with my workload I regularly took on a mentoring role in respect to helping juniors with processes and teaching them new software applications. – CS3 packageTeaching myself audio visual program - and the AV used for Taste of Cape Town as well as pitchesExecuting, implementing and inisuating a visual data base for art directors to stream line operationsTaking responsiblity for a team working on jobs and ensuring time management and mentoring Ability to work independently while maintaining and delivering timelines accordinglyResponsibilities: Strong conceptualization, Work comfortably across different mediums, Understanding of all media used, Create creative products in keeping with brands’ identity (typeface, images, look and feel) and ensure tight deadlines are met, Have a good understanding of repro, Be responsible for each piece of work, Be an out-of-the-box thinker, Ensure filing of work and work station is neat , To be a willing helper and to assist on jobs with other AD’s e.g. programs or tasks/jobs, Strong attention to detail, fantastic time management skills, organised and a high quality of work Skills: Work as a member of the team and independently, Build & maintain effective working relationships, Talented, Give direct and clear briefs to illustrators, photographers, production, stylists, Fastidious, Work under pressure, Take initiative, Be resourceful, Be well organised, Committed to job and people working with me, Eye for detail, Show leadership and mentoring skills, Multi-task, Be disciplined, Have strong time management skills, Be able to work under pressure.Clients: Flight of the Fish Eagle, Hunter’s, Pepsi, 7 Up, Mountain Dew, Klipdrift, Klipdrift Premium, Klipdrift Gold, Amarula, Savanna, Santam, Momentum, Polka, Elizabeth Arden, AJ North.

• 

  Mag Media

  • Magazine director/ Layout artist/ AE/ Production

    • Jan 2007 - Aug 2007

    Designing adverts for clients in the two magazine titles, client liaison, design and layout of magazine and supplement layout and design, electronic and printed rate card. Instrumental in developing a new look and feel (brand identity) for the company, sourcing photographers, sourcing images from stock libraries, preparing magazine for repro, creating print ready PDFs, oversee production and sign off of magazine, archiving, distribution lists, press kits, e-mail campaigns, internet development.Clients: Bosman Jewelers, Laser Clinic, Blue Tangerine, Kobus Dippenaar, Didi Couture, Under Wraps, Kink, Ecoco, TOB’s, FMO, Kuilman Mundell Attorneys.

• 

  Salient Strategic Advertising & Design

  • Concept Designer

    • Mar 2006 - Dec 2006

    Developing concepts for advertising, ensuring deadlines are met and working effectively under pressure, conducting creative research on projects, storyboards, creating print ready PDFs for press, magazines and leaflets, directing photo shoots, archiving, encourage and facilitate collaboration within the team and other departments.Clients: Shoprite, Hungry Lion, Red Security

• 

  TBWA\HUNT\LASCARIS\DURBAN

  • Art Director

    • Sep 2004 - Feb 2006

    Supervising two designers, created large print and signage projects for store openings, major projects included entry forms, T-shirts, posters and event signage, logo design, create concepts and art direction, collaboration within the team and head office, in-house photography and photoshoots, creating print ready PDFs for press, magazines and leaflets, ad hock supplements and trade event design.Clients: Spar Western Cape, Spar Eastern Cape, Spar head office and A’pearl.

• 

  Cape Union Mart

  • Senior Graphic designer

    • May 2003 - Aug 2004

    Concept, design, layout, creating print ready PDFs for press and magazine adverts, flyers and supplements, packaging, logo design, illustration work of new fabric technology, photography of all merchandise, catalogue merchandise, liaison with printers, sign off artwork, archiving, printing posters in-house for roll out in stores, distribution of posters, flyers and leaflets.

• 

  Protea Hotels

  • Graphic designer

    • Jan 2000 - Apr 2003

    Supervising assistant designer. Advertising material for print, magazine, flyers, brochures, directories, packaging design, concepts, archiving, liaison with repro house, logo design and development, in-house photography, creating finished artwork for printers, sign-off litho artwork.

• 

  Cape Media (Kaqala Media)

  • Magazine designer/ layout artist

    • Aug 1999 - Dec 1999

    Layout, typesetting and design of trade magazines, packaging, creating individual adverts designed for clients, follow up on editorial and advertorial for each publication, keeping to a strict deadline, managing each magazine within a time structure and meeting deadlines for repro and print, archiving, ensuring the magazine is print ready for printers.

• 

  Milady's

  • Durban

  • Display manager, Dtp operator, Assistant planner, Merchandise controller

    • May 1995 - Jul 1999
    • Durban

    Dtp operator - monthly designing and creating the merchandise magazine, photography of all merchandise, liaison with all departments of promotional activity, dress up of mock store for window dressers, designing flyers and posters, liaison with printers.Assistant planner - Promoted to head office to work with the senior planner. Analising and monitoring sales of merchandise nationally, moving merchandise around the country to increase sales and targets.Establish,monitor and maintain all forecasts on a monthly basis. Establish,monitor and manage inventory levels using all relevant inventory parameters,inventory discrepancies and pro actively report and action these. Ensure and manage all relevant information related to lead times, review periods and store profiles and accurate. Ensure orders and placed and followed up by expeditor's and forecasting of future planned orders. Planned orders are compared with availability and requirements are met to ensure prices on orders are checked to guarantee acceptable gross profits. Make certain that new/promo quantity lines are checked to order suggested requirements. Stock levels balanced bet branches in order to reduce quantities and advise buyers of overstock in order to rectify.Merchandise controller - Analising and monitoring sales of merchandise in the KZN area, moving merchandise around to stores within KZN to increase sales and targets, motivate stock movement with sales stats and projected sales of merchandise. Decision making. Planning & organising. Team leadership. Process orientation. Customer insight & focus. Attention to detail. 
Display manager - Supervising three windrow dressers, designing and decorating displays, ensure promotion of products are visible and have the look and feel for the company, hiring and making props, lighting in store, planning of monthly merchandise and window displays.