art tran ~catalyst

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BFA, Graphic Design

Wolverhampton University
Certificate of Completion, Graphic Design

 



A highly proficient and solution-oriented creative strategist and digital designer, with a solid ability to lead and inspire teams. Contributes to a company’s success with a leadership style characterized by clear communication, strategic thinking, and a keen understanding of motivating individuals toward a shared vision. An extensive background in art and creative direction, graphic design, project management, front- end web design, UI design, and Agile methodologies. Demonstrates established capabilities in managing brand voices and experiences, collaborating with copywriters to design marketing and lead generation campaigns, and designing creative for print, e-commerce, e-marketing, and social media.

  • Creative and Art Direction, Brand Management
  • Creative and Digital Team Leadership
  • Experienced with Agency and Studio Work Pace
  • Front-End Design Focus, Back-End Support
  • Adaptive to Various Team Structures and Sizes
  • Comprehensive Capabilities and Portfolio
PNC BANK
Assistant Vice President, Experience Design Senior Lead – 2022-2023
  • Provided leadership, support, and development to a team of UX designers
  • Managed road maps and aligned across multi-product deliverables
  • Established and refined operation processes
  • Identified opportunities to improve money movement experiences and improved consistency across digital channels
  • Communicated new cases for design experience enhancements and improvements with product owners and business leads
  • Led partnership with key stakeholders and partners to define product requirements
  • Communicated regularly with other design managers and experience teams to build a cohesive brand
  • Integrated with product crew – product owner, BSAs, lead developer, content provider, and SME – in weekly design synchronization sessions to explore issues and opportunities, updating prototypes on the go to clarify possible scenarios for development
  • Consulted with accessibility coaches to maximize user experience that covered a wide range of disabilities.
  • Collaborated with user testing team to define optimal user interface designs
  • Deliberated with UX and UI design steering committee in defining and setting standard
1DIGITAL AGENCY
Creative Director, Digital Design Manager – 2019-2022
  • Managed e-commerce design team and collaborated with developers
  • Collaborated with copywriters to design marketing and lead-generation campaigns
  • Managed all facets of design: internal and external, web and print, and branding and packaging
  • Designed for e-commerce websites and managed company website branding
  • Advised clients in brand and product identity
  • Liaised between developers and client, bridging technical and design expectations
ECHO COMMUNICATIONS DESIGN
Principal, Creative Strategist, Art Director, Digital Designer – 2017-2019
  • Strategised art and creative directions
  • Managed identities and brand voices and experiences
  • Executed Human-Centered Design (HCD) principles for UI and UX, employing Agile methodologies for efficient implementation
  • Designed for print, e-commerce, e-marketing, and social media
JOHN AND KIRA’S CHOCOLATES
Art Director, Graphic and Web Designer – 2015-2017
  • Updated and re-established brand standards
  • Redesigned entirety of e-commerce website
  • Managed outsourced developers
  • Created printed and e-marketing materials
  • Scheduled e-marketing ad campaigns
  • Designed packaging
THE WHARTON SCHOOL (UPENN)
Art Director, Principal Graphic and Digital Designer – 2006-2015
  • Maintained and managed school’s brand standards
  • Led in strategic planning and conceptual design
  • Designed all initiatives for the dean’s office – all under the school’s brand
  • Collaborated and supported the back-end team in the development of websites
  • Oversaw design projects from inception to delivery
  • Managed vendors and suppliers
  • Cornell University, User Experience Design, Certificate of Completion
  • Deque University, Accessibility Fundamentals Disabilities Guidelines and Laws, among other accessibility certificates
  • Udemy, Agile Fundamentals, including Scrum, Kanban, and Scrumban – The BA Guide
  • AIGA, Communication Graphics Competition, showcased in GD USA magazine
  • i-D Magazine, Annual Design Review – Distinction Award in Graphics
  • Type Directors Club, design documented in Typography Magazine
  • AIGA, design featured in American Corporate Identity Magazine
  • Art Directors’ Club of Philadelphia, Annual Creative Awards
  • American Center for Design, Annual 100 Show
  • Graphic Design USA, American In-House Design Awards
  • University of Illinois, Tuition Waiver Awards, based on merit of design quality
  • UI / UX / Prototyping: Sketch, InVision, Adobe XD, Figma
  • Print / Photo / Web: Adobe CS Master Suite and Creative Cloud (XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver)
  • Team / Project Management: Jira, Confluence, Podio, Trello, Asana
  • Responsive Design: Mobile-First, HTML5, CSS3
  • Project Development: Agile and Scrum Methodologies
  • CMS Front End: WordPress, BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce; Other: Canva
Annual Report, Corporate Capabilities Literature, Direct Mail and Newsletter, Environment Graphics, Identity and Brand Management, Marketing Collateral, Packaging, Product POP Display, Product Catalog and Literature, Product Data Sheet and Manual
Mobile-First, Front-End eCommerce Web Design, Responsive Direct Marketing Design, Site Mapping and Wireframing, User Research and Usability Evaluation, UI / UX Human-Centered Design, Component Library

“Highly conceptual designer, who has a unique approach to design and branding that adds significant value to each project. His style is to go beyond the traditional design process and explore fresh ideas and solutions that will effectively differentiate the client from their competition. He is well-rounded in his skills and can steer a client project from concept to final implementation. He has expertly executed design and implementation of programs in the areas of packaging, identity, collateral, point-of-purchase, and interactive media, to fulfill the broad range of communications needs. His responsibilities included all facets of the design process, including research, concept development, coordination and art direction of photography and / or illustrations, comprehensive design goals, and pre-press preparation.”

Encompass Communications

“Ability to execute excellent design in an efficient, organized manner helped our company to be a profitable one. He always (has) strived to answer the design problem with the best possible solution and the client’s best interest in mind.” 

Marcolina Design