Freelance Art Director / Designer

Kristof Creative, Inc., Nashville, TN • Nov. 2001 – PRESENT

• Managed creative team in designing beverage packaging design creative that increased sales 846%
• Developed advanced Twitter search engine application for consumer research that helped identify a drive-by shooter – leading to their arrest
• Redesigned affiliate website resulting in a 4% increase in sales
• Raised client website rankings from near obscurity to page 9 in Google SERPs
• Development and management of projects consisting of over /b>10,000 assets
• Manage creative teams of Art Directors, Graphic Designers, Illustrators, Copy Writers, Web/Mobile developers, 3D Designers, Video Editors, and Social Media contractors
• Create marketing and campaign strategies for print, digital, social media, SEO, and Internet marketing campaigns
• Mobile application design and WordPress design and development
• Teach creative problem solving workshops

Projects include; Annual reports, Book Covers, Branding, Brochure design, Email Newsletters, Flyers, Infographics, Landing Page design, Logo design, Long-form video scripts, Magazine and newspaper advertising, Outdoor campaigns, Packaging designs, Posters, PowerPoint Presentations, Presentation folders, Radio commercials, Trade-show booths, and Website development.

B2B and B2C Clients included; Banking & Financial Institutions, Education, Entertainment and Film, Food & Beverage, Global Research & Advocacy, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Public Relations, Sports, Travel & Leisure

Freelance Senior Art Director

Intouch Solutions • Dec. 2021 – Jan. 2022

• Print campaign development and using my UI/UX skills in Adobe XD to design and create website and mobile designs for a Pharmaceutical client. Fluent understanding and experience using Microsoft team

Graphic Design Coordinator / Creative Director / Instructor

Nossi College of Art, Nashville, TN • Sep. 2016 – Feb. 2020

• Discovered financial discrepancy that saved $27,000 a year in marketing expenses
• Directed creative team in creating a comprehensive advertising campaign for a local educational non-profit that resulted in $18,000 in donations, 40% more programs taught, and reached 95.87% more students
• Created Internet ad campaign resulting in a 7.4% click-through rate
• Managed Bachelor degree programs for Graphic Design and Web & Interactive
• Recruited and managed 18 Adjunct instructors
• Managed creative team, interns, and external vendors
• Taught all levels of advertising, branding, graphic design, typography, social media, and marketing courses
• Rewrote curriculum to include cross-discipline projects to prepare students to manage real-world projects
• Rewrote 10 courses resulting in updating requirements to meet current industry skills and standards
• Discovered gaps in program curriculum and created three new courses to fill them
• Introduced Design Thinking and UI/UX processes into courses as a foundation for creative development
• Created video tutorials for teaching Instructors how to use Moodle LMS (Learning Management System)
• Successfully led, developed, designed, and launched new brand campaign for the college consisting of print, outdoor, digital, video, social media, collateral, and experiential

“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

• 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)
• Managed creative team consisting of four Art Directors and one Copywriter

Accounts; Mobil Oil, Mobile On-the-Run, STIHL, PNC Bank, McDonalds, and Citizens Bank

Associate Creative Director

AdMine.com, Herndon, VA • Apr. 2000 – Dec. 2000

• Concept, art direction, and copywriting of 52 campaigns in 8 months for print, television, outdoor, and radio
• Managed and directed team of 10 creatives and daily operation of production department
• Concept, designed, and executed online requests for creative including the development and writing of creative work plans
• Created and initiated advertising sales program to generate online sales and promotion of business services
• Developed and implemented internal process for managing creative advertising submissions
• Created and managed online production tips and procedures for the submission of creative content
• Developed internal production network of file structure and organization to streamline and increase efficiency
• Managed daily operation of production department
• Worked directly with Mark Ein, CEO of Venturehouse Group (venture capital firm who funded Admine.com)

Art Director > Senior Art Director

The Ramey Agency, Jackson, MS • Jun. 1995 – Oct. 1998

• Created and art directed print advertising and TV commercial campaigns for clients in the Tourism, Banking, Financial, Car Audio, Healthcare, and Travel industries
• 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
• Won four “Best of Class” and one “Superior” award — Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC) annual conference
• Won a “Platinum Award” from the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association. The 30-second TV ad competed against more than 1,650 entries from 55 countries
• Managed creative team consisting of junior designers, art directors, and production artists

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.

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.

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

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

Computer and Technology Skills

Client Experience (Short List)

Industry Experience

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