Resume current as of August 2005

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Andrea Coombs
p: 416.436.4271
e: contact@andreacoombs.com
w: www.andreacoombs.com
a: G38-268 Jason Rd., Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0



[ INTRODUCTION ]

Having recently relocated to British Columbia, I would like to work for a magazine or a marketing agency. I have the experience and, more importantly, I have a creative imagination to contribute to either industry. I have a healthy competitive side, I think out of the box, I appreciate white space, and I pay stubborn attention to detail.

I have 5+ years experience, as described below, and I am qualified as an Art Director, senior graphic designer, copy writer, technical writer, or editor. I have worked for a micromarketing firm, a media company, and for myself.

What I learned as a technical writer and sales & marketing/product launch coordinator:
The importance of short sentences, the finer mechanics of Quark Express, the impossibilty of resampling raster artwork to tradeshow-booth proportions, the cap on creativity as determined by budget, and the value of communication.		 What I learned at Humber college:
How to turn traditional photography into digital possibility; how to prepare for a shutter release and use captured light on film and compact flash cards to produce visually appealing and technically correct print and internet materials.
What I learned as a freelance photography assistant:
That slide film and digital photography clash fiercely and caused a lot of tension. The importance of light ratios and the ways to diffuse them and focus light. I really came to know colour and the print errors that destroy it. I learned about push-processing and curves, darkroom development and computer labs, planning "every last detail" and taking care of those that were overlooked on-site. I learned about very early mornings and late nights too, and I loved it, but the designer in me wanted to branch out even more. 		What I learned at Gulfshore Media:
InDesign, and the art of converting Quark documents over to InDesign. I learned about space management of art and copy on paper. I tracked down artwork in all of its forms, liaised with editors, and trained interns. I readied the book at deadline (file collection, prepress production, and shipment), developed a forced respect for fonts' preference to corrupt at whim, and for postscript errors' purpose to hinder print jobs and file distillation. I discovered that Acrobat Distiller is a very robust program, that deadlines and ad approvals are inversely proportional, and that archiving is crucial to efficiency. I organized and implemented tracking measures for incoming/outgoing art and ancillary archived projects. I created an art department handbook and trained new employees. I ejoyed the responsibility of handling projects independently, and working toward multiple concurrent deadlines.

What I learned from working for myself:
In this last year, since moving back to Canada, I've been a one-person show, freelancing for the various Gulfshore Media magazines and for other clients. My most recent contract was to overhaul the outdated branding of an Optical Store and to create a new identity. From logo creation to store fixtures to packaging, I worked with the independent store owner to achieve the "funky" look he was after. I learned I am capable of running my own business, but I am not so bold as to assume I have nothing left to learn. That is why I am seeking a full-time or contract position.



[ ACCOMPLISHMENTS ]

Gulfshore Media Expansion and Relocation Guide 2004-2005
As Art Director for a new annual magazine under Gulfshore Business in 2004, I handled all design aspects for the standalone publication, the “Relocation and Expansion Guide.” Under a tight budget, I created the template for this subsidiary magazine, initially in Quark in 2004, and this year in Adobe InDesign. The book is 72 pages with a distribution of 25 000. The guide is a newcomer’s resource aimed at entrepreneurs who plan to start ventures, or grow their businesses, in Southwest Florida. It is a copy-intensive guide, with many charts, graphs, and lists on each page. I used white space and colourful fonts to keep the glut of statistics pleasing to read. This project was exclusively mine; I handled everything from the look of the magazine to final print (colour palette, font choice, stock art, all edit design, ad placement, ad design, corrections, preflighting, PDF production, trouble-shooting and shipment to press). Working closely with Publisher’s Press—a wonderful print agency—all postscript errors were eliminated, and pages were updated down-to-the-wire as late ad approvals came in. It was an exciting, challenging experience from beginning to end, finished ahead of time and under budget.

Gulfshore Media 2003-2004
Gulfshore Media, a magazine company in Naples, Florida that puts out lifestyle, business, and home design magazines, as well as many local interest publications (Gulfshore Life, Gulfshore Business, Gulfshore Homebuyer—all of which target readership with household income and net worth in the top percentile of the United States). Designed features, special ad sections, and departments. Wrote and photographed sidebars. Designed media kits, rate cards, tradeshow banners, tote bags, and other promotional materials.

Sports Marketing textbook 2003
Edited and designed a 200 page sports marketing text book written by Bob Burris, a professional Sports Marketing and Entertainment executive of over 25 years, who sold sponsorships in excess of $10 million dollars.

Freelance branding (logos, business cards, stationary, website design, ads, brochures, products, fixtures, and packaging):
ScanTrak Data Systems, Inc., a leader in Wireless Mobile Workforce Automation www.scantrak.com.
Research Solutions, Inc., a market analysis company.
Young's Optical, a funky little store that sells designer prescription and sun glasses www.youngsoptical.com.
The Mississauga Bartending Academy, a new bartending school in the heart of Mississauga www.drinkingMBA.com.
Razz Productions, an independent TV production company (new project).

MapInfo software manual 2001
Wrote and designed a 250 page technical manual for an $80 000 software program called "MarketMath." I also handled the internal product launch and external release of the program, which included producing and coordinating tradeshow material (from brochures to booth artwork) that featured MarketMath, as well as several other flagship software suites.


[ AWARDS ]

2004 USA Rugby Nationals: bronze medal (div.II), USA Rugby South Finals: gold medal (div.II)
2002 Fuji Film Award Canada, Best Webpage
2002 Award of Merit, Humber College: highest average in Advanced Photography program
2002 Humber Bursary
2000 Gold medal, University of Western Ontario: highest average in the M.I.T. program
1995-2000 Dean's honour list (UWO); Scholarships: 4-yr (UWO), Ivey Family, UWO Bursaries, Miller Thomson Foundation.



[ SOFTWARE ]

InDesign for design work (also have over 5 years experience using Quark XPress)
Extensive training in Photoshop, including custom training by an Adobe Photoshop certified trainer.
Illustrator for vector work
Distiller for PDFs
Adobe Type Manager or Extensis Suitcase for font management on Mac. XP Pro on PC.
Dreamweaver, Flash MX and WS_FTP Pro for web work.
Microsoft Office suite (when I have to).
I have a typing speed of approximately 60-70 words per minute.



[ EXPERIENCE ]

ART DIRECTOR. Previously, Associate Art Director.
Gulfshore Media. January 2003 to present
Manage art flow from beginning to end: maintain and update tracking spreadsheet (which I created to track art through all stages); call for art; send to print agency for high-res; edit photos, negs, slides; mail-backs.
Lay out features, departments, special sections and ads; make corrections; handle production from layout to preflight to collection to PDFs; manage colour proofs, and ship magazine to press; archive book, in-house ads, and special projects.

PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT
Freelance: September 2001 - December 2002
Assisted 10 photographers in Toronto, on location and in studio: Ted Yarwood, Ian Crysler, Caroline Ryan, Paul Weeks, Donna Griffith, Kevin Kelly, Tom Szuba, Chris Freeland, Bryan Boyle, and Tony Makepeace. Each photographer shot for different industries: fashion, interiors, food, portraits, and product.
Responsibilities:

Load/unload/set up equipment: 1200w-2400w power packs (Speedotron, Profoto, DynaLite, Lumadine, and Norman), props, lights, soft boxes/umbrellas, reflectors, and gels.
Time/label polaroids, load film, mark shoot sheets, communicate process instructions to lab.
Work with high-end film and digital 4X5 and medium format cameras and software: Horseman digiflex with Lightphase back, Hasselblad, Fuji 680, Bronica, Mamiya, Cambo, Nikon D1x, Nikon D100, Fuji S1, and Fuji S2 (which I own).
Extensive experience with colour management: scanning, dusting, retouching, saturation, levels, curves, burn/dodge, and output to print and web.

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
ScanTrak Data Systems Inc. and Research Solutions, Inc. 2000-present.
Create, design, edit, and update all aspects of communication: website, user manuals, tradeshow banners, brochures (PDF and print), business cards etc.

PRODUCT LAUNCH COORDINATOR. Previously Sales and Marketing Coordinator.
MapInfo Canada Aug. 2000 - Aug. 2001
Tradeshow coordination and artwork production. Communication with print agencies for production, pricing, and timing of sell sheets, advertisements, and booth artwork. Sales training with Miller-Heiman. Worked with Product Managers to coordinate the internal launch and external release of new products. Designed all marketing pieces.

TECHNICAL WRITER
Compusearch. Feb. 2000 - Aug. 2000
Created a 250 page user manual and a 30 page "What's New" booklet for the demographics and micromarketing software program, "MarketMath." Gathered information from various departments to produce quarterly company bulletins. Documentation, editing, graphics design, layout, and prepress.

CUSTOMER SERVICE RESPRESENTATIVE
Chapters Online. Dec. 1999 - Feb. 2000
Order inquiries, customer relations, knowledge of software relating to retail sales and warehouse stock.

BRIDGE MASTER. Previously Canal Operator
Trent-Severn Waterway, Parks Canada, Ministry of Canadian Heritage. Spring 1993 - Fall 1998
Parks Canada, Ministry of Canadian Heritage. Operated hydraulic and manual locks, dams, and swing bridges, marshalled traffic (water and road), sold lock and mooring passes.


[ EDUCATION ]

I graduated with an Honours BA in Media, Information and Technoculture from the University of Western Ontario. I received the gold medal for the highest average in my program. I subsequently attended Humber College, receiving the highest average in the Advanced Photography program, and winning the Fuji Film Canada website award.

Specifics:

Certificate in Advanced Photographic Techniques
Humber College, Toronto, Ontario. Sept.2001 - May 2002
This program was very technical. We learned how to achieve the best colour from shutter release to final display:

Proper lighting ratios and depth of field to bring out the main focus in an image
Scanner testing for optimum quality according to input type (line art or halftones)
Scan images, negatives, and transparencies according to output expectations
Calibrate monitors to output device, specify colour space, recognize colour casts and know how to fix them
Adjust white and black values to prevent blasting out of highlights and shadows going to black on paper.
Printer settings according to dot gain and gamut capabilities of various papers (densitometry middle grey)
Selecting cover shots according to space available for text elements.

Certificate in Fire Preparation
Seneca College, Toronto, Ontario. Feb. 2002 - May 2002

Beyond Basics black and white photography course
Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), Toronto, Ontario. Summer 2000

Bachelor of Arts: Media, Information, and Technoculture (M.I.T.)
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Sept.1995 - Dec. 1999)
Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia (Feb. 1999 - June 1999). On exchange through the University of Western Ontario

 

I look forward to hearing from you, and thank-you for your time,


Andrea Coombs.

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