KANAN SHAH
Art Director/Graphic Designer
New York, NY, USA
4847079557
www.rhinophantdesign.com
I am Kanan Shah a multidisciplinary designer, an illustrator, hand lettering and a ceramic artist. I am dedicated to creating a beautiful and a kind world through my conscious actions and problem-solving designs. I am passionate about the arts, the non-profits, the change makers, the good doers and extend my arms to anyone who needs them. I believe every organization is unique and has a compelling story to tell. I work to bring that story to light through engaging communication, so your organization will thrive.
I juggle my time between being an hand lettering artist and a visual design consultant, multi-tasking and managing my time well in fiercely competitive, fast-paced environments. I am a master of my tools, from my hands to my pencils to my iPad. I am a rare creative who is organized and can organize others. I occasionally volunteer my time at the Art of Living foundation where I teach meditation and yoga.
I juggle my time between being an hand lettering artist and a visual design consultant, multi-tasking and managing my time well in fiercely competitive, fast-paced environments. I am a master of my tools, from my hands to my pencils to my iPad. I am a rare creative who is organized and can organize others. I occasionally volunteer my time at the Art of Living foundation where I teach meditation and yoga.
Work Experience
Realty One Group
Senior Graphic/Visual Designer
• Designed and built email marketing using platforms like Hubspot, Constant Contact and similar.
• Led the production of existing concepts to provide complete deliverables, creating style/brand guides and templates
where applicable.
• Applied brand identity systems, typography, photography, color, and other visual elements appropriately to create innovative solutions that meet user and business needs.
• Collaborated with the marketing team to complete projects and initiatives before deadlines.
• Designed and built responsive digital campaign assets, including landing pages.
• Leveraged the latest tools and methodologies allowing for both precision and efficiency.
• Worked with digital team to ensure best practices are implemented with each project and task.
• Worked with cross-functional teams to execute digital lead and demand generation omni-channel campaigns.
• Provided recommendations and execute on improvements to Realty ONE Group’s web properties effortless communication and successful delivery of the product.
• Led the production of existing concepts to provide complete deliverables, creating style/brand guides and templates
where applicable.
• Applied brand identity systems, typography, photography, color, and other visual elements appropriately to create innovative solutions that meet user and business needs.
• Collaborated with the marketing team to complete projects and initiatives before deadlines.
• Designed and built responsive digital campaign assets, including landing pages.
• Leveraged the latest tools and methodologies allowing for both precision and efficiency.
• Worked with digital team to ensure best practices are implemented with each project and task.
• Worked with cross-functional teams to execute digital lead and demand generation omni-channel campaigns.
• Provided recommendations and execute on improvements to Realty ONE Group’s web properties effortless communication and successful delivery of the product.
June 2021
- Present
Laguna Niguel, California, United States
Big Human
Contract Brand + Motion Designer
• Day to day responsibilities include Social Media design request, quick design edits based on client feedback, creating presentations for pitch work.
• Products I worked on in collaboration with a team of product designer, developers – Rockefeller Center, Netflix, Lumiere, Whistle.
• Create motion graphic for different pruduct design features.
• Work collaboratively with UX/UI designers, product managers and developers for a finsihed product.
• Products I worked on in collaboration with a team of product designer, developers – Rockefeller Center, Netflix, Lumiere, Whistle.
• Create motion graphic for different pruduct design features.
• Work collaboratively with UX/UI designers, product managers and developers for a finsihed product.
February 2021
- December 2021
New York, New York, United States
Acronym
Senior Visual Designer
• Worked as a visual reporter/senior graphic designer on a full time contract basis through the 2020 election cycle.
• Created social media content (static and animated gifs) on the current affairs of the country (COVID19) and stories concerning
the US president.
• Created digital and creative experience from ideation through execution – which included building optimized landing pages, banners, and display ads to drive consumers to VOTE.
• Pitched ideas and concepts on weekly team meetings
• Oversaw and guided junior designers in everyday tasks
• Worked on establishing a new brand logo/website/brand guideline for Peoples Power Grab (PPG) - ACRONYM’S online voter registration and mobilization program, which later on lead to creation of graphics and social media content for the same
• Created social media content (static and animated gifs) on the current affairs of the country (COVID19) and stories concerning
the US president.
• Created digital and creative experience from ideation through execution – which included building optimized landing pages, banners, and display ads to drive consumers to VOTE.
• Pitched ideas and concepts on weekly team meetings
• Oversaw and guided junior designers in everyday tasks
• Worked on establishing a new brand logo/website/brand guideline for Peoples Power Grab (PPG) - ACRONYM’S online voter registration and mobilization program, which later on lead to creation of graphics and social media content for the same
September 2018
- December 2020
Washington, Virginia, United States
The Pivot Group
Art Director/Senior Designer
PRIMARY ELCETIONS 2018: Pitched design ideas for various senate races to the client services team. Created design concepts for print mailers, walk cards, door hangers for several democratic candidates running for office. Oversaw project workflow from brief through content production to final delivery. Mentored junior designers on the job. Worked on day to day creative operations.
July 2018
- November 2018
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Insitu
Creative Director/Designer
Created a 360-degree cohesive looking brand campaign for INSITU Dance Festival. Designed the INSITU 2018 logo and created a collection of brand assets – Posters, postcards, direct mailers, business cards, print and digital banners, a festival program booklet, weekly newsletters, t-shirts, totes, social media assets to announce the festival, signage and stage banners for the event.
February 2018
- May 2018
New York, United States
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Art Director/Senior Designer
Designed two books for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – ‘Guggenheim Social Practice & A Year with Children 2018.’
Guggenheim Social Practice – A 160-page soft cover book design done for The Guggenheim featuring the works of two eminent artist that showcase social practice as an art form. The publication features curatorial essays alongside textual and visual documentation focusing on each of the projects, and includes the artists’ perspectives, the collaborators’ voices, and reflections on the Guggenheim’s own institutional learnings.
I collaborated and worked closely alongside the Guggenheim Social Practice team – from researching about the individual artist and their works to pitching font selection, design ideas/layouts to final production of the book. I budgeted the printing cost of the book and oversaw printing/color proofs closer to the production date. The book was produced over the course of 6 months. (Examples attached in the portfolio section.)
A Year with Children 2018 – A 200-page book design for the Guggenheim’s artist-in-residence program in New York City public elementary schools. This book showcases works of children from Grade 3 to Grade 6. I created the logo for the event, laid-out the entire book and prepped the design files for production. The printing was handled by the Guggenheim staff.
Guggenheim Social Practice – A 160-page soft cover book design done for The Guggenheim featuring the works of two eminent artist that showcase social practice as an art form. The publication features curatorial essays alongside textual and visual documentation focusing on each of the projects, and includes the artists’ perspectives, the collaborators’ voices, and reflections on the Guggenheim’s own institutional learnings.
I collaborated and worked closely alongside the Guggenheim Social Practice team – from researching about the individual artist and their works to pitching font selection, design ideas/layouts to final production of the book. I budgeted the printing cost of the book and oversaw printing/color proofs closer to the production date. The book was produced over the course of 6 months. (Examples attached in the portfolio section.)
A Year with Children 2018 – A 200-page book design for the Guggenheim’s artist-in-residence program in New York City public elementary schools. This book showcases works of children from Grade 3 to Grade 6. I created the logo for the event, laid-out the entire book and prepped the design files for production. The printing was handled by the Guggenheim staff.
January 2018
- April 2018
New York, New York, United States
THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA
Art Director/Designer
Design and branding strategy for International Day of Yoga 2018 produced by the Consulate General of India – second year in a row. Developed and executed a creative concept throughout the various mediums of marketing for the event. This included – print posters and postcards and several outdoor event banners and stage scrims.
May 2018
- June 2018
New York, United States
Asia TV USA
Visual Designer
PRODUCT THE TEAL MANGO – The Teal Mango is a platform that curates’ content for south Asian millennials in the United States.
I strategized and proposed a new look for the brand - The Teal Mango. Built wireframes for the design of their new website that was launched in August 2017. Worked very closely with the visual editor at TTM on a day to day basis to come up with funny, sassy visual social media content for their stories.
I strategized and proposed a new look for the brand - The Teal Mango. Built wireframes for the design of their new website that was launched in August 2017. Worked very closely with the visual editor at TTM on a day to day basis to come up with funny, sassy visual social media content for their stories.
May 2017
- September 2018
New York, United States
Children's Chorus Of Washington
Art Director/Designer
Pitched a brand-new look for the Children’s’ Chorus of Washington. Created mood boards, sketched ideas and came up with a solid logo mark for the organization.
May 2017
- August 2017
District of Columbia, United States
The Yellow Scene Magazine
Art Director/Senior Designer
Editorial layout design for The Yellow Scene Magazine. So far, I have worked on two articles/magazines - The Hood Guide and the Smart Issue. These also consist of designing some print ads within the article if and when needed. I have illustrated cover art for couple of their ongoing articles.
June 2017
- August 2017
Denver, Colorado, United States
Starwood Hotel & Resorts
Art Director/Senior Designer
A 50-page book design, Art directed, illustrated and designed for Starwood hotels. The inspiration for the book was taken from the Avengers comic series. More than 20 characters were illustrated/photo edited, each of them representing an avatar from the Avengers comic book, showcasing their strengths and weaknesses.
April 2016
- July 2016
New York, New York, United States
Adobe+Feed
Graphic Designer
4 people and 5 days-A challenge in New York city collaborating with a team of chosen creatives to build Feed’s 2015 Holiday campaign. A challenging yet a profound experience. An initiative by ADOBE. The video link shows the process from start to the finish.
September 2015
- September 2015
New York, New York, United States
Art Of Living Foundation
Freelance director of design
Art direction and website design for IAHV’s (International Association for Human Values) Student Leadership programs at Universities called YESPLUS.
Provided project management and art direction to all the creative graphics/assets for International Yoga Day on June 21st, 2015 at Lincoln Center.
Art-directed event design – stage backdrop for Guru Purnima (an Indian festival) two years in a row (2013-2014)
Lead the branding of ‘NONVIO, No higher calling,’ a national campaign to answer every act of violence with 100 acts of non-violence
Art directed and designed graphics for websites, logo and promotions for marketing purposes.
Art-directed/designed the space and wall graphics for Art of Living center in New York City.
Provided project management and art direction to all the creative graphics/assets for International Yoga Day on June 21st, 2015 at Lincoln Center.
Art-directed event design – stage backdrop for Guru Purnima (an Indian festival) two years in a row (2013-2014)
Lead the branding of ‘NONVIO, No higher calling,’ a national campaign to answer every act of violence with 100 acts of non-violence
Art directed and designed graphics for websites, logo and promotions for marketing purposes.
Art-directed/designed the space and wall graphics for Art of Living center in New York City.
March 2012
- June 2015
New York, United States
Wanderlust Festival
Senior Designer
Proactively lead several Wanderlust projects on a day-to-day basis, worked with leads from various departments, that resulted in effortless communication and successful delivery of the product.
Worked closely and mentored junior designers and inters. Reviewd their progress at our weekly creative meeting.
Oversaw the progress of design acroos different media starting from Print – Digital. The result was creation of 5-6 design campaigns, each targeting to a particular festival.
Under the guidance of my Art Director, reviewed and approved all creative output; continuously evaluated and refined best practices to improve upon the work our team.
Worked with internal clients to determine marketing strategy and design for upcoming festivals.
Designed new on-brand visual elements for Wanderlust 108 to effectively convey concepts and messaging. Designed wireframes and compositions for new Wanderlust website.
Worked closely and mentored junior designers and inters. Reviewd their progress at our weekly creative meeting.
Oversaw the progress of design acroos different media starting from Print – Digital. The result was creation of 5-6 design campaigns, each targeting to a particular festival.
Under the guidance of my Art Director, reviewed and approved all creative output; continuously evaluated and refined best practices to improve upon the work our team.
Worked with internal clients to determine marketing strategy and design for upcoming festivals.
Designed new on-brand visual elements for Wanderlust 108 to effectively convey concepts and messaging. Designed wireframes and compositions for new Wanderlust website.
January 2014
- June 2015
New York, United States
Discovering Oz
Graphic designer
Conceptualized, developed and designed a compelling brand identity for La MaMa 50 celebrating its 50 years.
Created custom illustrations using water color and ink on canvas for clients like – La MaMa and Talking Band.
Designed posters, micro sites, direct mailers, website design and marketing collateral pieces under the guidance for my creative director, for two different off-Broadway shows starting from brief to ideation to production. These were then presented for internal review.
Learnt to prep all design files for press.
Created custom illustrations using water color and ink on canvas for clients like – La MaMa and Talking Band.
Designed posters, micro sites, direct mailers, website design and marketing collateral pieces under the guidance for my creative director, for two different off-Broadway shows starting from brief to ideation to production. These were then presented for internal review.
Learnt to prep all design files for press.
October 2010
- May 2012
New York, United States
Education
Languages
English (Fluent),
Hindi (Fluent),
Gujarati (Native),
Skills
Adobe Creative Suite,
After Effects,
Final Cut Pro,
Key Note,
Mailchimp,
Presentation Design,
Sketch,
Spiritual Calligraphy,
Achievements/Awards
• Yoga: A new Dimension – Solo spiritual art exhibit at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center on ‘The First International Day of Yoga,’ June 21, 2015
• Featured on the Wanderlust blog as a Calligraphy artist.
• Commissioned 15 spiritual artwork for ‘Blue Haven Spa’ in the blue ridge mountains of North Carolina.
• “An Art of living fund raising Art Exhibit” Black & White spiritual paintings, 2013
• “The La Mama Friends and Family show”, gallery exhibit, 2011
• “Behind the Curtain” gallery exhibit, 2011
• Published as a winner, GDUSA, American Graphic Design Awards, 2011
• Published a documentary in ‘Designwala’ called ‘Between the green lights. USA, 2011
• Awarded, Gold for the entry titled, “ Eudoxia.” – International Design Awards. USA, 2010
• Featured on the Wanderlust blog as a Calligraphy artist.
• Commissioned 15 spiritual artwork for ‘Blue Haven Spa’ in the blue ridge mountains of North Carolina.
• “An Art of living fund raising Art Exhibit” Black & White spiritual paintings, 2013
• “The La Mama Friends and Family show”, gallery exhibit, 2011
• “Behind the Curtain” gallery exhibit, 2011
• Published as a winner, GDUSA, American Graphic Design Awards, 2011
• Published a documentary in ‘Designwala’ called ‘Between the green lights. USA, 2011
• Awarded, Gold for the entry titled, “ Eudoxia.” – International Design Awards. USA, 2010
Volunteer Work
Organize and lead meditation workshops for New Yorkers at the Art of Living Foundation twice a week.
Secret life of Kanan Shah
An artist by heart I love playing with ink, shade and light. I have been practising ink and calligraphy on paper for more than 10 years. My passion is spiritual calligraphy and lettering which I do on the side. I have been commissioned to design pieces for spas and other establishments, and to use my artwork as a stage backdrop for various International high profile spiritual events.