Professional Accomplishments
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Years of experience in a Design Leadership role with experience in art direction, illustration, brand identity, print, and digital media.
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Hosted and facilitated workshops, engaging 200-400 attendees monthly, elevating design standards across 50+ projects annually.
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Developed branding guidelines adopted by 5000+ stakeholders, reducing project turnaround by 30%. Designed a scalable template system empowering non-designers, streamlining workflows, and automating creative processes.
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Directed art direction for international conferences with 200+ corporate executives (FedEx, UPS, Emirates, American Airlines), boosting brand visibility and driving a 25% rise in partnership inquiries.
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Designed a 30,000 sq. ft. headquarters mural art in Armenia and India, enhancing brand culture. Spearheaded office branding, leading to an 82% employee satisfaction rate on workplace design.
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Delivered a local social/economic impact by developing and editing the 1st French magazine highlighting richness of diversity.
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Built and lead a multi-disciplinary team of 50+ creatives.
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Completed self-directed study of UI design, Figma, AI and of Hindi, and Japanese language.
MY DESIGN &
CREATIVE BELIEFS
These are 7 beliefs that define the standard I expect of myself as an individual and a team leader.
#1 BE CURIOUS
We don't know what we don't know! I'm always looking for new things to learn to push my creative edge.
#2 USE FEEDBACK TO IMPROVE
Every note helps to serve the team to reach a common goal and to point out elements that we can’t see. It helps us grow as individuals (ex: attention to detail) and as a team (ex: trust and support). Giving constructive and clear feedback encourages the team to look for a better solution.
#3 GROUND EVERY PROJECT WITH DIVERSITY
I believe that diverse teams are one of the keys to success. It's only by connecting across the spectrum that we will find a diverse audience and a sustainable market. Having a diversified group of people with varied skills and experience to share opinions will enable me to find better solutions.
#4 SPEAK HONESTLY, SPEAK CANDIDLY
Telling the truth can be difficult, but in a creative team, it is the only way to ensure excellence. Honesty and candor lead to trust. Be patient. Be authentic.
#5 DETAILS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Taking time to think a bit more deeply can create a big impact. Seeing someone smile when they discover one of the details hidden in your design, is priceless!
#6 EMBRACE CHALLENGES
My life is all about constantly challenging myself. Taking risks and going out of my comfort zone is helping me grow in my personal and professional life.
#7 HAVE FUN!
Creativity is my number one remedy against boredom. Having fun when creating is a way to guaranty that my work will have a positive impact on others. So don't be surprised if I start singing in front of my computer or dancing at the end of a project. That's a good sign!
My Story
I knew I wanted to be a designer when I discovered Stephane Carricondo’s and Akira Toriyama’s art. It ignited my love for drawing, storytelling and vibrant colors. After my brother brought home a computer with Adobe software, I began exploring and it hasn't stopped since.
Born in Cameroon, growing up in a small village in the south of France, with an American mother and French-Cameroonian father, diversity was in my blood. This same diversity has remained at the forefront of my life and work. I learned early on to always be busy and to express myself by creating artwork or short stories. This led me to pursue studies in Fine Arts in Bordeaux, where I built a strong foundation in analyzing and understanding the traditions and history of art.
One morning, I had a wacky idea that changed my existence: create a physical intercultural magazine to promote diversity awareness and fight intolerance. Being dyslexic and without any knowledge of print edition or project management, was a big challenge. Three months later, I joined a creative design school and started building a multi-disciplinary team of 50+ amazing creative volunteers with different backgrounds who pitched in to bring to life a magazine, a podcast, a Bollywood dance group, workshops, and cultural events. I learned a lot from that experience, including:
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Public speaking
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Empowering people
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Finding creative solutions
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Building a strong, long-lasting community
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Establishing business plans
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Print production process
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Bollywood Dance
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Going out of my comfort zone
Building on that experience, I completed a Master of Animation and Multimedia in 2010 while producing 2D short films and guiding, impactful branding of an in-house creative team, in France and in the USA, for 10 years. My work has won several distinctions over the years, in both countries. Through these adventures, I’ve grown and maintained a graphic universe that is simultaneously bold, colorful, and vibrant - a mixture of the diverse cultures that cradled and inspired me.
I moved to the USA with four objectives in mind: develop my career, meet my American family, learn to drive, and improve my English. I nailed that! My next life challenge is to share my passion and my experience with design and diversity to empower designers. I'm working remotely since 2020 in the Washington DC area for an international development company that aims to shape a more livable world: DAI.
HONORS & AWARDS
My work in print and video has won several distinctions over the years, both in France and the USA.
2013- Bordeaux Magazine cover
The City Diversity Council of Bordeaux published a portfolio of testimonies and reflections on the diversity from different personalities. They ask me to participate to it by editing to publish on my vision of diversity in Bordeaux. Constant Forme-Becherat took this portrait of me and used it for the cover of the City mag and for a three-week exhibit.
In this photo, I sign the word "together" / "union" in French sign language.
2017 - Best of Show overall
Local ADDY American Advertising Awards
The team won a whopping nine awards overall, including Best in Show for Overall Design.
Gold Awards:
Optym Onboarding Videos
Optym World Social Media Campaign
Optym Logo Animation
Optym Avatars
About Optym Videos
Optym ISO Security Posters
Optym Logo Animation.
Silver Awards:
Optym Brand Book.
2018 - American Advertising Awards (ADDY)
Optym's Marketing hard work and creativity were recognized at the 2018 American Advertising Awards (ADDY) Gala, presented by the American Advertising Federation of Gainesville. The team won awards in five categories, including:
Gold Awards:
Optym Company Homepage
Silver Awards:
Optym Around the World (the graphics throughout Building A of our US office)
Amadeus SKY Suite by Optym IATA Booth Design
Optym Convergence Conference 2017 Branding
2018 - The Employee Handbook
Gold Local American Advertising Awards (ADDY)
The Employee Handbook recently won a Gold Local American Advertising Awards (ADDY) 2018. Some great Optimers worked on this project with passion, a fun attitude and a lots of caffeine. To give our handbook a fun twist, we have incorporated a video game theme.