Person: Tracy Thomas

Birmingham, Alabama 35202

Professional Resume

Tracy Thomas, Design & Branding Professional

P.O. Box 11762 | Birmingham, Alabama 35202

Daytime: (205) 226-4902 | Evening: (205) 786-8633

tthomas@bsc.edu | trottlebee@gmail.com

Objective

A career advancement opportunity that will allow me to exercise my graphic design, art direction, marketing, branding, and publication management skills.

Education

Master of Science in Management

May 1994

Purdue University—Krannert Graduate School of Management

Dual Major—Marketing and Strategic Management

Bachelor of Arts—Business Administration and Visual Art

May 1992

Birmingham-Southern College

Dual Major—Marketing and Painting

Professional Experience

Associate Director for Communications—Publications Management

Birmingham-Southern College

June 1998 - Present

Served as Project Manager and Art Director for all campus publications from pre-press production to final publication, including the college’s quarterly alumni magazine, annual reports, admission materials,

and advancement materials. Developed branding for the college, including its current logo and graphics standards. Interfaced with over 30 campus departments/offices in developing/providing marketing collateral. Initially served as College Webmaster, developing web site for efficiency, user-friendliness, advancement, and recruitment efforts. Position involves extensive graphic design/layout responsibilities, brand management, copywriting, proofreading, some photography, printing vendor relations/bid-outs, and budget management for all interfacing departments.

Senior Sales Promotion Coordinator

L.M. Berry & Company—A BellSouth Subsidiary

August 1995 - May 1998

Graphic Designer/Marketing Researcher - Researched and developed sales visuals for internal sales offices. Involves extensive demographic research; data analysis; visual content development; layout

and design of collateral materials with adherence to BellSouth's established graphic standards; editing; proofing; production and distribution. Managed visuals production budget. Researched and tracked an ongoing database of trends related to the Consumer Products, Health & Medical, and Professionals industries.

Senior Editor, Inside SCAdvantage Newsletter - Developed and published regional newsletter publication for the South Central Area. Involves extensive copywriting; interviewing; copy editing; proofing, layout and design with respect to BellSouth's graphics standards; photography; production; interfacing with print vendors; and distribution to the field. Coordinated editorial contributions of five division editors and thirteen field reporters. Interfaced with corporate communications office to determine contributions to corporate-level publication.

Departmental Trainer - Served as trainer to all incoming Coordinators. Developed departmental training manual to serve as a guide for verbal portion of training sequence. Guided each Coordinator-Trainee through a hands-on training sequence, covering all aspects of the Sales Promotion Coordinator's responsibilities.

Audiovisual Production Assistant - Produced slides for major audiovisual presentations, including management conferences, sales achievement banquets, sales training conferences, and headquarters and division personnel presentations. Assisted with audio selections for audiovisual/multimedia presentations. Produced overhead presentations for second- and third-tier management.

Junior Achievement Campaign Coordinator - Coordinated Junior Achievement fundraising campaign

for L. M. Berry & Company. Includes annual Bowling Classic event and telethon. Exceeded previous year's results by 52%.

U. S. Savings Bonds Campaign Coordinator - Coordinated U. S. Savings Bonds Campaign for L.M. Berry & Company. Includes presentations to employees for payroll deduction plan, monitoring results based on previous year's contributions, and reporting results to corporate office.

Special Events Promotion - Chaired L. M. Berry's Black History Month Observations for 1996 and 1997; assisted with 1998 Observation. Assisted with L. M. Berry's Bruno's Memorial Classic events for 1995 and 1996. Assisted with L. M. Berry's March of Dimes Campaign events for 1996 and 1997. Assisted with L. M. Berry's United Way Campaigns for 1996 and 1997.

Freelance Graphic Designer

Trottlebee Graphic Design, Branding & Integrated Marketing

May 1992 - Present

Research, branding, concept development, copywriting, layout/design, and production of marketing collateral items for a wide array of clients. Products include newsletters, logotypes, corporate identity/branding systems, coffee table books, religious tracts, calendars, postcards, product catalogs, business papers/stationery, brochures, product packaging, procedures manuals, print ads, souvenir programs, business presentations, signage, and sales campaign charts and displays.

Client list includes: The Literacy Council; Shades Mountain Church of Christ; Meadowcraft; Mid-State Printing; Birmingham-Southern College; Knud Nielsen; Altec Industries; SourceOne; Precision Seals; Jackie O’Neal School of Dance; Alabama Youth Soccer Association; Talladega Emergency Management Association; Alabama Solution Women's Political Organization; Sprigs Fine Foods; Jefferson Clinic, P.C.; The Stewart Group, LLC; L.M. Berry & Company; Miles College Sports Hall of Fame; Miles College Alumni Association; Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; Birmingham Urban League; City of Fairfield; Alabama A & M University Alumni Association; YMCA of Birmingham; Banks Finley White & Company; and Purdue University.

Museum Store Manager

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

September 1994 - August 1995

Purchased, marketed, and sold merchandise for a museum gift store. Conducted research on product development and efficient methods of merchandise procurement. Developed computerized inventory management/control system. Delivered profitable returns on a $100,000 operating budget.

Graphic Design Intern

Birmingham-Southern College Office of Public Information

August 1991 - May 1992

Designs and layouts for marketing collateral associated with the college. Interfaced with the Assistant Director of Public Information, who provided copy for each project. Developed collateral concepts as a team. Built a portfolio of logos, advertisement posters, theater displays, invitations, greeting cards,

and print ads.

Assistant Editor

Birmingham-Southern College Office of Public Information

June 1991 - August 1991

Drafted/copywrote biographical sketches on executives associated with college publicity. Edited/proofed documents of colleagues for accuracy, spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

Staff Artist Intern

Southern Progress Corporation—Southern Living Magazine

February 1991 - May 1991

Design and layouts for the May 1991 - August 1991 issues of Southern Living Magazine. Provided illustrations for two articles, including a fictional piece and technical illustration of residential architecture. Built a layout portfolio that includes the August 1991 cover story.

Summary of Skills

Graphic Design

Branding

Publications Management

Art Direction

Copywriting

Editing/Proofing

Strategic Planning

Photography

Scanning

Proposal Writing

Overhead Production

Website Consultation

Slide Imaging

Procedural Training

Software Training

Procedural Planning/Documentation

Computer Knowledge - Windows and Macintosh operating systems; Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Pagemaker, Dreamweaver, and Acrobat; QuarkXPress; CorelDraw; Macromedia Freehand; Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint; HTML Programming.