Stephanie Kiner Email and Phone Number

My career journey began as a Visual Designer but quickly entrusted to take on an expansive role, encompassing the entire design landscape as a top firm performer. I've led comprehensive research, honed human factors, provided creative direction, crafted UX/UI designs, and orchestrated seamless development coordination. My unique skill set includes cultivating strong client relationships and harmonizing with cross-functional teams, spanning Research, Engineering, Product, and Community.This adaptability has granted me the opportunity to collaborate with over 10 Fortune 500 companies across diverse industries. My hallmark is innovation and agility, enabling me to proficiently manage parallel teams and multi-million-dollar projects, all while ensuring the delivery of groundbreaking solutions within tight timelines.Central to my role is my knack for understanding each business's unique needs and translating them into scalable product features. Guiding the design process from inception to delivery, my unwavering focus is on inclusive and ground breaking user experiences and meeting stakeholder expectations. I excel at facilitating consensus among diverse teams, ensuring effective communication and alignment, resulting in collective success.Beyond design leadership, I'm a mentor and advocate for fostering a growth-oriented culture within my teams. This dedication has yielded remarkable talent retention and team expansion. My commitment extends to idea cultivation, iterative processes, and maintaining stringent quality standards. My contributions have also extended to winning new client relationships, generating over 10 million dollars in revenue, and securing numerous projects and contracts across various sectors.My career is defined by relentless dedication, versatility, and an unwavering commitment to driving transformative change in the design landscape and mentoring peers as we move toward success.

As the leader of the office's first Experiential Graphics division, I oversaw all aspects of creative direction, project management, client relations, and team management. With a focus on physical and digital branded environments, print/digital graphics, wayfinding/signage, and data visualization tools, I guided my team of innovative designers to deliver successful projects of varying scales. Utilizing skills such as storytelling, 3D modeling, diagrams, technical drawings, wireframes, and visual design, we produced visually engaging and informative materials that showcased the firm's architectural strategies, data, statistics, and community impact. My commitment to fostering a collaborative and creative environment enabled us to achieve outstanding results and gain recognition for our forward-thinking approach.

As a seasoned designer and project manager, I have delivered award-winning brand identities, wayfinding systems, publications, marketing materials, and environmental graphics for a diverse range of clients. From hospitality to government, I have successfully uncovered my clients' goals and crafted compelling visual identities that resonate with their audiences. Working in a fast-paced agency environment, I have managed my own projects, schedules, and materials while collaborating with colleagues across multiple offices. I have encouraged open communication and leadership opportunities within my teams to ensure that we meet rigorous timelines and deadlines.

As co-founder and creative director of a graphics and marketing studio, I led the team in crafting brand identities, exhibitions, digital experiences, print marketing materials, and campaigns for small and medium-sized businesses. Our focus was on partnering with clients who had compelling missions and stories to share, and we worked collaboratively with them to achieve their goals. Through our work, we helped businesses increase their revenue and sales by providing creative and impactful visual representations of their products and services. I oversaw the creative direction of all projects, working with both internal team members and freelancers to ensure that we delivered top-quality results. In addition, I maintained strong relationships with clients, providing excellent customer service and serving as a trusted advisor on creative matters.

As an ongoing freelance UI/UX and graphic designer, I've worked with a diverse range of clients and companies across the U.S. My freelance work has required strong self-management skills, including scheduling, budgeting, and collaborating with teams of all sizes. My experience ranges from company branding to UX/UI testing, project management, graphic design, and creative direction. I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in graphics, UX, and UI design, and I am committed to delivering top-quality results that meet and exceed my clients' expectations.

As a graduate student, I was selected to lead a team of five students with diverse backgrounds in a prestigious urban design and development challenge, the ULI Hines Student Competition. Our team had only two weeks to develop solutions that included drawings, site plans, tables, and market-feasible financial data for a real, large-scale site. The competition engaged multidisciplinary student teams, and being chosen to lead our team was an honor. It allowed me to showcase my leadership skills and work alongside talented individuals from different disciplines to devise a comprehensive development program. The experience not only enhanced my skills in urban design and development, but also provided me with the opportunity to expand my professional network and gain recognition in the industry.

As an assistant to the program director at UTSOA, I played an integral role in a patent-pending project. My responsibilities included collaborating with the team to create technical drawings for the graphic manual, illustrations for publications, and client-facing presentations. My work helped to communicate complex information to clients and stakeholders, resulting in a better understanding of the project's goals and objectives.

As a Marketing and Architectural Designer at an award-winning woman-owned and operated architectural firm in California, I oversaw the creation of RFQ packages, SOWs, graphics, and client-facing presentations. I also submitted materials for competitions and awards, which led to further professional development and increased firm outreach. In addition to marketing work, I also contributed to technical architectural tasks, such as construction documentation, LEED research requirements, finish selection, and project management.

I was exclusively selected for a summer design-build opportunity that brought together students from various disciplines and universities across the U.S. The project involved designing a cost-efficient, safe, malleable, and mobile stage for an Asheville-based non-profit organization that aimed to empower the community's youth through the arts. I assisted in conducting community interviews and research, created the graphics manual, led event branding, participated in architectural design, and supported the construction process. This experience honed my skills in working with investors and community members, as well as in project management, graphic design, and architectural design.

I was honored to be selected for Clemson University School of Architecture's Study Abroad program, where I received a scholarship to conduct research on the Italian and broader European architectural influence. During my time there, I had the opportunity to practice and enhance my architectural skills while immersing myself in the Italian culture and architectural design direction.

Summer Internship with Interior Architecture firm involved managing the materials library and assisting with custom graphics for on going projects.

As a graphic designer, I developed innovative visual and multimedia solutions to effectively communicate information about the Division of Student Affairs at Clemson University. In addition to designing marketing materials, I also proofed them and oversaw photography projects.

As a Graphic Designer, I played an integral role in the brand overhaul of a growing company by redesigning their graphics and creating marketing materials that aligned with the new brand standards. Additionally, I collaborated with in-store clients to ensure their design needs were met, and kept track of store rotations. I also managed inventory by tagging and organizing products.