visual designer
My love of storytelling influences my design, marketing, instructional and content creation efforts: storytelling is the most vital driver we have for delivering information, insight and messaging that will connect with an audience.
Design differentiates one message from another, shapes audience perceptions, influences knowledge and defines our visual landscape.
It is too important to leave in the hands of just anyone.
Educator
I strongly believe in the Socratic teaching method, and my desire to share knowledge and insight and open up new paths for others influences my graphic design, communications practice and instructional design.
I am an architect of educational and informational outcomes at different levels and a creator of stimulating and meaningful instructional deliveries.
artist + visual thinker
I explore ideas, stories, objects and experiences through mixed-media collage, painting, illustration and fibre arts.
You can find my artwork on the 13-Birds blog and for sale through Society6.
TEA SOMMELIER
I am a licensed TAC Tea Certified Sommelier™ Professional with a long history steeped in tea culture, appreciation and experience working with Canadian food brands.
Noteworthy
Curriculum Development + Implementation
Storytelling
Learning Modalities
Creative Thinking
Project Management
Team Building
Problem Resolution
Copywriting
Imagery Creation + Illustration
Listening
Visual Thinking
Presentation Design
Needs Assessment
Ideation
2022 | INCREASED USER ENGAGEMENT BY 427% IN 1 YEAR In 2021 I performed a comprehensive audit on ReSuit’s existing social media presence. I built a strategy that retained the strong elements, re-aligned any faltering elements and brought in new ideas to raise audience engagement through more storytelling, inclusive visuals and user interactions. Between Oct 2022 and Sept 2021 audience engagement across Instagram alone has increased by 427%.
2019 | CREATED A LEARNING PODCAST SERIES FOR YORKVILLE UNIVERSITY As an additional and unconventional tool to teach best educational practices, I created a monthly podcast highlighting instructors that were doing something different within their classrooms. These short-form interviews provided interesting and approachable lessons and actionable ideas in a format that did not feel like professional development but generated the same outcome.
2013 | RE-DEVELOPED TFS GROUNDBREAKING GRAPHIC THESIS PROJECT After the initial trial of students working with real-world clients, I took over the graphic design thesis project at Toronto Film School and have led it through over a dozen successful commercial identity projects. These thesis projects include a major undertaking of work that can include identity, layout, packaging, interactive, new media, motion graphics design as well as promotions, marketing strategy and social media content. Student work from this project has been commercially produced across the technology, agriculture, food, construction, fitness and retail industries.
2010 | CREATIVE DIRECTION FOR THE WORLD’S FIRST 3D SHORT FASHION FILM Working with Canadian fashion label NADA on her Fall/Winter 2010 collection, I directed the creative structure and visuals for the first fashion short film in 3D – premiered at Cineplex Odeon’s flagship theatre.
2008 | RECEIVED AN AWARD CREATED TO HONOUR MY ACHIEVEMENTS IN WEB-BASED COMMUNICATIONS I was voted the Regional Director for Fashion Group International for 2008 and 2009. During my time as the Regional Director and previously as a board member, I focused my efforts on raising the profile of the group amongst members and industry alike. The increase in exposure of the Canadian chapter of FGI as well as our unique online presence, garnered special acknowledgment by the New York headquarters in the form of a unique award presented to me during our annual conference in 2008.
2006 | LED THE RE-BRANDING OF AN INTERNATIONAL MARKETING AGENCY Once it was decided that the luxury marketing agency NAFA required an identity refresh, it fell to me to plan, manage, oversee, design and deliver the new brand messages and visuals across our offices in Russia, Greece, China, Korea and Italy. I also introduced the re-brand to our stakeholders across Canada in a series of keynote speeches.
1998 | PITCHED NEW MEDIA SOFTWARE TRAINING SOLUTION
While the Marketing Coordinator at ProPharm Ltd. I pitched a solution to utilize (then) cutting-edge technology to solve the challenge of training a nationwide group of technologically inexperienced clients on a new computer system. My solution of creating a multimedia CD-based training program resulted in a promotion and a new role leading the successful project.
Adobe CC Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere, Muse, XD, Acrobat, Learning Manager)
Articulate 360, Rise
Instructional LMS
Project Management Tools
Prototyping Tools (Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch)
Microsoft 365 (Word, PowerPoint, Excel. Teams, Sharepoint, OneDrive, Outlook)
2009-present | Independent Visual Designer + Instructional Designer
. Provides top-level creative direction through visual design and hands-on implementation.
. Creates and builds professional development course material for adult learners.
. Develops and delivers lessons and presentations for diverse topics.
. Produces intentional and engaging artwork for a variety of marketing and communication activities that are used across a variety of digital mediums.
. Collaborates with SMEs to design instructional materials across various learning modalities.
. Offers consultation for high-level communication strategy.
. Collaborates with employees and stakeholders to implement and improve design quality standards.
. Designs brand identity by identifying the brand’s needs and imagining strategic creative solutions.
. Develops multi-platform strategies that generate memorable moments to build audience engagement and brand loyalty.
. Explores with key stakeholders the best visual approach and recommends the appropriate visualization design, including interaction design, for digital platforms.
. Leads project teams with an approach built on ideation and problem-solving, where trust is a fundamental pillar.
. Presents visualization and communication ideas to clients, key stakeholders, and audiences with a compelling communication strategy.
. Builds rapport and client trust to create a meaningful overall engagement experience and deliver results.
Clients have included GustoTV, MacPhie Consulting, MasterCard Stylicity, Toronto Fashion Incubator, ReSuit, Warner Bros. Music Canada, TD Financial Advisor
2012-present | Yorkville University, Toronto Film School | Program Director, Graphic Design & Interactive Media
. Leads the development of the program-level strategy for educational tools.
. Responsible for the development of course materials.
. Coordinates and manages the developmental workflow within the GDIM program, from initial concept to finished product, to ensure critical deadlines and deliverables are met on time.
. Drives curriculum and instructional design based on current trends and pedagogy foundations.
. Plans, organizes and facilitates instruction of adult learners to achieve the goals of both student and institution.
. Manages all departmental projects relating to budget, student engagement and business goals.
. Utilizes knowledge of industry best practices to improve upon existing training methods and materials.
. Works closely with instructors and SMEs in the development of new course materials.
. Collaborates with stakeholders to drive changes within the department to achieve long-term business goals.
. Implements industry knowledge and creative thinking to propose strategies to drive differentiation and establish a USP for the company.
. Conducts marketplace research and SWOT analysis to develop solutions for increased business growth and instructional retention.
. Ensures regulatory procedures and company policies and develops program policies.
. Adapts methods of instruction and classroom materials to address individual student needs.
. Works with advisors, management and other subject matter experts to develop compelling narrative concepts for important projects.
. Uses data and research to identify successful communication strategies and map out new ways to amplify learner engagement and retention.
. Stays ahead of all the latest trends in visual design and communication in order to direct instructional tools that capture attention and increase content absorption.
. Coaches on the nuances of design and structure of analytics digital solutions supported by domain best practices to maximize user adoption.
. Advocates for the user experience – understanding that a solution is not just a tool but part of an interactive process between human users and information.
2017-2020 | Yorkville University, Toronto Film School Online | Instructor Development Officer
. Designed, wrote and built professional development tools for instructors.
. Developed and designed training materials for onboarding new instructors.
. Provided mentorship for instructors across diverse programs.
. Worked closely with SMEs to deliver training experiences for diverse topics.
. Utilized experience and knowledge of instructional practices to improve instructor training methods.
SKILL SUMMARY CASE STUDY: NEW INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PACKAGE
Challenge: How do we offer the most current and best practices in pedagogy to new online instructors of the creative arts when they are not trained teachers?
Desired Outcome: An engaging 3-week online course which interacts with new instructors in a way to build best practices and effective techniques of adult instruction that can be utilized in their teaching practice.
Implemented Solution: I led the project with research, utilizing my own teaching experience and collaboration with the VP of Education to ensure content and materials aligned. I started from the ground up to re-develop, design, and build a learning program which included interactive lesson materials and a series of roundtable discussions. The result was confident and prepared teachers and increased course engagement by 200%.
Pheinixx
instructional visual design
Instructional Designer offering over 20 years of experience in visual communication and over 10 years of experience in technology integration and curriculum planning: creating immersive, value-added programs that build knowledge and understanding.
Pheinixx brings enthusiasm and storytelling to design and development while coordinating with subject matter professionals to gain valuable insights on educational needs: building engaging communications in a learning management system platform and using authoring tools.
Highly experienced in brand building, advertising, marketing, publishing and broadcast: Pheinixx’s portfolio shows a proven track record in forming ideas and executing materials designed to tell stories, inform and connect with an audience.
A strong leader with a talent for listening to and working with various departments and stakeholders, providing a team with a collaborative leadership style, excellent project- and time-management skills and, most importantly, passion. With experience forged by running multiple projects across cities around the globe, Pheinixx is adept at creating a solid plan of action, which can then handle invariable changes.
Educational leader experienced in building and delivering learning programs across synchronous and asynchronous platforms, both online and in-person.