Manager Design

Michelle Ladin

********.*************@*****.***

WORK EXPERIENCE

New York Smash Design: www.nysmashdesign.com

Founder and Creative Director: September 2012 to the present

• Customized innovative design solutions.

• Concept Development, Brain Storming, Market Research, Concept Sketching, Graphic Design, Logos, Product Design, Color

Renderings, Packaging Design, Print Ready Packaging files, Prototypes and Product Photography.

Client - The Baruch Company: www.baruchco.com

Creative Director: January 2013 to the present

• Gift packaging designer for chocolate and gourmet food brands.

• Category trend research for packaging materials and shapes.

• Attended meetings with chocolate and gourmet food brands at the January 2013 Fancy Food Show in San Francisco.

The JAY Companies:

Creative Director of Photography and Design: February 2011 to December 2012

• Hard and Soft Goods License Brand Manger; product and packaging designer.

• Lead contact and designer for Jelly Belly, Louise Carey and Daydreams licenses.

• Corresponded daily with vendors in China and exchanged files through websites and FTP servers.

• Designed and built a high-end tabletop photography studio for packaging and web images.

• Product, packaging, logos and planograms for all in-house Jay Import brands.

• Prepared for in-house April and October New York Merchandise Mart Shows.

• Prepared samples, mockup packaging and signage for the January 2012 Americas Mart Home Goods Show in Atlanta.

M. Z. Berger & Company: www.mzb.com

SHARP Brand Manager, Product, Packaging and Promotional Designer for the Clock division: June 2006 to January 2011

• Ability to take ideas from conception to completion.

• Managed a team of in-house and freelance designers; corresponded with vendors, sample makers and engineers in Hong Kong.

• Created and maintained a product lead-time production schedule.

• Managed all product development stages for the SHARP and NELSONIC small electronics brands.

• Reviewed product and packaging pre-production samples, blisters, instruction manuals, overlays, side-kicks, PDQ’s and pallet skirts.

• Created individual SHARP and NELSONIC brand packaging style guides for each major retailer.

• Prepared for meetings with sell-sheets, presentation boards, commission prototypes, and build mock-up packaging samples.

• Organized SHARP and NELSONIC current and full product line books.

• Designs placed at Sam’s Club, Walmart (US & Canada), Target, BB&B, Office Max, K-Mart, Meijer, PCH and Dollar General.

China Vendor Meetings and Factory Tours with M.Z.B:

Face to face meetings with top industry clock vendors, packaging suppliers and sample makers: 2009-2010

• Reviewed current project line, released new opportunities to appropriate vendors and brainstorm new concepts.

• Trend analysis and vendor scouting at the 2010 Hong Kong Electronics Fair.

Walmart 2010 for M.Z.B:

Managed a team of designers to create Clocks, Clock Radios and Weather Stations for Walmart under the SHARP and

NELSONIC Brands: 2009

• Designed 100% recyclable open-face corrugated packaging for submission, which was chosen by Walmart to

use as their clock department’s packaging standard.

• Received M.Z.B.’s clock divisions largest order to date with Walmart and chosen to be one of Walmart’s

top 4 clock manufacturers.

GE Presentation for M.Z.B:

Organized and directed a team of industrial designers to create innovative small electronics for a presentation with

the GE Brand: July 2009

Play Along Toys:

Showroom Manager: September 2004 to October 2004

Toy Fair 2004 Show Room

• Responsible for all of tear down, hiring crew and buying supplies.

• Assisted in build and prep for opening day; painting, cutting and building.

Product Development Intern: June 2004 to August 2004

• Received first hand experience in designing, developing and marketing new products.

• Performed comparative product studies, brainstormed, sketched and rendering.

SKILL STRENGTHS

• Design: Understanding of materials, color and form. Trend analysis, strong conceptual brainstorming, product sketching and computer rendering.

• Computer: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, iPhoto, iMovie, FileZilla and Web Servers.

EDUCATION

Pratt Institute; Bachelors of Industrial Design ’06 - Merit Based Scholarship and Dean’s List: ‘02 - ’06

PORTFOLIO WEBSITES

http://www.behance.net/MichelleLadin and http://www.coroflot.com/michelleladin

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