My experience in art direction began a world away in Taipei City, Taiwan, where I designed fashion store window displays for more than 5 years. In time, I ventured beyond the silent fishbowl of mannequins in narrow window frames and packed up my 3D design skills. I headed off to discover multimedia visual communications. Whether or not New York City was ready to receive me, I was on my way!
I graduated cum laude from Parsons in the summer of 2001. From there, I moved to Chicago to begin work as a Junior Art Director with Plan B Agency. I designed logos and all manner of print materials and packaging; I concepted TV commercials and dove into web design. My clients included Wilson, Orbitz, Freeborn & Peters LLC, New Balance, Valley Transportation Authority, RR Donelley, Duraflame, and Van Kampen Funds. Later, I became the Project Director on high-profile accounts such as North American Van Lines, Lakeshore Athletic Clubs, Commonwealth Edison, Peridot, Fannie May Candies, and Popcorn Palace.
I joined Mobium Creative Group as an Art Director in 2006 where I managed projects from concept to full execution. My clients included Accenture, Kaplan, UIF, CCTB, Kellogg, Intermec, and Time Warner Cable Business Class.
In 2009, my former client, Lakeshore Athletic Clubs, recruited me to be their Director of Creative Services. As such, I provided marketing and advertising oversight across their chain of facilities.
In 2011, I went solo and founded Vivid Valentine Design. My clients included First Ascent Climbing & Fitness, Adventure Stage Chicago, Northwestern Medicine’s Health & Fitness Centers, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning and OC Eyelids (California). All the while, I volunteered my skills and expertise to non-profit organizations in a variety of areas.
Though a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese, English is my number-one go-to in all professional dealings. So, let’s chat.
viva voce / Word of mouth
“Stop searching—Valentine is the right graphic designer for the job. She is a master creator of beautiful, innovative design that you can have confidence will represent your brand or organization the way you’ve always wanted it to. Her consistency and quality is top notch, her timeliness is unmatched, and her skills and experience make her a fantastic thought partner in all things design, no matter what your design needs happen to be.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with Valentine for several years in a small advertising agency environment. Valentine is an exceptionally talented and hard working art director/designer with incredibly varied skills—combining concepting, art direction, print and web design as well as user-interface/experience design. In a small agency environment, it was amazing to have someone with Valentine’s’ skills who can deftly solve any problem she’s presented with. Her traditional marketing design solutions (particularly print and direct mail) were always awesomely creative and strategic, and her concepts were often chosen by clients on high-visibility campaigns. Valentines solid end-to-end understanding of the process of creative development would be an incredible assett to any client expecting efficient project management. Valentine was always able to knowledgeably partner with strategists, creatives, and programmers thanks to a thorough and practiced understanding of a full spectrum of media environments. Valentine is an exceptional pleasant to work with and is endlessly driven to go the extra mile and deliver creative that always exceeds expectations.”
“We worked with Valentine for many years and were extremely happy with the results. Her creativity, attention to detail, ability to think outside the box, and professionalism to her work and staff were on display daily.
You could always count on Valentine to get a project done correctly and quickly. She is an asset to any company she partners with.”
“Valentine always goes above and beyond! Her designs and marketing pieces are creative and top notch! She always listens to what we wanted and was very responsive to our needs. Her work is outstanding!”
“Valentine is a fast paced worker, and she never held us up waiting for a materials to be created. She is reliable, professional and creative! ”
“Valentine is truly an essential element to our marketing team. She is able to take an artistic direction and make it a reality. Not only is Valentine’s work creative and unique, but she is also super responsive and quick to turn projects around. We couldn’t ask for more! ”
“Working with Valentine is a pleasure! She has designed a variety of projects for our organization, such as custom branded signage for events, workbooks, research briefs, and brochures. She produces high-quality designs and is extremely responsive to any request for edits or redesign. Valentine is always prompt in her response and is a true professional.”
“Valentine donated her talent to design marketing materials for our parents annual auction. Her images brilliantly projected our mission “to nurture creative minds and caring hearts.””
“Valentine was one of the first people we reached out to help create our branding when we were just starting our business. She immediately knew the look and feel I was going after and provided me with several options, all of which were great. She has created all of our branding materials from our logo and website to our customer correspondence. Valentine is always quick to respond and has helped me with several last-minute rush jobs; she works fast and doesn’t waste any time. Her prices are very fair—especially given her level of talent and expertise. I highly recommend Valentine to anyone looking for a talented and competent designer.”
“Valentine has excelled in this environment; the work she has produced has shown us that she is an imaginative, skilled and disciplined designer. Many of her pieces were on display in our annual Juried Exhibition in the 5th Ave Parsons Galleries. Valentine was selected to exhibit work in both of the years she was eligible to submit work for consideration.
Valentine will be an asset to whomever she chooses to work with. I recommend her highly. ”