Aart Balk
Interactive Creative Director
Northampton, United KingdomPassion & elegance. Where it starts.
Design is my true passion. I find my drive and inspiration in the challenge to visually express a brand’s story and identity through experiences that engage the audience to connect and interact with the brand.
An esthetically pleasing, surprising or even shocking experience will capture the audience’s interest. However, relevance and functional elegance are required to effectively tell the brand’s story and entice the audience into a dialogue with a brand.
Details. How it's done.
I am patient. I take the time to understand the brand, business objectives, and user objectives. I set out to learn and speak the language of the brand. Nuance and relentless attention to detail is of the utmost importance to be able to speak that language persuasively, and tell an engaging and memorable story. A broad experience with interactive development ensures I am also fully aware of the technical possibilities and limitations of the interactive play field.
Design is my true passion. I find my drive and inspiration in the challenge to visually express a brand’s story and identity through experiences that engage the audience to connect and interact with the brand.
An esthetically pleasing, surprising or even shocking experience will capture the audience’s interest. However, relevance and functional elegance are required to effectively tell the brand’s story and entice the audience into a dialogue with a brand.
Details. How it's done.
I am patient. I take the time to understand the brand, business objectives, and user objectives. I set out to learn and speak the language of the brand. Nuance and relentless attention to detail is of the utmost importance to be able to speak that language persuasively, and tell an engaging and memorable story. A broad experience with interactive development ensures I am also fully aware of the technical possibilities and limitations of the interactive play field.
Work Experience
Flying Cork Media
Interactive Creative Director
September 2014
- Present
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
EDMC
Interactive Creative Director
Leading the Interactive Creative team (interactive design and front-end development); Creative Director for marketing properties of EDMC's colleges (The Art Institutes, Brown Mackie College, Argosy University, South University)
July 2010
- September 2014
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Acclaro, Inc.
Manager Mulitlingual Web
Manager for multilingual website and multimedia projects. Art Director for Marketing department.
March 2008
- July 2010
Irvington, New York, United States
Mullen
Associate Creative Director
Design lead/Art Director for the Interactive Department of Mullen, Pittsburgh.
December 2007
- March 2008
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
EDMC OHE
Art Director
Art Director for marketing websites and other interactive properties for the online EDMC colleges, The Art Institute Online, Argosy University Online, South University Online.
August 2005
- December 2007
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
The Abreon Group
Senior Consultant eServices Dept.
Lead Web and Flash designer for eServices Team; Flash Actionscript programmer
August 2003
- July 2005
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
SafeStone
eMedia Manager
In-house designer and web developer
April 2001
- August 2003
Princeton, New Jersey, United States
AltaVista
Chief Web Editor
Project manager for the localization of the Dutch AltaVista Search site (http://nl.altavista.com/) and integration of local Dutch content; Design of new pages, art work, banners etc.
November 1999
- August 2000
Amsterdam, Netherlands
WordHouse Localisation Bv
Web Team Manager/Multilingual Web Site Consultant
Consultant multilingual web site design (AltaVista, Microsoft, SUN, Identica, ISI Interact, Planet Access Networks); Manager of WordHouse Design, a team of DTP and web specialists.
October 1995
- April 2001
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Education
Utrecht University
Masters Degree, Literary Theory and Criticism
August 1985
- March 1992
Utrecht, Netherlands
Marnix College Ede
College Degree
August 1978
- May 1985
Ede, Netherlands
Languages
English (Fluent),
Dutch (Native),
German (Conversational),
French (Beginner),
Awards
Skills
Art Direction,
Balsamiq,
Creative Direction,
InVision,
Photography,
Photoshop,
Sketch,
UI Design ,
UX Design,