Art Direction

As a hardworking and motivated Art Director with 16 years of professional design experience, 12 of which in leadership, I shine at multi-tasking and lead by example. From 2019 to 2021, I managed a team of 3 graphic designers at CGI Digital who focused on brand identity creation for small to medium sized businesses across the country. In the fall of 2021, I moved departments to build out and then lead the team of 10 web designers creating cutting edge, custom websites on WordPress. I am passionate about fostering a positive, creative environment that promotes teamwork and produces stellar design solutions.

See how I resolved problems…

graphic of 10 and an icon for people, representing the team of 10 web designers Vanessa Vair lead at CGI Digital

PROBLEM:

Pre-Aug 2021 – Understaffed team, including former manager, who left because they all felt overworked

RESOLVED:

Aug – Dec 2021 – Of the 10 web designers on the team, I interviewed and hired 8 and transitioned 9th teammate from another department. Supervised training and mentoring.

SUSTAINED:

Team members felt expectations were attainable, process was improved. No one quit out of frustration as was happening before I lead the team.

graphic of 150 and an icon of stacked paper, representing the large queue of 150 websites Vanessa Vair oversaw the completion at CGI Digital

PROBLEM:

Oct 2021 – queue of 150+ websites needing to be designed

RESOLVED:

Feb 2022 – queue brought to zero under my direction. I hired and built out a team of 10 in-house designers. I vetted, hired, and managed 5+ Freelance designers. Managed production schedule, set expectations for each individual, assessed / oversaw assessment of websites designed.

SUSTAINED:

Aug 2022 – queue kept at zero for 6 consecutive months

graphic of 4 and an icon for goal projecting, representing the establishment of goals for the web design team Vanessa Vair lead at CGI Digital

PROBLEM:

Web teams were lacking goals and direction, only being reactionary with their approach to work

RESOLVED:

  • In late 2021 and early 2022, I worked individually with the web designers to create S.M.A.R.T. goals for themselves
  • I established goals for the web design team and for the web team as a whole unit
  • I wrote the Web Team Vision statement
  • Improved account executives / sales teammates perception of web team to increase sales
graphic of 5 and an icon of a person climbing upward, representing the production process Vanessa Vair improved at CGI Digital

PROBLEM:

The web designers had a poor production process

RESOLVED:

  • The web designers didn’t have clearly defined High Payoff Activities (HPAs) until I instilled them into a prioritized list. 
  • The web designers haphazardly sent proofs to each other for feedback until I established a structure and a timeline for peer feedback. 
  • Internal Proofing Phase – worked with Vice Presidents of Account Executive Department to enlist the right team mates to be included to ensure efficient reviews were being done
  • Added Design Areas of Focus to Web Designers’ HPAs, teaching them how to provide constructive feedback to one another
  • Created a consistent design feedback checklist for the members of all the web teams to use in a Google Doc, allowing simultaneous inter-team collaboration
See Web Design
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