Resume

Gary V. Harris
404.444.8042


Objective


Accomplished creative services professional with over 20 years experience creating solutions for business development, branding and identity, education and human resources communication. Deliver winning proposals, compelling design, on-time delivery, quality production management and strong client relationships for organizations demanding top-tier support for marketing, design, publishing and new business initiatives. Disciplined and flexible work habits; equally comfortable in commercial, non-profit and government organizational cultures.


Strengths


Graphic design
- Adept at translating client business needs into engaging design and complaint, winning proposals, taking creative projects from concept, through layout to fulfillment.


Client communication - Listen well to gain insight into client objectives. Proficient client relationship manager with excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills.

Project management - Skillful at balancing creative leadership with compliant proposals, budget, production and project management priorities.   

Coordination - Comfortable working under tight deadlines, on multiple projects, and in fast-paced environments with complex work flows.

Flexibility - Equally at ease working independently and in team settings. Comfortable in commercial, non-profit and government organizational cultures.


Experience


Freelance Graphic Designer
1995 - present

Offer comprehensive graphic design services for a diverse client base that includes commercial, not-for-profit educational entities, and government agencies. Provide expertise in marketing, branding and identity, publication design and project and production management. Design advertising, posters and display materials for conferences and meetings, as well as publications, training and promotional materials to meet an array of commercial, educational and technical objectives. Project manage all engagements. Specify and bid outsourced print and production jobs, and establish and track schedules.


Director of Creative Services            

Verity Associates, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia                    
March 2006 - July 2009

For this human resources and communication consultancy, provide creative direction to a broad array of internal and external marketing products, including posters, published and online newsletters, summary plan descriptions (SPD), brochures, and employee handbooks. Contribute to all business development activities by designing internal marketing collateral, proposals, advertising and presentations. Project manage all outside printing, including specifying jobs, collecting competing bids, tracking schedules and conducting press checks, in addition to outsourced translation services.

Simultaneous projects - Under multiple hard deadlines, created from concept through layout to delivery a suite of newsletters, posters, and handbooks to support large open enrollment campaigns for a national non-profit organization and three Fortune 500 clients. In each case, multiple products targeting different audiences and with different messaging were created and delivered on time and within budget.

Complex publications - Designed and project managed the publication of a series of lengthy, complex and compliant plan description publications for a national non-profit organization and a large oil services corporation. Reconciled and consolidated complex editorial input from ERISA attorneys and benefits specialists while staying within tight budgets and meeting strict delivery deadlines.

Winning business - Assumed leadership role to design and deliver design mock-ups for a major new business initiative. These proof-of-concept pieces enabled the client to interact with my design and better visualize its merits. Presented and successfully sold the concept to client, winning the national contract.

Brand identity - Created a logo and brand identity package for a multinational pharmaceutical firm. Researched company culture to create engaging, resonating concepts. Successfully presented concepts to client senior management to achieve buy-in.

Greater visibility - Refreshed company identity and applied new brand elements to marketing collateral. Rebranding, fresh collateral, and several direct mail campaigns significantly improved firm's visibility.


Graphic Designer/Media Specialist            
PTG Organizational Solutions, Atlanta, GA and Oak Ridge, TN                
January 2005-March 2006

Contract assignment at Oak Ridge Associated Universities Office of Business Development. Reporting directly to Vice President, assumed all design and publishing responsibilities for proposals, presentations, white papers, and marketing collateral. Successfully supported numerous multi-million dollar proposals through multiple iterations and under tight deadlines, while reconciling and consolidating complex editorial input from large proposal and technical teams.

• Project lead and sole provider of all creative services from design through layout to publication.

• Improved responsiveness of new business activities, promoted a more entrepreneurial culture.



Graphic Designer & Technical Writer                       
Instructional Design Systems, Atlanta, Georgia
October - December 2004

Contributed publication design and visual treatments for training materials. Researched, wrote, and edited training content on immunology and vaccinology. Peer reviewed and edited additional content and identified reference sources. Rapidly adapted to tight scheduling requirements and quickly familiarized myself with highly technical subject matter. Provided all graphic design, layout, and publishing expertise.
 

Media Specialist/Graphic Artist                           
Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN
October 1988 - January 1995

Creative lead on all graphic design and publishing activities within the Training and Management Systems Division. Managed all division design activities and tracked schedules. Created visual content and design for instructional materials, job aids, presentations and publications. Selected and managed vendors. Completed numerous projects for the Departments of Energy and Defense, National Library of Medicine, Environmental Protection Agency and Veterans Benefits Administration.


Technology

Platforms: Mac and Windows OS
Software: Adobe Creative Suite: Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign; Aperture 2, Quark XPress; MS Office suite: PowerPoint, Word and Excel; Acrobat Professional, Google Analytics, and multiple FTP clients.
Hardware: Skilled in use of wide variety of cameras, scanners, and printers. Fluent in FTP file transfer.


Education

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
Undergraduate studies in Fine Arts, Graphic Design and Speech Communication
Pellissippi State Technical College, Knoxville, Tennessee
Additional course work in graphic design and marketing


References

Available Upon Request