Creative Director Graphic Designer Illustrator Product & Toy Designer
Resume:
Michael Hawkins
Creative Director/Owner at PromoDoctors
Irving, TX 75063
*******@************.***
My professional goal has always been to work with wonderful, passionate people to create wonderful things for my clients and their end users. My focus has been in the youth and family marketing arena. I have worked to create kids premiums, toys and youth promotions that fully utilize their theme, tie-in property or technology to excite the intended target. Specialties: Creative management, property identification, premium & product concepting, character creation, cartoon illustration, computer graphic design and great memory for toy mechanisms. Work Experience
Creative Director/Owner
PromoDoctors-Irving, TX
February 2004 to Present
• Custom art and custom products company, producing advertising creative, toy product design, and selling domestically-sourced promotional products.
• Manage all aspects of company, including sales, marketing, creative and sourcing. Since 2021, I have done regular work for these companies through their agencies: Burger King and Arctic Circle (kids meal toy design), Braum's (kids meal toy design and POP), Universal Studios Theme Park (character food & beverage containers design), Mattel (giftware design for their traveling shows), Kellogg's (in-pack, on-pack and mail-in premiums design).
...and I have worked directly for these companies, among others: Adventure Kids Playcare (web and print graphic design for this 15-location Drop-off Playcare company), The Women's Center (logo, mailings and invitation design for various annual fundraisers), Language Works LLC/Rainbow Kid (logo & website work for company working with special needs children and young adults). Previous clients have included IHOP (kids placemats design), Blimpie Subs & Sandwiches (character redesign, kids meal toys), Cordiance (Modios tax engine comic strip), Creative Tutors, Inc. (advertising materials & Timmy's Tutor comic strip), Summit Direct Mail (direct mail design for various clients), RE/ MAX DFW Associates (advertising & marketing materials) and Tek Nek Toys International (ride-on toys product design).
Top Dog (President)
Red Rover Creations, Inc-Dallas, TX
February 2003 to February 2004
• Partner in custom art and custom products company, selling domestically and internationally-sourced promotional products. Participate in sales and marketing and management all creative functions and international sourcing for this company of five.
• Key clients included: IHOP (kids placemats), AdPac (Kellogg's premium concepts), SnS International
(kids bath product design), Stelor Productions (preschool show launch, creative and products), First National Bank of Burleson (character creation and products), Strombecker Corporation (toy product design) and Guardian Services (wearables).
Chief Creative Officer
TIC TOC - The Imagination Company-Dallas, TX
March 1998 to February 2003
• Charged with being the "Imagination" of "The Imagination Company." Responsible for building and managing all aspects of the creative department. Act as a player/coach, managing staff of five and additional freelance talent as needed. Insure in-house profitability of department.
• Department services included: Premium concept development, graphic design, illustration, corporate identity/logo design, character design, animation, web page design, sculpting and prototyping, custom publishing, information resource concerning licensed properties and consumer trends, oral and written client presentations.
• Key clients included: Pepsi, Frito Lay, Pizza Hut, Subway, Arby's, Dairy Queen, General Mills, Hershey's, IHOP, Denny's, TGI Friday's, Colgate, GlaxoSmith-Kline, Minnetonka, Blockbuster Entertainment, Nokia, Sun Microsystems, JCPenney and Wal-Mart.
• Work with license-holders including Disney, Warner Bros. and Lucasfilm. Awards
• First Place POPAI Award, 2000 — Pepsi Star Wars life-size character displays.
• Third Place POPAI Award, 2000 — Denny’s Wishbone plush SLO interactive display Creative Director
Promotional Partners Worldwide (PPW)-Dallas, TX
May 1996 to March 1998
• Entered company in Senior Art Director position.
• Responsible for building and managing the company’s U.S. creative department. Act as player/coach, managing staff of three artists and additional freelance talent as needed.
• Department services included: Premium concept development, graphic design, illustration, information resource concerning licensed properties, oral client presentations.
• Key clients included: Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, Tricon International Restaurants, Jack in the Box, Hershey’s, Russell Stover, Sunline, Sonrics, Johnson & Johnson and Minnetonka.
• Spearheaded company’s first creative wins with U.S. Tricon Restaurants (now YUM! Brands). Designer
Simon Marketing-Downers Grove, IL
September 1995 to April 1996
• McDonald’s Happy Meal toy concept design and illustration work.
• First Simon Kids Group designer fluent in Macintosh computer programs, producing digital presentation and product artwork.
• Introduced Product Development Group to Adobe Photoshop model painting techniques Editorial Artist
The Daily Herald Newspaper-Arlington Heights, IL
September 1992 to September 1995
• Newspaper circulation: 125,000
• Responsibilities included feature page design and pagination, editorial illustration and the creation of computer-generated news graphics.
• During the Daily Herald’s conversion to a pagination system duties also included front page design for four major zone editions, and color pagination of the news and sports fronts. Creative Services Director
The News-Sun-Waukegan, IL
June 1987 to September 1992
Creative Services Director (6/91)
• Management of full-service art department of four artists, fulfilling editorial, circulation and advertising department requests.
• Duties included working with editors and other department managers to produce work on tight deadlines, supervising artists in creation editorial graphics and section fronts, purchasing computer systems and software and computer training of staff artists, maintaining AP Graphicsnet, supervising ad preparation and performing regular staff artist duties. Creative Services Manager (1/90)
• Same duties as Creative Services Director position with the exception of budget preparation. Staff Artist (6/87)
• Duties included computer graphic production, editorial and promotional illustration, advertising and promotional copywriting and keyline/paste-up art.
Awards
• First Place circulation promotion, Sunshine the Bear mascot promotion. Copley Newspapers Ring of Truth Contest, 1987.
• News-Sun Employee of the Month, January-February 1991. For outstanding efforts in graphic coverage of the Persian Gulf War.
• Third Place editorial graphics, Shopping gene cartoon illustrations. Northern Illinois Press Association Contest, 1991.
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Art History
University of Illinois - Champaign, IL
March 1987
Skills
• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe Creative Suite (10+ years)
• Graphic Design
• Logo Design
• Illustration
• Layout Design
• Web Design
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