SERA BURKE
art director / sr. graphic designer / creative problem solver
seraburkedesignwork.com
Experienced in marketing, advertising and award-winning brand design, I look at the big picture. With a strong visual eye, keen attention to detail and the diligence to manage projects under tight deadlines, I work efficiently solo and as part of a team to produce creative, effective design solutions that help form strong brands. In working directly with clients, creatives, developers and printers to accomplish a unified vision, the communication process is key. I will tackle the next challenge with enthusiasm and a dedication to beautiful design.
WORK HISTORY
HIGHLIGHTS
PACIFIC COMMUNICATIONS Irvine, CA healthcare branding and advertising 2014-Present Art direction of brand, marketing, advertising and logo design...
art director working in-house with the account team and creative dept. to concept campaigns and establish brand standards for various healthcare brands, resulting in market share growth.
PERFECTHOLIDAY BRAND DESIGN Santa Ana, CA brand creation and design studio 2010-2013 Brand and advertising design for various clients including Imperial Barber Products, Tortoise & Blonde Eyewear, PacSun, Diego’s Downtown Santa Ana, Andrew Southam Photography, Brian Konoske Photography, Chris McPherson Photography, Dan Monick Photography, DSReps, The Clik Group.
senior graphic designer junior art director on a team that won 2 Comm. Arts Annual awards. Built the Imperial Barber Products brand to see a customer growth rate of over 8,000% in 18 mo. Designed Tortoise & Blonde logo and produced photo shoots for brand launch. Re-branded Andrew Southam to see a marked increase in new work. Directed designers and developers. Worked directly with clients and vendors.
OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL U.S. & Canada microfinance non-profit organization 2009-2014 Donor, marketing and event communications including mailers, quarterly reports, event programs, signage, newsletters, white papers, brochures, holiday cards, print ads, e-blasts, banner ads, landing pages, infographics, brand directives...
freelance graphic designer worked remotely with the marketing and online communication teams to build out and maintain brand standards. Designed gift cards and gift card packaging which exceeded a sales goal of 10,000 by over 2,000qty. Designed all event collateral for the 2012 national conference in San Francisco.
ST. JOHN KNITS Irvine, CA luxury fashion brand 2006-2009 Design and production from initial concept to delivery: lookbooks, mailers, postcards (for boutiques, Nordstrom, Saks, Neiman Marcus, Harrod’s and Bloomingdale’s), high-end magazine and newspaper ads, e-blasts, billboards, barricades, in-store signage, event signage, event invitations, fashion show collateral, store directives and Sales and HR materials. Helped with package design, product photography and to design store windows and in-store displays.
graphic designer worked within the marketing/advertising dept. to build and maintain brand standards. Formulated job specs, obtained quotes, wrote retouching notes, worked on-press and ensured all jobs came in under budget. Spearheaded the SoCa St. John brand campaign launch which included brand concepting, photo editing, establishing brand standards, and producing all print and signage materials. Worked closely with the art director to design current St. John and St. John Caviar logos.
DMC ADVERTISING Lake Forest, CA advertising agency 2005-2006 Concepting, design and production of marketing and advertising collateral for high-end shopping centers and healthcare companies, including magazine and newspaper ads, catalogs, mailers, store directories, coupons, gift cards, business cards and websites...
graphic designer worked closely with the creative director to conceptualize campaigns. Produced proposal presentations for potential clients. Photographed giftwith-purchase items, produced brand standards directives, and assisted on photo shoots. Impressed Forest City client with concept and design of beautiful store barricades.
PENINSULA PUBLISHING Newport Beach, CA homebuilding magazine publisher 2005 Magazine design and layout for three monthly publications.
graphic designer consistently delivered feature spreads with exemplary typesetting ahead of deadline. Included photo editing, product ad design, and magazine layout.
WALTER FOSTER PUBLISHING Irvine, CA art instruction book publisher 2004 Books-plus concepting, layout, pre-press, dieline and mock-up production...
assistant to the art director researched, recommended and worked with contract illustrators on children’s, tween and adult books. Followed Disney’s brand guidelines to design and mock-up Dora the Explorer products. 1-of-2
SERA BURKE
art director / sr. graphic designer / creative problem solver
seraburkedesignwork.com
SERABURKEDESIGNWORK CLIENTS World Bicycle Relief
The University of Chicago Medicine and Comer Children’s Hospital
Botox® and SkinMedica® for Allergan LeTarte Swimwear
Ripcord Networks
Lakeshore® Learning Hope By The Sea
Carroll & Co.
SERI® Surgical Scaffold, Latisse®,
DayNa Decker
Women’s Funding Network
Beach Bunny® Swimwear
National Express Corporation...
TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS
EXPERTISE + SPECIALTIES
Expert proficiency in operating Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat Professional, Keynote...
Building and maintaining brand design consistency
Considerable experience on press checks with large and small print vendors Knowledge of speciality papers, finishes and printing techniques Pre-press production Designing for web and web graphic optimization Developing storyboards for Interactive developers HTML editing
Creative problem solving
Experience directing photo shoots and creating custom die-lines for print and packaging. I also enjoy editing copy.
Taking charge + Figuring it out
EDUCATION
WINNER IN EVERY COMPETITION ENTERED
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY Orange, CA B.F.A in Graphic Design 2001-2005 Provost’s List, Dean’s List
Communication Arts 2013 Typography Annual Winner, Packaging Design
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS Valencia, CA CSSSA 1999, 2000 Studied photography, painting and drawing HOW Design Live Conference Attendee
Concept generation
Project management Typesetting and layout Print advertising and collateral design Photo editing
Executing timelines within tight deadlines
Communication Arts 2012 Design Annual Winner, Promotional Design Hollywood Reporter Key Art Award for poster design Purcell Award for Graphic Design BookBuilders West Scholarship Award for book design Chapman University Art Department Juror Award, 1st place, Graphic Design (2004 and 2005)
“Sera Burke was, by far, the most passionate and hard-working employee I have ever had the pleasure to work with and manage. Sera not only provided fresh and innovative designs on a regular basis, she went above and beyond to ensure the final product was exceptional. Her imaginative way of thinking and eagerness in collaborating was a reliable asset when working on larger projects. Sera proved herself to be not only an outstanding graphic artist, but also a detail-oriented project manager... She is resourceful, self-motivated, trustworthy an extremely responsible. Sera’s integrity and dynamic design skills are invaluable to any company and I highly recommend her in full confidence of her abilities.” - Spencer Spaulding, Branding & Advertising Director, St. John Knits
714 307 7507
seraburkedesignwork@gmail.com
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