oh hello.
I’m a Swiss Army knife Senior Art Director and Designer with extensive experience in packaging, branding, advertising, and marketing. I take pride in solving design problems with well-researched, effective solutions. I have exceptional collaborative and interpersonal skills; I am a dynamic team player with a go-getter attitude and accustomed to performing in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments. From print to digital, photo to video, full campaigns to one-off graphics, prop/food-styling to photographing, ideation to presenting, art direction to execution, there isn’t much I haven’t done. I enjoy getting hands-on to take projects from ideation to final design, and what I cannot do, I strive to learn. You can always find me cooking, thrifting/antiquing, creating, watching the Green Bay Packers, eating unhealthy amounts of avocados, and serving my cats.
CONTACT
NicoleGarciaDesigns.com
nicolegarciadesigns@gmail.com
224.330.0511
EDUCATION
Columbia College Chicago
BFA in Graphic Design
DESIGN CHOPS
Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, Dreamweaver, Lightroom, Bridge), Canva, Microsoft Office, basic HTML/CSS, stop motion animation/GIFs, food/prop styling
SUPER SKILLS
collaborative team player, strategic creative thinker, problem solver, communicator, multi-tasker, detail oriented, organization, proactive, master chef
experience
SRW Agency
Chicago, IL
October 2021 - September 2023
Senior Art Director
Brainstormed, conceptualized, developed, and executed campaigns and concepts for various CPG brands by collaborating with cross-functional teams to translate marketing objectives and brand guidelines into visually compelling creative material, ensuring they aligned with the brand identity and marketing strategy, achieved goals, drove sales, and delivered results.
Created and presented campaigns, storyboards, and concepts to clients that reflected strategy and enhanced brand awareness to the brand’s partnerships, products, social media, and online platforms.
Led and directed the artistic vision for full multi-channel campaigns and creative, ensuring visually engaging designs and the achievement of strategic goals and objectives.
Created and presented prepro decks for product shoots to clients and provided on-set art direction, hand modeling, and food and prop styling.
Managed multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, taking them from ideation to execution and ensuring the highest standard of deliverables.
Stayed updated and utilized the latest best practices and industry trends to inform and enhance creative.
Hofseth North America + Wixter Seafood
Rosemont, IL
September 2019 - February 2021
Creative Manager
Managed and created art direction for Hofseth North America, Wixter Market, and Wixter Seafood.
Developed, created, and executed the brand identity, packaging, website, emails, social media, and marketing designs for Wixter Seafood.
Lead the creative concepting and execution of strategy-driven, visually rich solutions that captivate the target audience, effectively communicate the intended message, and deliver on business goals and objectives.
Coordinated and directed external product shoots as well as internally photographed products.
Created packaging designs, POS materials, presentations, social media graphics, and marketing materials for Hofseth North America, Wixter Market, and Wixter Seafood.
Worked with outside agencies, vendors, and stakeholders to ensure initiatives and activations exceeded expectations and stayed within established budgets, time frames, and strategy.
Oversaw a cross-functional team of designers, copywriters, and photographers in the strategic development and execution of creative, ensuring deliverables effectively addressed goals.
Established and implemented project management and review processes within the company.
US Foods
Rosemont, IL
June 2018 - September 2019
Production/Graphic Designer
Collaborated with the lead designer to develop new branding and designs for CHEF’STORE. Designs included in-store signage and marketing materials such as event collateral, product catalogs, coupons, billboards, mailers, and various digital ads.
Created print and digital assets for Fall 2019 Scoop magazine, including catalogs, toolkits, recipe books, event signage, and marketing materials.
Worked seamlessly, with speed, accuracy, and efficiency, to produce same-day deliverables while managing a high volume of projects.
Utilized typography, photography, and other elements to create cohesive and branded assets across all print and digital materials for numerous sub-brands.
High Sierra
(a subsidiary of Samsonite)
Vernon Hills, IL
March 2017 - June 2018
Graphic Designer
Designed the 2018 corporate catalog used by the sales team to market products to buyers.
Created innovative digital designs for social media giveaways, promotional sales, emails, website graphics, and Amazon A+ product pages to increase e-commerce revenue and drive awareness.
Designed print and digital creative such as product packaging, hang-tags, catalogs, sell sheets, sale graphics, presentations, and trade show graphics.
Photographed, retouched, recolored, and rescaled images for print and digital material use.
Collaborated with the design team to reposition branding and stay current with industry trends.
Worked on multiple projects simultaneously, taking them from concept to execution while meeting deadlines.
Creative Circle
Glenview, IL
September 2016 - February 2017
Contract Graphic Designer
Worked closely with various high-profile clients to create and execute designs while consistently meeting deadlines and requirements.
Photographed and designed product catalog for a packaging client.
Redesigned text-heavy presentations and marketing material for a pharmaceutical client to be visually engaging and easy-to-read.
Vosges Haut-Chocolat
Chicago, IL
August 2016 - August 2016
Contract Graphic Designer
Assisted lead designers in creating promotional sale graphics displayed in retail stores.
Retouched, recolored, and rescaled images for print and web collateral use.
MSRF, Inc.
Chicago, IL
May 2016 - July 2016
Contract Graphic/Packaging Designer
Created dielines, designs, and print-ready artwork for seasonal specialty food packaging.
Developed concept designs as well as physical and digital product mock-ups for use in client meetings.
High Sierra
(a subsidiary of Samsonite)
Vernon Hills, IL
June 2015 - May 2016
Graphic Design Intern
I worked alongside the Creative Director and Art Director in designing and updating various print collateral pieces for product packaging, hang tags, sell sheets, catalogs, and trade show graphics.
Spearheaded designs for giveaways on social media to promote brand awareness.
Actively researched industry trends to bring new ideas and applications to designs.
Chicago Twenty Something
Chicago, IL
September 2013 - May 2016
Lead Graphic Designer
Developed and managed all aspects of digital design needs for the company.
Created logos, flyers, brochures, business cards, digital advertisements, and banners to effectively promote and market events.
Successfully created, branded, and maintained graphics for 20+ event websites.
Managed a high-volume workload within a deadline-driven environment.