Jonathan Austin

PROFILE //

As a Senior Art Director, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a multitude of high profile brands over the last 15 years. A creative and detail-oriented approach has resulted in a high degree of client satisfaction. Efforts focused on forging innovative and dynamic design solutions in order to develop, grow and maintain brands. Involvement has included branding + identity design, UI/ UX development, email marketing, application design, illustration, information design, 3D development, environmental design, mood boards, print collateral, direct mail, scheduling and budgeting.

CREATIVE TOOLS //

SOFTWARE: Adobe: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, XD, Acrobat Pro, Lightroom, Bridge. Substance Painter/ Designer, Autodesk: 3Ds Max, 360 Fusion, Mud Box, Chaos: VRay, Pixologic: ZBrush, Luxion: Keyshot, Quixel: Mixer, Bridge, Marvelous Designer, Daz Studio, Unreal Engine 4x - 5x

EXPERIENCE//

FREELANCE Senior Art Director + Designer + Illustrator                                                                                                           December 2018 - Currently

CLIENTS: Reciprocity eSports Team (REC)

• Developed and maintained a complete identity system for Reciprocity. This included logos, color palettes, typography, and imagery for their online presence, as well as environmental design, presentations, apparel, business cards, and print collateral.

• Worked closely with Microsoft Studio to create in-game and downloadable skin designs for the “Lancer” - a weapon to represent the Reciprocity team in the “Gears of War 5” final championship. This item was featured during tournaments.

MILLENNIAL ESPORTS: Creative Lead                                                                                                                                               March 2012 – December 2018

CLIENTS: Microsoft, EA SPORTS, Clash of Clans, League of Legends, Activision, Gear Club Unlimited, PGL

• Developed and maintained a complete identity system for Reciprocity. This included logos, color palettes, typography, and imagery for their online presence, as well as environmental design, presentations, apparel, business cards, and print collateral. 

• Worked closely with Microsoft Studio to create in-game and downloadable skin designs for the “Lancer” - a weapon to represent the Reciprocity team in the “Gears of War 5” final championship. This item was featured during tournaments.

• Responsible for website and mobile app design (encompassing all aspects, including art direction and UI/UX design). Developed new digital experiences while evolving and strengthening the existing ones.

• Developed illustrations for all digital and print promotions using both 2D/ 3D approaches.

• Worked with the social media team to visualize content while maintaining a consistent branding of communication across all media channels.

• Designed infographics, data visualization, and developed illustrations for pitch presentations.

• Designed all digital and environmental assets for various eSports competitions and tournaments (Halo, EA SPORTS Madden 17-19, Call of Duty).

• Establish best practices and workflows for all digital projects.

VIRGIN GAMING: Senior Art Director + Creative Lead                                                                                                                               May 2010 – January 2012

CLIENTS: Virgin Gaming, EA SPORTS, Sony PlayStation, XBOX, Ubisoft, Codemasters

• Creative lead responsible for conceptualizing, translating briefs, mentoring, delegating work, hiring designers and freelancers, estimating and managing deadlines for all creative projects. 

• Developed and maintained Virgin Gaming’s visual identity, worked with all team members to create touch points for print, web, email and in-game assets. 

• Delivered concepts for third party vendors such as EA, EA Sports, Sony PlayStation, XBOX, Ubisoft that included: email, game inserts, micro sites, logos, magazine ads, trade show material, posters, invitations and animated banners. 

• Effectively prioritized projects according to capabilities and capacity, ensuring that highest quality design solutions were delivered on time and within budget. 

• Directly communicated with outside agencies, photographers and freelancers to ensure that all commissioned artwork met established brand standards.

FREELANCE: Senior Art Director                                                                                                                                                   December 2008 – May 2010

CLIENTS: Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), Four Seasons, Orange, Parasuco, Summerhill Markets, Bayer, Bell, RNAO, Royal Bank

• Designed, developed, illustrated and animated flash banners, web site interfaces and web components to create compelling online/ offline experiences. 

• Took charge of designing posters, logos, business cards, letterhead, colour schemes, folders, labels, brochures, book covers, CD and DVD covers, illustration and photo retouching. 

• Met with clients to assess their individual design needs. 

• Worked closely with developers to ensure that all designs translated from original concepts to final HTML.

DIGITAL CEMENT/ PITNEY BOWS MARKETING: Senior Art Director + Resource Manager                                                 February 2004 – March 2008

CLIENTS: Kraft US/ Canada, FedEx, Bell, General Mills, Danier, Dell, John Hancock and Toronto Public Library

• Creative lead responsible for delegating work, translating briefs, managing deadlines, production schedules, and liaison between departments. 

• Developed visual vocabularies for various brand identities, including typography, palette, and logo to support a concept and its functionality based upon project specifications and user needs. 

• Managed and supervised multi-disciplinary teams composed of programmers, flash developers, information architects and writers. 

• Provided creative direction to designers on various projects. 

• Provided hands-on knowledge for a variety of projects and programs. 

• Assisted Creative Director in developing departmental processes for online and offline. 

• Collaborated in the reinvention of Kraft’s Online Global Presence and email communications.

• Redefined FedEx’s email program and developed style guide.

FREELANCE: Art Director + Designer                                                                                                                                             February 2003 – March 2004 

CLIENTS: American Express, Labatt, John Wiley and Sons Publishing, Timothy’s Coffee, Tim Horton’s, LG Electronics, Dominion Institute

• Defined and led the creative vision for various clients. Accountable for developing design concepts, adhering to established budgets and schedules while rationalizing design solutions to internal teams and the client directly. 

• Designed logos, corporate IDs, stationery, flyers, invitation cards, post cards, posters, book covers, folders, labels, brochures, leaflets, and packaging for various companies and customers. 

• Interacted and worked closely with clients to ascertain their needs, requirements and preferences. 

MEDIUM ONE/ MOSAIC: Senior Art Director + Designer                                                                                                                 August 1998 – February 2003 

CLIENTS: Royal Bank, PBS, Canada Life, Butterfield and Robinson, Brighter Child, CIBC Amicus, Chapters Indigo, Bell Canada, Cinar, Microsoft, MSN, Alias l Wavefront (Autodesk), Nelvana, Sitraka, Nokia, Cantel/AT&T, Alliance Atlantis, Tetley, Daimler-Chrysler, Motorola, TD Canada Trust, Chorus Entertainment, Beer.com

• Designed various logos and helped create brand standard guidelines while working independently and with the Creative Director. Also crafted various materials including websites, intranets, and CD-ROMs. 

• Developed email communications, microsites, computer based training modules and print collateral, etc. 

• Helped to manage project time lines, creative briefs and ensure that objectives were met both internally and externally. 

• Worked closely with web developers and information architects to ensure that the design translated to the flow of the site. 

• Created various procedures and work flow documentation that helped streamline the department. 

• Creative lead for a multitude of campaigns that focused upon development, reinforcement and maintenance of brand identity and integrity.

FINE ARTS PROGRAM (B.F.A.) HONORS. YORK UNIVERSITY - 1993-1997/ North York, ON. Canada                                     Focus on in art history, modern + post modern /studio, painting and design. dual major in fine arts and psychology.

NEW MEDIA POST GRADUATE PROGRAM SHERIDAN COLLEGE - 1997-1998/ Oakville, ON. Canada                             Trained in web design, communication design, information design, typography, information architecture, multimedia development, video editing and composing, 3-D digital animation, project management.

WEB DESIGN PROGRAM TORONTO IMAGE WORKS - 2012/ Toronto, ON. Canada                                                         Developed skills in Dreamweaver, HTML 5, jQuery, Wordpress, Mobile Development, Flash CS5 Animation and Intro to Action Script 3.

CONTINUING EDUCATION ONLINE COURSES:                                                                                                                                      • 3D Motive: Intro to Quixel Megascans
• Travis Davids: Fusion 360 – Intermediate: Concept Design Pistol Tutorial
• Game Art Institute: Unreal Engine 4 (Quick Starter Series)
• Gumroad - Intro to ZBrush Part 1, 2, 3 by Michael Pavlovich
• Lynda - 3ds Max Essential Training
• Pluralsight - Marvelous Designer Fundamentals