Senior Designer Art Director

CHRISTIAN RYLANDER

EXPERIENCE

Art Director / Senior Designer (Contract) I September 2015 – present

Gagen MacDonald, Hyatt Corporation, Reakt Agency, Vantage Airport Group

• Ideation, concept development, and visualization across various mediums

• Collaborate with and provide creative vision for new clients, including computer software / analytics, cannabis, travel / hospitality, pharma, agrochemical, industrial supply, and beauty / wellness industries; responsibilities include competitive site analysis, project strategy and execution, to ensure brands are telling stories that garner engagement across external and internal channels UL Solutions I Senior Designer I November 2023 – December 2024

• Lead designer on post-covid employer brand (EVP) update, successfully launching to more than 15K+ global employees and externally to prospective talent; year-long project included employer brand and launch campaign development, colleague photoshoots, brand guideline / training video creation, and agency creative review

• Subject matter expert and primary designer in global effort to update more than 230 company office and laboratory locations in accordance with 2022 brand refresh; responsibilities within multiphased execution included collaboration with internal and external partners to identify branding moments on per-property basis while developing a more turnkey approach for future implementation

• Liaised with stakeholders across a diverse, highly regulated organization to drive business outcomes and ensure brand consistency and legal compliance were met and maintained

• Oversaw and mentored junior designers, reviewing work to ensure quality StudioNorth I Senior Designer I May 2021 – June 2023 CDW, Labelmaster, Lenovo, Proscia, BioLife, Norstella, Hollister, KeHe, Sloan

• Created groundbreaking, multi-channel experiences for top B2B companies and brands by connecting business strategy with design to bring a client’s vision to life for internal and external audiences

• Visually communicate compelling experiential brands and products to meet client’s objectives while working within established brand guidelines / standards

• Brand identity concepting, including engaging clients in brand persona workshops Hyatt Corporation I Senior Designer I November 2009 – September 2015

• Art directed and designed first-ever brand experience guides for luxury brand Park Hyatt and all-inclusive resort brands Hyatt Zilara and Hyatt Ziva

• Spearheaded observational and design research for identity refresh of boutique lifestyle brand Andaz

• Led development of new creative concepts, including advertisements and marketing collateral, for B2B marketing stakeholders to elevate Hyatt’s brand and corporate visual identities

• Instituted proprietary ad builder tool to support 500+ properties globally with hotel-level collateral and consistent advertisement creation

• Executed biannual promotions for loyalty program and hyatt.com to increase acquisition and digital engagement; included messaging in eight core languages across various asset mediums reaching 7+MM loyalty members globally

• Managed multiple agency partners and freelance creatives McGarryBowen I Freelance Designer I September 2009 – November 2009 The Walt Disney Company, Kraft Foods

• Created composite imagery for Disneyland Resort’s World of Color pitch Adventive Marketing, Inc. I Graphic Designer I December 2004 – August 2009 Abbott Laboratories, Belden, Cherry AG, Jungheinrich, Littelfuse, Opto

• Integral in rebranding projects, including logo refresh and brand identity guidelines, for a variety of B2B and B2C clients

• Produced print collateral, e-newsletters, various web placements and tradeshow graphics for Abbott Laboratories

SOFTWARE

Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite,

MS Office Suite, Outlook and internet

applications for Mac OS

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Visual communication, art direction,

brand guidelines, brand application,

brand development, technical copywriting,

cross-channel digital marketing campaign

support, digital asset management,

storyboarding, staging for animation,

package design, tradeshow graphics,

ADA / WCAG compliance, HTML / CSS and

responsive design principles, typography,

illustration, infographics, print production

screen printing, photoshoot management,

and image retouching

EDUCATION

Northern Illinois University

BFA, Visual Communication

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Creative Mornings Chicago

Regular attendee of ongoing lecture series

providing opportunities to network with

fellow members of the creative community

AIGA

Member of largest and oldest community

of design practitioners advocating for greater

understanding of the values of design work

Chicago Printers Guild

Member of Chicago printmaking community

sharing knowledge of the trade and

supporting printers of varying backgrounds

and mediums

Globalteer Peru

Volunteered abroad helping to teach children

Art and English as part of UK-based charity

Country Club Chicago

Acted as one of four directors of an artist-run

gallery helping to book events, curate shows

and manage the on-site studio space

Lumpen Magazine

Contributed illustrations, graphic design and

print production for quarterly print publication

dedicated to art and activism

**.********@*****.*** cnrylander christian-rylander.com

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