Marketing & Design Manager
Apollo Gardening, Sheffield | July 2020 - Present
Summary:
Working at a small company has provided me with a wide range of professional skills and an understanding of various business processes. As the only in-house creative team member, I have designed branding, artwork, and digital/print assets for new and existing product ranges. I have also led cross-functional teams in consumer product development, working closely with suppliers and stakeholders from research and design to prototyping and manufacture. Additionally, I have designed merchandising and in-store retail displays for our product - in some cases working in a sprint to develop and present concepts to Wickes within a week.
At a small business, specific job roles don't exist, but I thrive when facing new challenges. In addition to my creative work, I have managed the company's IT and coordinated large agile infrastructure changes that have made it easier for the team to work remotely while reducing costs and downtime. I have also planned and executed trade shows with budgets ranging from £2k to £40k.
What I’ve worked on:
Leading consumer product development within a cross-functional team. Engaged suppliers and stakeholders through design, 3D CAD, prototyping, approval, and manufacture.
Been responsible for designing and progressing both product and in-store proposals for Wickes, Lidl and B&Q.
Producing branding, artwork, printed assets, and digital content internally for two new product ranges (both 30+ SKUs); and the company’s core existing brands.
Produced a new main website for Apollo using Squarespace, taking control of it internally. Link:
Engaged and managed our IT provider in migrating our on-premise Server to a hosted service, and commissioning a Leased Line internet connection. These reduced cost significantly, and cut operational down-time by 80%. I also managed getting the company’s dated phone system upgraded to a modern VOIP service.
Role: Marketing & Design Manager.
Company: Apollo Gardening Ltd., Sheffield.
Tenure: July 2020 - Present.