My name is Ashley Mulready - LaPlante. I graduated from the Illinois Institute of Art in Schaumburg, in June 2006, with a BA in Graphic Design. I was a graphic design intern at the Chicago Bears from November 2006 through February 2007. My duties included designing website advertisements, fan convention pins, illustrations, alumni newsletters, playbook covers, and newspaper advertisements. I designed for several different departments within the organization. Being part of such a great organization was a valuable experience both personally and professionally.
I started employment with D & B Marketing in June of 2007 as a graphic designer/production artist. D & B Marketing is an advertising and marketing agency dealing in print, web, TV, and radio. Some of their clients include Remington Homes, Neumann Homes, Grand Pointe Homes, Bigelow Homes, Drapery Connections, and Desitter Carpet & Flooring. I created logos for several clients along with newspaper advertisements, brochures, and direct mailings. Additionally, I did production work which involved working with printing companies for price quotes. My time with D & B ended prematurely as a result of downsizing for economic reasons.
I then started with Senario in March of 2008 as a graphic designer. Senario is a toy company that creates the design of the toy as well as the package design of the toy. I worked on several different products including Danaka, Vu-Me, My Secret Pillow, Storybook Pillow, Remarkables, and more. Most of these brands are licensed products. Some of the brand names I have worked on are Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Cars, Disney Princess, Speed Racer, Wall-E, Tinker Bell, Little Einstein, and Littlest Pet Shop. Financial short comings forced a layoff in February 2009 of which I was a part of thus ending my time there.
Following Senario I worked for the Chicago Fire soccer team in a three month temporary graphic design position. During this time I created gameday programs, gameday giveaways, gift certificates, posters, postcards, signage, coupons, banners, flyers, newspaper advertisements, logos, field boards, stationary, holiday cards, website graphics, marquee graphics, and jumbotron/LED graphics. I designed for various departments within the Fire organization as well as working with the print companies to meet the team’s needs.
I worked for the Kansas City Chiefs for three seasons as the sole graphic designer. My designs were highly visible and encompassed a lot of areas inside the organization. Some of these designs consisted of player personnel, gameday, public relations, advertising, ticket sales, ticket designs, sponsorship, and were all in tune with the current marketing strategy at any given time. My duties included managing graphic requests, designing all print materials, website backgrounds, advertisements, photo editing, getting printer bids, press checks, and making sure all print materials hit the in-house deadlines. I also assisted in shooting photos, for example Chiefs Red Friday, Draft Day, sideline photos at our home games, and on the cheerleader calendar trip. As the only graphic designer one of my responsibilities was to hire a seasonal graphic intern every quarter to help with the day to day duties. My responsibilities were to interview, hire and train each intern. In early 2013 I created the new stationary design and all corresponding stationary print pieces. The project that I am most proud of was the 2013 Chiefs Style Guide. This is a book that outlines the Chiefs brand guidelines for design, use of logos, fonts, photography, marketing, etc. I helped create, design, and finalize the entire book from cover to cover.
I worked for the Charlotte Bobcats basketball team for eleven months before the team changed its name to the Charlotte Hornets. The Bobcats use an in-house agency team and I was one of three designers. The NBA is a very fast paced environment including 41 home games. I had the privilege of working on individual projects as well as collective efforts as part of the design team. I collaborated with numerous departments assessing each department’s design needs. Projects include advertisements, posters, billboards, banners, online media graphics, gameday scoreboard graphics, brochure, flyers, yearbooks, direct mailers, logos, ticket campaigns, gameday merchandise/giveaways, event signage, etc. My most notable project at the Bobcats was the 2013-14 yearbook of which I designed cover to cover. The book is eye catching using lots of visual excitement on every page, carefully chosen action shots, and an extraordinary design concept. During the 2013-14 season I was responsible for the Bobcats' graphic needs as well as re-branding needs for the 2014-15 season as the Charlotte Hornets. It was a very exciting and rewarding experience to be a part of history as the Charlotte Bobcats franchise became the Charlotte Hornets.
I worked for the Charlotte Hornets for five seasons. The name change was made official as of May 2014. My involvement with the rebrand spanned from start to finish creating designs, logos, looks and concepts for the arena. The look and feel for the “Hornets Sports and Entertainment” (HSE) was one of my contributions. This look is separate from the Hornets brand. It’s based around arena and concert events. I also designed the concept for the Hornets Honey Bees, from the calendar to photo backdrops. “The Buzz” game program was entirely my creation and a major facet of the rebrand project. I created The Buzz logo and designed the opening night program with the embossed/UV varnish/soft touch coating on the front cover to make the book the most memorial and unique book of the 2014-15 Buzz program collection. Each game program was designed by me from cover to cover working with our partnerships department to ensure all of the Hornets partners ads are included in the program. Another of my favorite pieces is the Charlotte Hornets yearbook. I wanted to make sure we included everything from opening night, front office staff, basketball operations, players, Honey Bees, Charlotte Hornets Foundation and Swarm365 Members as features in the book. The primary goal was to establish this as a memorable collectors' item for all Hornets fans to look back on for years to come. Other major projects I have worked on include the Media Guide, posters, large format flags, large format wall graphic, graphic wraps, schedules, popcorn buckets, soda collectors cups, and adult beverage cups along with so many other graphics. I worked with each department creating designs and concepts to fit their needs. It is a designer's dream to do something of this nature, to be part of an entire organization rebrand and be part of history. Designing graphics that will live on throughout the organization's existence. I’m very blessed to be part of such an amazing experience. Making the Hornets brand come to life through visual graphics for fans to enjoy at each experience is truly rewarding.
My current role at Coca-Cola involves using custom graphics combined with training literature to help members of the organization learn to better serve the brand with which they work. In my tenure there I have brought structure to the creative process by instituting an efficient design request system. As the leader of the creative staff I provide direction and manage all projects and timelines. I am proud to say that I utilize many skills that years of working in the sports industry has taught me to guide my team to deliver exceptional work, on time and efficiently.
I am very passionate about my design work and strive to be the best. I pride myself on working efficiently to hit all deadlines without compromising creativity or quality. I want to thank you for taking the time to read through my resume. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 847.421.8784 or e-mail me at A_Mulready@comcast.net.
Best Regards,
Ashley Mulready - LaPlante