Deb West Email & Phone Number

New York, NY, US

• Utrecht, a leading multi-channel specialty retailer and manufacturer of fine artist paints, paper, canvas, brushes,and other fine art supplies operates 45+ retail stores nationwide, as well as a direct mail catalog and.
• Lead/approved all Creative, Photography and Copy direction across multiple channels for a National Specialty Retailer to ensure brand vision was not sacrificed and projects delivered on time. Work included (but not.
• Hired and inspired Creative talent– including Graphic Designers, Copywriters and Photographers
• Strategically managed and prioritized department workflow in an effort to maximize available resources and meet rigid deadlines
• Forecasted, built and maintained a multi-million dollar Creative budget. Researched, negotiated and secured resources and pricing for Paper, Printing and Photography. Leveraged creative talent and managed resource.
• Collaborated with VP, Marketing on weekly online and retail promotional strategies

US

• Supervised and inspired Photographers, Copy, Graphic Designers and Production team for Direct Mail Retail print and online projects consisting of (but not limited to) Direct Marketing Collateral, Catalogs, Weekly.
• Scheduled and led weekly Production/Photo meetings, providing detailed project updates and status reports
• Business acumen allows for workflow efficiencies, thorough communication across all cross-functional areas, as well as in-depth auditing and reconciliations of monthly vendor invoices
• Spearheaded and developed in-house production/creative team, RESULT: eliminated 100% of external production, thus lowering agency creative costs by over 30%
• Ownership and accountability for negotiating and contracting freelance talent, assigning work to appropriate teams, maintaining budgets, determining cost-effective solutions, ensuring that projects are compelling.
• Solely responsible for researching, negotiating and securing the best rates for digital still photography, and contracted these prices across ALL brands company wide, RESULT: a savings of more than 50% per image

• Supervised and collaborated with Graphic Designers, Production, Copy and Photography to keep projects on time and on-track from concept thru completion
• Primary liaison between Marketing, Agencies, Creative, Copy and Production
• Negotiated and contracted photography resources directly, RESULT: a 20% reduction of total external photography costs
• Routinely reduced creative, production and photography costs through researching, negotiating and introducing new/less costly suppliers––without sacrificing quality

• Developed workflow process and production schedules for creative teams; make certain all deadlines are met
• Solely responsible for managing layout, copy, traffic, production and photography from concept though release
• Liaison for merchants, agencies and photography studios

• Developed/maintained production schedules, job estimates, photography and internal budgets
• Attended all client meetings pertaining to merchandise turnover, concepts and layouts
• Negotiated prices with freelance Art Directors, Copywriters and Photo Studios; attended photo shoots
• Led the Creative and Production teams by prioritizing work in an effort to meet critical deadlines
• Responsible for reviewing photography and 4/C proofs; day-to-day contact with client
• Proofed all blue lines to ensure copy consistency and accuracy

• Attended pre-pro meetings with clients; trafficked and proofed all materials from concept thru release
• Worked closely with Art Director and assisted at photographic shoots
• Liaison between Clients, Art Directors, Copywriters Production Teams and Photography Studios
• Accounts Included: Bloomingdale’s Home, Fashion & Beauty, Childcraft, Fortunoff, Brylane,