Resume18 February,2014dcontegni@gmail.com

OBJECTIVE

Seeking Full Time permanent position in a Medium Level Leadership Role in connection to a Creative Services/Art Department or Senior Packaging Designer role. A opportunity to work in a new and exciting industry/company with growth potential, where they can utilize my skill set and I can continue to gain valuable experience. Somewhere they value their product & services as well as their employees. A company that acknowledge’s the good & hard work ethic of it’s employees and realizes how it play’s a huge role in the company’s growth and overall success. Good work should be rewarded on all levels, not the selected few!!

KINDLY NOTE: Though I have Sales experience I am not looking for a Sales position, please do not contact me if you are trying to fill a Sales job. Thank you very much, Debbie.

CREATIVE TEAM COORDINATOR • SENIOR PACKAGING DESIGNER

Creative Strategy and Direction | Project Management | Banner Designing | Digital Printing | Book Design & Layout

Licensed Branding | Marketing | Product Packaging | Production

QUALIFICATIONS PROFILE

Innovative, results-driven, and creative professional, offering comprehensive experience in the media design industry, with specialization in branding, layout creation, packaging, and print production. Equipped with the ability to design and produce compelling marketing materials that ensure company profitability. Knowledgeable of on-site photo direction, corporate identity, logo and branding solutions; combined with competency in working under pressure, in close coordination with highly efficient teams. Armed with out-of-the-box techniques in acquiring new marketing strategies in alignment with industry trends. Proficient in using technology and digital printers.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

RUBIES II, LLC. | Westbury, NY

Creative Team Coordinator                                                                                                     Dec 2022–Present

  • Daily communication between factories, oversea offices, company locations & management on artwork released on FTP & any production/shipping issues.
  • Track all licensor packaging artwork submissions and approvals to Branding Team.
  • Delegating tasks & workflow to internal Production/Packaging Design team members.
  • Oversee and monitor imagery & retouching required for packaging department.
  • Digital Asset Management of image library for internal PLM system & Sales/PD deck usage.

Senior Packaging Designer                                                                                      July 2007–December 2022

  • Design marketing materials to support Sales Team including banners, post cards, store signs, and tradeshow sale sheets.
  • Set strategic direction in designing packages which include inserts, headers, blister cards, and hangtags, as well as making the layout for merchandise catalog pages.
  • Produce 3D mockups of packaging for Licensor & Buyer presentations and/or approvals.
  • Render effectual support in producing mockups for presentations and contractual samples, as necessary.
  • Coach new and entry-level graphic designers on design & departmental processes.

Key Highlights:

  • Industry expertise in formulating customized Private Label artwork and packaging for prominent retailers including Wal-mart, Target, Amazon, Spencer Gifts and more as well as  posting them in file transfer protocol (FTP) for customer and vendor pickup.
  • Executes design solutions with consistency & detail in accordance with Brand Guidelines.
  • Drove efforts in directing the marketing production of collateral and packaging for various licensed brands including Minions, Strawberry Shortcake, The Hobbit, Hello Kitty and Wizard of Oz.
  • Played a vital part in acquiring and launching product catalog pages and covers for three volumes, with a total of over 2,000 pages, for distribution to overseas printers through FTP.

Franco American Novelty Company LLC | Glendale, NY

Assistant to Vice President/Assistant Art Director /Graphic Artist                             May 2004–Oct 2006

  • Employed skills in producing flyers to promote upcoming company trade shows as well as to market special-priced items to boost number of sales.
  • Took charge of monitoring and shipping artwork to overseas vendors as well as high-resolution digital scans; collaborated with the costume designer in formulating tech packs to send them to overseas vendors.
  • Forwarded sample artworks to various printers for magazine and editorial prints.
  • Rendered expertise in filling out clients’ image requests for website or print formats.
  • Assisted the art director in preparing materials and setting up photoshoot.

Key Highlights:

  • Produced invitation designs for special events sponsored by the company.
  • Conceptualized innovative layout designs for merchandise catalog and packaging.
  • Made significant contribution to the production of advertisements for fundraisers, benefits, and charity events.

Earlier Position Held:

Liz Claiborne, Inc. | New York, NY

Freelance Graphic Artist

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Computer Graphics

New York Institute of Technology-Old Westbury, NY

GPA 3.44 | Graduated cum laude | Presidential Honor List | Dean’s List

RECOGNITION

Artwork was displayed at NYIT Midge Karr Fine Arts Center’s Digital Art Exhibit HAPTIC, 2001

TECHINCAL ACUMEN

Adobe Applications: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Bridge, and Acrobat Pro
Microsoft Applications: Word, Excel, and Entourage
Software: QuarkXpress, FTP Software, Font Management Software, Barcode Producer, Digital Photo Downloads,
Methodologies: Network Scanning
Operating System: Macintosh
Xerox Versant 180 & Versant 3100 Digital Color Press: •One on One Xerox training for setup, software, machine function, job related
tasks & operations, and on premise maintenance.

•Management of inventory & make certain the availability of toner, paper and
other materials as necessary.

•Responsible for the installation of printer drivers on 35+ workstations.

•Proficient knowledge in the configuration of printing machineries.

•Undertook customer replaceable & serviceable repairs to reduce Xerox machine downtime.

•Responsible to operate the digital press & setup the printing job according to company needs.
Graphic Whizard PT335A Plus Multi: Creasing & Impact Scoring System (used to Crease & Perforate paper stock for mockups, etc.)
Graphic Whizard FL520: Hydraulic Paper Cutter (used to Cut large stacks of paper more efficiently)
Sterling Digitbinder Plus: Perfect Binding Machine (used to Create Perfect Bound Books/Catalogs)

REFERENCES

Available Upon Request