Anthony Elder

Freelance Lettering, Design, and Direction

Chicago, IL, USA
I'm a creative Swiss Army knife. A designer, director, copywriter, and big thinker with 10+ years in the trenches at agencies, in-house roles, and startups—not to mention a healthy dose of side-hustles to really get the blood pumping.

As ACD at Core Twelve from 2017–2021, I managed a talented team of designers in bringing bold, unexpected, unapologetic marketing campaigns and elegant brands to life for clients from established entrepreneurs to hospitality legends to Fortune 200 giants. As a freelancer, I bringing a blend of tenacity, technical skill, and design intuition to clients looking to build or elevate their brand and turn heads with fun, concept-driven marketing creative.

I like to roll up my sleeves and get dirty in search of new creative solutions, and over the years have grown pretty comfortable outside of my comfort zone. I can develop, write, design, and pitch work as a one-stop creative resource, or I can play nice with others as part of a team. Let's work together to bring something awesome to your next big problem.

Work Experience

Independent Designer

Sr. Designer | Type & Lettering Artist | Art + Creative Director | Copywriter

A proprietary blend of tenacity, technique, and concept-driven problem solving that presents a one-stop creative resource OR a new, nimble member of your next project's design dream-team.

Capabilities:
Custom Type & Lettering
& Book Cover Design
& Big Ideas
& Marketing Campaigns
& Branding
& Illustration
& Art Direction
& Creative Direction
& Copywriting

Core Twelve

Associate Creative Director

As ACD working on the marketing of major commercial real estate properties across the country, I was responsible for managing a team of designers in developing and realizing "Big Picture" multimedia creative campaigns that slash through the noise of a saturated marketplace and command the attention of brokers and prospective tenants alike.

Roles performed include:

• Creative Direction
• Art Direction
• Marketing Strategy
• Copywriting
• Design
November 2017 - May 2021 Chicago, Illinois, United States

Core Twelve

Senior Designer

• Develop "big idea" concepts for multimedia marketing campaigns in the luxury automotive, commercial real estate, and entertainment spaces.

• Design and execute multimedia campaigns for clients including email, website, print collateral, and experiential marketing.

• Design and execute branding and illustration for client projects.

• Pitch creative concepts to clients in top leadership positions.

• Prepare new business pitches.
July 2016 - May 2021 Chicago, Illinois, United States

Penguin Random House

Designer

• Designer at Razorbill, an imprint of the Penguin Young Readers Group, specializing in middle-grade and young adult titles.
• Art direction
• Typesetting and interior layout design
2014 - 2016 New York, United States

Freelance Graphic Designer

Freelance Designer

• Sugarkiss Bakeshop (Food & Beverage): Branding, Lettering Design, Print Collateral, Food Photography

• SuperTek Industries (Automotive): Logo Design, Print Collateral, Product Photography

• Body Local & Yoga Local (Health & Wellness): Web Collateral, Print Collateral, Presentation Design

• Basic Fun (Toys & Games): Package Design, Logo Design, Product Development, Illustration

• Crū Footwear (Apparel): Logo Design, Lettering Design

• Vitruvian Aesthetics (Health & Wellness): Logo Design, Copywriting
2013 - 2014 New York, United States

Honeydrop Beverages

In-House Creative

• Maintained all visual brand assets

• Developed all form of promotional collateral including but not limited to sales brochures, stickers, delivery truck graphics, cooler graphics, and T-shirts

• Evolved original label design based on customer and retail feedback to better and oversaw production of label press runs

• Redesigned website to improve user experience and better promote new products

• Initiated and maintained relationships with a wide network of manufacturers, printing professionals, and graphics specialists

• Periodically acted as salesman, cold-calling on key accounts in and around New York City and successfully getting product on shelves on numerous occasions
March 2011 - February 2012 Brooklyn, New York, United States

Education

Fordham University

Bachelor of Arts, Graphic Design & Typography

September 2007 - May 2011 New York, New York, United States

Type@Cooper

Typeface Design Extended Program Certificate

2014 - 2015 New York, New York, United States

Awards

Fordham University

Susan Lipani Award

2011

Columbia University

Columbia University Business Pitch Competition

2012

Skills

Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Indesign, Adobe Photoshop, Branding, Copy Editing, Illustration, Layout Design, Lettering, Logo Design, Photography, Screen Printing,