Overview
Award-winning strategic thinker with a passion for leading and inspiring creative teams and developing amazing brand experiences for print, digital, web, and social media.
- BFA – Advertising. Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
- Develop big, cut through ideas that get results
- Demonstrated experience leading, inspiring, and mentoring creative teams
- Proven ability to create and direct high-quality campaign creative for print, video, digital, TV, out-of-home, brand marketing, social media, and retail
- Thoroughly experienced in creating social media marketing campaigns
- Write concise creative strategies based on research, market awareness, and key insights
- Ability to clearly translate brand objectives to peers, senior management, and clients
- Elevate the creative output while ensuring all marketing assets meet a high level of creativity, innovation and brand association
- Strong writing skills for print, TV, radio, and digital campaigns
- Exceptional communication and presentation skills at all levels of internal and client organizations
- Guardian of brand guidelines including identity, style, tone, etc. and oversee them to completion
- Expert knowledge Adobe Creative Suite; Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
- Advanced WordPress experience: Theme design, eCommmerce, coding (HTML, CSS, PHP), plugins, security, and managing sites
Experience
Freelance Art Director / Designer
Kristof Creative, Inc., Nashville, TN • Nov. 2001 – PRESENT
- B2B and B2C Clients included; Banking & Financial Institutions, Education, Entertainment and Film, Food & Beverage, Global Research & Advocacy, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Public Relations, Sports, Travel & Leisure
- Client and project management
- Manage remote creative teams
- Graphic Design, Branding, Social Media, Video, and Web Development projects. If you can name it,
I’ve probably designed it - Led creative team in designing beverage packaging design that increased sales 300%
- Created a Twitter search engine that helped identify a drive-by shooter – leading to their arrest
- Designed, developed, and produced; 159 magazine and newspaper print ads, 64 Brand Identities, 62 Websites, 19 Brochures, 17 Posters, 14 Flyers, 16 Packaging Designs, 12 Radio Commercials, 10 Annual Reports, 10 PowerPoint Presentations, 10 Outdoor Campaigns, 8 Presentation folders, 8 Email Newsletters, 5 Infographics, 5 Trade-show booths, 3 Book Covers, 2 Landing Pages, and 2 Long-form Video Scripts — and a Partridge in a pear tree 😉
Graphic Design Coordinator / Creative Director / Instructor
Nossi College of Art, Nashville, TN • Sep. 2016 – Feb. 2020
- Managed Bachelor degree programs for Graphic Design and Web & Interactive with 18 Adjunct instructors
- Rewrote creative courses and created new courses resulting in updating requirements to meet current industry skills and standards
- Introduced Design Thinking and UI/UX processes into courses as a foundation for creative development
- Created a simulated internal ad agency staffed with graphic design, illustration, and photography students to create marketing materials for a local non-profit. A comprehensive campaign with over 200 assets was created and resulted in; $18,000 in donations, 40% more programs taught, and reached 95.87% more students.
- Successfully led, developed, designed, and launched new brand campaign for the college consisting of print, outdoor, digital, video, social media, collateral, and experiential
- Taught all levels of advertising, branding, graphic design, typography, social media, and marketing courses
“Mr. Kristof is a true professional. He took over the Graphic Design Department at Nossi College three years ago and instituted many changes to advance the quality of the program. On top of managing the department, teaching courses and revising syllabi, Mr. Kristof acted as the in-house Creative Director for the college Marketing Department. During his tenure at Nossi, he created a unique brand identity and brand position for the college, tapping into the essence of why a creative chooses an art college for their education. I’ve worked with many designers over the last 25 years. Mr. Kristof taught me how important communication THROUGH design really is.“
— Cyrus Vatandoost, Executive Vice President, Nossi College of Art
Associate Creative Director
Arnold Worldwide, McLean, VA • Apr. 2001 – Nov. 2001
- Accounts; Mobil Oil, Mobile On-the-Run, STIHL, PNC Bank, McDonalds, and Citizens Bank
- Effie Award – Co-managed creative team in developing a bank acquisition/name change campaign for a regional bank resulting in an increase in deposits and virtually no loss of customers (versus 10% attrition considered average in a bank merger)
Associate Creative Director
AdMine.com, Herndon, VA • Apr. 2000 – Dec. 2000
- Managed team of 10 creative’s and daily operation of production department
- Concept, art direction, and copywriting of 52 campaigns in 8 months for print, television, outdoor, and radio
Art Director > Senior Art Director
The Ramey Agency, Jackson, MS • Jun. 1995 – Oct. 1998
- Accounts; American Diabetes Association, Mississippi Department of Economic and Community Development, Mississippi Division of Tourism, PROMUS Hotel Corporation, Southern Audio Systems, St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital, Taste of the Nation, Union Planters Bank, and USA Pawn
- Created TV commercial that increased tourism inquires 17% and won an International marketing award
- Created an economic development campaign that netted the state a 23% increase in jobs created by new businesses and a 15% increase in new business startups, at a time when new business creation experienced a seven percent drop-off nationally
- Created financial print ad which brought in $1.5 million and opened 172 new accounts
- Awarded Fortune magazine “Best Read Ad” — year-end, double-issue investment guide
Computer and Technology Skills
Audio & Video
Adobe Clip
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Rush
Adobe Spark
FinalCut
Handbrake
iMovie
ScreenFlow
Sonicfire Pro 6
VLC
Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Dimension
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe XD
Collaboration
Basecamp
Evernote
Microsoft Teams
Monday
Slack
Workfront
Zoom
Design Apps
Affinity Designer
Affinity Photo
Affinity Publisher
Apple Keynote
Apple Numbers
Apple Pages
Canva
ON1 Photo Raw
Microsoft
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
Social Media
SnapChat
TikTok
YouTube
Vimeo
Web Design / Coding
Adobe XD
Coda
HTML, CSS, and PHP
Transmit
Web Development
UI/UX
Landing Page Design
Mobile Applications
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Website Architecture
WordPress Theme Design
WordPress Plugin Development
Client Experience (Short List)
Advil
American Cancer Society
American Diabetes Association
American Home Foods
Arthritis Foundation
AT&T
Chef Boyardee
Citizens Bank
Colgate
Discovery Channel
Exxon-Mobil
Holiday Inn
Houston Power & Lighting
International Budget Partnership
Irish Spring
Johnson and Johnson
Louisville Slugger
McDonalds
MCI
New York Telephone
March of Dimes
MetLife
Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry/National Agriculture Aviation Museum
Mississippi Department of Economic & Community Development
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Mississippi Power
On-the-Run Convenience Stores
PAM Cooking Spray
PNC Bank
PROMUS Hotel Corporation
Sara Lee Branded Apparel
St. Dominic/Jackson Memorial Hospital
STIHL
Taste of the Nation
Trustmark National Bank
Union Planters Bank
United States Army
United States Cruise Lines
United States Mint
United States Postal Service
Vanderbilt Medical Center
Industry Experience
Accounting
Affiliate
Agriculture
Aircraft
Apparel
Associations & Societies
Audio & Video
Automotive
Aviation
Banking / Mortgage
Beauty
Beverage
Business Services
Chemical
Communications
Computers
Confectionery Snacks
Construction
Consulting
Consumer Packaged Goods
Cosmetics
Dentistry
Design
Education
Electrical
Employment Services
Energy
Engineering
Entertainment
Environmental
Facilities Management
Finance
Flooring
Food Service
Footwear
Garden Equipment
Government
Health & Fitness
Health Care
Heating & Air Conditioning (HVAC)
Higher Education
Home Furnishings
Home Improvement
Hospitality
Information Technology
Interior Decorating
Internet products & Services
Janitorial
Landscaping
Legal Services
Logistics & Shipping
Manufacturing
Marketing
Medical
Museums
Music
Newspaper
Not for Profit
Packaged Goods
Performing Arts
Pet Care (Supplies)
Pharmaceutical
Plumbing
Production Services
Public Relations
Public Service
Publishing
Radio
Real Estate
Religious
Restaurants
Retail (E-commerce)
Safety (& Security)
Sales
Software
Sports
Technology
Telecommunications
Toys
Transportation
Travel & Tourism
Utilities
Venture Capital
Wine & Spirits
Education
BFA, Advertising
Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
AA Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement
Palomar College, San Marcos, CA
AA Liberal Arts
Palomar College, San Marcos, CA
Police Reserve Academy Graduate
Palomar College, San Marcos, CA
Effectiveness
Effie Award – Co-managed creative team in developing a bank acquisition/name change campaign for a regional bank resulting in an increase in deposits and virtually no loss of customers (versus 10% attrition considered average in a bank merger)
Led creative team in designing beverage packaging design that increased sales 300%
Created TV commercial that increased tourism inquires 17% and won an International marketing award
Created economic development campaign that netted the state a 23% increase in jobs created by new businesses and a 15% increase in new business startups, at a time when new business creation experienced a seven percent drop-off nationally.
Created financial print ad which brought in over $1.5 million in CD money and opened 172 new bank accounts.
Redesigned affiliate website resulting in a 4% increase in sales.
Created a search engine application for Twitter that helped identify a drive-by shooter – leading to their arrest.
Achievements
Creative Honors
- London International Advertising Awards
- New York Festivals
- Creativity Annual
- Communication Arts Design Annual
- Collegiate Advertising Awards – Awarded 1 of only 7 Gold awards amongst all colleges in the nation.
- Numerous local & regional ADDY’s
Personal Achievements
- Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America
- Jay Chiat and Lee Clow endowed scholarships based on creative portfolio
- 2nd Degree Black Belt, American Wado Karate-do Black Belt Association
Personal Interests


