Offsite freelance contractor, design and production, school textbooks and digital learning resources.

Offsite freelance contractor, design of covers for scholarly and trade nonfiction books.

(Temporary assignment) Prepress file management for publisher of print English language textbooks. Creation, preparation, and maintenance of document files, including design prototypes, production templates, style guides, etc. Includes checking and adjusting design prototypes for stylistic consistency, compliance, and production readiness, building and checking production templates, ensuring all style sheets and master pages are accurate and updated, preflighting and troubleshooting application and pdf files, monitoring vendor compliance and fielding style inquiries, and trafficking approved files across departments within the company.

Designed and supervised production of interiors and covers for school (K–8) textbooks, teacher editions, and ancillary publications, classroom materials such as maps and posters, digital media including Web pages and CD-ROMs, and packaging for multimedia products. Subject disciplines included Reading, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Music.
• Created book cover designs and multiple interior section page layouts on complex grids, with accurate master pages and detailed text style sheets, designed to achieve maximum clarity of content, and constructed to facilitate fast and accurate editorial revision.
• Prepared detailed prototypes and supervised work of design/production vendors in development of full K–6 instructional programs, meticulously reviewing and correcting vendor templates and page proofs to ensure stylistic consistency and accuracy, saving revision costs and production time.
• Collaborated with photo researchers to select appropriate stock and archival images, planned and supervised studio photo sessions, retouching/modifying images as required for layout and to achieve optimal contextual relevance and aesthetic appeal.
• Planned appropriate illustration and informational graphics; hired and supervised illustrators, adjusting and correcting commissioned artwork as needed to ensure fidelity to editorial requirements and compliance with company branding and design style standards.
• Designed a popular line of eye-catching poster-size pictorial state maps featuring native musicians, displayed in music classrooms across the country to promote knowledge of states’ cultural heritage and diversity and to encourage careers in music.
• Contributed as key member of select design team in development of a package of dozens of multi-phased, fully interactive, music “listening maps” animated in Flash and delivered on CD-ROM for K–8 classroom smart board and PC application, to supplement and revitalize longevity of existing print-based basal music program.

Contributed at every stage to the conception, design and production of a wide range of heavily illustrated consumer reference and general interest books, including health, domestic crafts, home improvement, U.S. history, religion, travel, nature/science, and atlases. Responsibilities and functions mostly same as listed above for McGraw-Hill. In addition, contributions to these products often went far beyond the traditional roles of a designer:
• Brainstormed and developed concepts for new products; wrote promotional product descriptions and designed sample pages for new product testing.
• Brought a lively, visually aggressive design style to books on many subjects, helping to rejuvenate the static, conservative look of this publisher’s products.
• Thoroughly read and understood all copy for all pages designed, ensuring page layouts served editorial content and enhanced reader experience and comprehension.
• When designing page layouts, often cut/revised copy to fit, submitting to editorial for approval; also wrote headlines, captions, and short articles as required.
• Managed art and text file traffic; ran regular electronic file backups; provided computer training, design software support, and troubleshooting for project team.
• Prepared and “flight checked” artwork and electronic files for output; served as point contact with engravers and printers; reviewed and corrected match prints and page proofs.
• Spearheaded the transition of this division to modern desktop publishing technology, being among the first to learn, apply, and train others in Macintosh-based layout and design applications.

A comprehensive online course in fundamentals of Web design including HTML, CSS, Dreamweaver/Fireworks/Flash, etc. Upon completion and successful examination will lead to CIW Webmaster Design Specialist certification.

Courses in Graphic Design, Design with Type, Editorial Design

Major in Drama, minors in English and German. Exchange study at Universität Bonn, BRD, and at National Theatre Institute, Waterford CT. Alpha Delta Phi Society Chapter President.