About

Hi, I’m Sarah! I’m a graphic designer based out of Seattle, WA. I have a background in production design, photo retouching and compositing, layout design, front-end development, and pre-press production. Most recently, I spent the last five years specializing in e-commerce marketplace strategy and design.

More than just making enticing visuals, I love to focus on the strategy and methodology of visually communicating information to audiences. I’m passionate about inclusion, accessibility, and thoughtful integrations with real-time immersive 3d environments. I’m also a big fan of spreadsheets and data visualization.

In my free time, I enjoy long walks with my corgi, Kana. I also enjoy music, reading, and fiber arts.

Experience
 

I developed e-commerce visual content and advised on merchandising best practices for 1P and 3P sellers on Amazon and other retail sites, including product detail page galleries, A+ enhanced content, brand storefronts, and display ads. My role included asset intake, strategy development, client consultation, photo retouching, typesetting, vector illustration, image compositing, and video editing. I also created internal- and client-facing presentations and spreadsheets, and provided direction for freelance contractors and near-shore teams.

Production Design Lead

Shutterfly, Inc.
Fort Mill, SC

Jan 2016–Jul 2017

As a member of the department's leadership team, I assisted with tracking and reporting performance metrics for the department. I continued to process orders on an as-needed basis, but I primarily worked on projects that drove process improvements for the team. I was involved with intra- and inter-departmental audits to help maintain procedural consistency, and I reviewed all refunds issued by the department on a weekly basis.

I also served as Floor Training Coordinator for the department across all three sites, developing training materials to help coaches review live orders processed by trainees to make sure they are following brand standards and stationery etiquette guidelines. I also oversaw the sessions as they took place, and made daily reports to supervisors regarding trainee progress.

Interim Production Design Supervisor

Shutterfly, Inc.
Fort Mill, SC

Aug 2016–Nov 2016

As a temporary fill-in for one of the team supervisors, I was responsible for fifteen on-site direct reports, handling all of their performance metrics, scheduling requests, one-on-one meetings, and other day-to-day needs. This position was performed in conjunction with my Lead duties.

I processed customer orders for Shutterfly's Tiny Prints and Wedding Paper Divas brands, which involved proofreading, typesetting, checking image quality, editing photos as needed, making advanced customizations and custom layouts by request, and interacting with customers daily via both telephone and email. I helped with front- and back-end QA testing for products on both sites, served as a liaison to the Customer Care team, authored Help Center articles for both brands, and was a trainee evaluator for new hires.

Under the guidance of the creative team at the Symphony, I laid out text and photos for symphony performances, overhauled the design of the future season’s programs, and created a promotional slideshow to promote the upcoming season.

My primary tasks were customizing VOD theaters for affiliate websites, retouching photos, and creating graphics for print and web advertisements. I was made lead designer for one of the company’s social networking sites, creating a retail merchandise line for the brand, developing taglines, and redesigning the site. I also designed trade show displays and booth model attire, and trained new design hires.

Education
 

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Bachelor of Fine Arts
Graphic Design, Digital Media

I attended UNC Charlotte, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) with a double concentration in Graphic Design and Digital Media, and a minor in Art History.

I spent five weeks with a group of teachers and students from UNC Charlotte's College of Arts + Architecture traveling to Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic where I studied architecture and assisted in teaching Digital Photography.

Affiliations

National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Pinnacle Honor Society
Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society
Phi Beta Delta Honor Society, Mu Chapter
AIGA UNC Charlotte Student Group
Digital Art Mob UNC Charlotte

Skills
 

Expert

Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Word
QuarkXPress
 

Proficient

Adobe After Effects
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Experience Design
Adobe Premiere Pro
CSS
Figma
Final Cut Express
HTML
JIRA
Microsoft PowerPoint

Familiar

Adobe Flash
GameSalad
JavaScript
Microsoft Project
OBS Studio
Sketch App

Team leadership, project management, training, interviewing, hiring, corporate presentations, layout design, print production, web design, UI design, grammar, proofreading, copywriting, stationery etiquette, customer service, photography, photo retouching, photo restoration, e-commerce strategy, merchandising, display campaigns, makeup artistry