An award-winning graphic designer with extensive experience in print publication, art direction, and project management. Over fifteen years' experience in the adult and children's trade book markets, with a thorough knowledge of book production, printing, and manufacturing processes. Editorial design and book interiors are my primary focus, although I also design jackets/covers, magazines, newsletters and marketing materials. With excellent typographic, layout, and image-editing skills as well as a strong editorial sensibility, I can provide a thoughtful analysis of a project's design needs, concept development, and art direction, and manage the process to final printer-ready files.

Proficiency in using MacOSX platform and the following software: Adobe CS5 (InDesign/Photoshop/Illustrator), QuarkXpress, Acrobat, Word; working knowledge of Dreamweaver

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

GRAPHIC DESIGNER/ART DIRECTOR, Freelance
Lydia D'moch Design
(San Diego, CA, 2009-Present)
Design of print publications—book interiors/jackets, magazines and newsletters, as well as marketing materials. Expertise in editorial design, layout, copywriting and editing, art direction, electronic composition, photo editing and image manipulation, illustration and photography, as well as consultation to self-publishers. 

SENIOR DESIGNER
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company (formerly Harcourt Trade Publishers)  
(San Diego, CA, 1989-2008):
Designed book interiors and jackets of approximately 50 trade titles per year, from manuscript to bound book, as well as catalogs and promotional materials. Extensive experience with print production processes, including preparation of photos and files, PDFs, proofing and press checks.
• Managed a sizable workload of diverse book genres and imprints with demonstrated skill at planning, organizing, and prioritizing to meet tight deadlines within budget and schedule parameters. 
• Fostered and maintained supportive, collaborative teamwork with clients and colleagues to realize a collective vision. 
• Created comps, layouts, ample pages and dummies indicating hierarchy of image and text components, and generated expert type specs, electronic composition and pagination, and final printer-ready files.
• Art directed and managed extensive image-driven projects, including photo editing, scanning, image manipulation and maintaining photo archives and files. 
• Directed assignments to freelance designers, illustrators and photographers, and worked with printers and other vendors, monitoring schedules and project status.
• Created prototypes and mock-ups for spinoff items and repackaging, and brainstormed ideas for developing new novelty products based on backlist to increase revenue.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER
The Hunger Project (San Francisco, CA, 1987-1989)
Designed newsletters, direct mail, brochures, and other collateral materials for a non-profit organization

GRAPHIC DESIGNER, Freelance  
(San Francisco, CA)
Magazine, book, advertising, marketing design and project art management for publishing, advertising and travel industry clients.

BOOK DESIGNER
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich School Publishers  (San Francisco, CA)
Designed interiors and covers for literature, history, and social studies textbooks. Developed visual concepts and art directed illustrators and photographers in executing ideas. Created sample pages, layouts, and comps, and monitored all stages of production from manuscript to bound book.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

• Numerous Excellence in Design Awards from the annual AIGA Fifty Best Books, Bookbuilders West, and New York Book Shows.
• Designed the American Library Association's 1995 Caldecott Medal winner, Smoky Night (awarded for most distinguished picture book illustration.)

SKILLS
Excellent knowledge of print production processes, preparation of digital photos and files, scanning, image correction, proofing, press checks, and working in a pdf/ftp environment • Proficiency in CS5 InDesign/Photoshop/Illustrator, Acrobat, Quark, and Microsoft Word on the Mac OSX platform; working knowledge of Dreamweaver • Superior creative problem-solving skills, strong composition, layout and image-editing skills, typographic versatility, and an understanding and awareness of current design trends and branding • Strong editorial skills and experience writing/editing articles for print and online web content


EDUCATION

B. A., Scripps College, Claremont, CA
Internship with creative department of Young and Rubicam Advertising, Los Angeles, CA

COMMUNITY SERVICE

MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS (current VICE-PRESIDENT) at Friends of Cats, a non-profit, no-kill shelter (El Cajon, CA, 2003-present)
• Determine, authorize, and implement governance issues relating to employee and feline health and welfare, estate bequests, planning, membership, fundraising and volunteer activities. 
• Write and edit feature stories, photograph events, design, typeset and manage production of the shelter's quarterly newsletter.
• Write and design direct mail fundraising materials.
• Oversaw the creative process for website redesign, art directed web designer and wrote online content to increase clarity of message and user-friendliness of site.
• Completed the National Fundraising School, professional development training sponsored by the American Humane Association, and participated in other grantwriting and fundraising workshops and seminars.