Design Manager

Carrie Volpone

562-***-**** ********@*****.***

Online portfolio: http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_work.asp?individual_id=282767&

Summary: Product and Design Manager with extensive experience in creative product design and development. Over 10 years experience with foods, soft goods and hard goods development. Proven ability to design marketable products targeted to a specific consumer base. International work experience. Proficient in various design related computer art programs including: Adobe Illustrator, PhotoShop, MS Word, Power Point and U4ia.

Professional Experience:

Design Manager, Jakks Pacific 2010-Present

Santa Monica, CA

• Developed CPK from a $6 million to a $20 million brand.

• Design, conceptualize and manage the design and development of both hard goods and soft goods products for sale at major retail stores.

• Launch new product lines for dolls, toys and apparel.

• Create graphics using Illustrator and Photoshop for product design communication, textile design, and control art including art for 4 brands including Cabbage Patch Kids, Fancy Nancy, Girl Scouts, Betty Crocker and Disney Princess and Me.

• Generate creative product concepts and control art for 3D products, and then present concepts to Design, Marketing, and Executive Management.

• Art direction to 7 other support designers both in house and freelance.

• Create Product Line Pitches in conjunction with marketing team to gain new licensed product lines.

• Textiles and pattern making expertise.

Inventing Manager, Dynamic Design Works Inc. 2006-2010

Signal Hill, CA

• Invent and design original products for sale to various companies: Mattel, Fisher-price, Foamables, and Jakks Pacific.

• Create graphics using Illustrator and Photoshop for product design communication, textile design, packaging and control art including art for style guides for 12 clients.

• Generate creative product concepts and control art for 3D products, and then present concepts to Design, Marketing, and Executive management.

• Create renderings for preliminary models for presentations; this includes working with and directing model makers, development teams, support groups, and Marketing.

• Invent four of the tools for Jakks Pacific “Style 6” line of fashion tools for tweens.

• Creating new art, prints and patterns for all products.

• Presenting graphic and textile design concepts each season along with graphic looks for monthly deliveries.

• Participate in early stages of development to insure that product can be manufactured within cost while still delivering original aesthetic and functional value.

• Work with marketing to identify brand opportunities to facilitate their specific brand development needs according to brand placement and objectives, while simultaneously driving to push the level of innovation for seven toy lines.

• Communicate brand objectives and direction to management and 12 designers.

Softgoods Superviser/Computer Graphics Production Artist, Mattel Inc. 1998-2006

El Segundo, CA

Softgoods Supervisor (2001-2006)

Supervised the support group that provided toy design, graphic arts and textile design. Also managed the purchasing for design prototypes, textiles communication with Asia factories and execution of hand-painted art to all design groups including, Barbie, Polly Pocket, Disney and Hot Wheels. Personally designed toys, textiles, plastic parts, accessories for fashion dolls and other toys. One-year experience in Maya 3D design.

• Worked collaboratively with other designers on an aesthetic level, as well as overseas factories on a technical level achieving desired product quality.

• Designed graphics for several best selling toys of 2003 and 2004: Barbie loves Sponge Bob, American Idol Barbie for spring and fall, and American Idol Barbie play set.

• Designed two Pillow Barbie Diaries play sets for spring 2005.

• Managed three employees and a yearly $300,000 budget without ANY employee turnover and always under budget.

• Improved quality of design by conceptualizing the Textile Digital Printing departments in El Segundo, New York and Mainland China offices. Enabled avoidance of copyright issues for textile designs, expanding Mattel’s design capabilities and saving over $100,000 a year on samples textile printing costs.

• Improved productivity and employee morale by cross-training employees and developing lessons for computer art training classes.

• Trained New York Fisher-Price designers in computer aided textile design so that they could utilize their textile digital printing equipment.

• Educated digital printing industry and Mattel employees with domestic and international public speaking engagements.

Computer Graphics Production Artist (1998-2001)

Graphic arts support of all Mattel design groups including Barbie, Hot Wheels and Polly Pocket.

• Improved communication by becoming artwork point person and digitally transferring art from US designers to Asia offices.

• Researched equipment and strategies and wrote justifications for the development of the domestic and international Textile Digital Printing Departments.

Technical Skills:

• Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat

• Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Education and Training:

Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles, CA - Graduate

Otis Parsons School of Design, Los Angeles, CA - Coursework in Design and Graphics

Mattel, El Segundo, CA - Advanced Adobe Illustrator and PhotoShop

Mattel, El Segundo, CA - Advanced Leadership Training

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