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Design Manager

Top Management

Design manager with a flair for fashion. I have a passion for product development, graphics, and pattern as it relates to apparel, infant, home, stationery, and gifts. Some of my areas of expertise are creative direction, illustration, style guide development, trend research, and apparel design.

I have experience in both vertical and licensing business models.

Experience managing associate designers, freelancers, and presenting to executives.

Visit my online portfolio: http://www.kellyhickenbottom.com

- Maintain the creative relationship between Disney and trusted infant brands, across all retail channels for licensed infant bedding and home, feeding, bath and potty, gear, and accessories categories.

 - Provide creative direction, protect brand and franchise integrity, and try to elevate the brand with new creative solutions.

- Research trends and create trend boards with graphic, print, and color direction that enhance Disney storytelling.

- Build seasonal style guides with graphics, prints, and icons to be used by licensees.

- Develop retail pitches, ensuring a cohesive look across multiple product categories from multiple licensees.

- Present new trends, art, and inspiration samples to licensees at twice-yearly creative summits.

- Work closely with cross functional partners, including regular product development meetings with licensing business partners, and working with Central Creative to request new character poses that will implement better storytelling on product.

- Review licensee designs, strike offs, and pre-production samples, submit comments and approvals, and upload files through OPA (Online Product Approval) system.

- Manage one direct report, as well as freelancers.

- Research trends and create trend boards and color palettes that implement Disney storytelling.

- Sketch and color silhouettes for infant fashion, layette, bodysuits, graphic tees, and sleepwear.

- Create graphic layouts and prints for infant fashion, layette, bodysuits, graphic tees, and sleepwear.

- Select printing, applique, embroidery techniques, fabrics, and trims.

- Prepare over 200 SKUs for production.

- Attend fittings and strike-off reviews.

- Work closely with Global Product Strategy, Product Development, Sourcing, and Technical teams from beginning to end of design process.

- Present final line to our global partners at Global Line Review.

Senior Designer

- Hired to develop an apparel line for Project 7 under a new brand, "Products For Good."

- Created brand "vision” and set branding direction, including logo, hang tags, labels and trims.

- Responsible for all tee designs.

- Worked with manufacturers to develop custom tee bodies, approve lab dips, prepare files for screen printing, and order samples.

- Branded Project 7's "Feed the Hungry" 2012 campaign to provide 1 million meals in U.S. communities.

Senior Graphic Designer

- Lead the development of all womens and girls artwork for all tiers of distribution. 

- Designed new core and stylized fashion style guides. Each style guide was based on a theme, and included color palette, character art, graphics, and prints. Art from the style guides was intended for use on everything from tees to home.

- Worked with licensees to meet their needs by creating new art as needed, and by revising art submits to meet standards and stay on-brand.

- Designed and developed licensed products, such as bikes, watches, and Lip Smackers.

- Illustrated the children's book Let's Dance with Julius and Friends, published by Chronicle Books.

- Part of a 3-person team to launch Toddland, a men’s brand which had accounts with Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom, Tilly’s, and Hot Topic.

- Created graphics for tees, accessories, and trims, and prints for sportswear. 

- Designed the burger and fries wallets, as well as the "bikes tee," which have been very iconic for the brand.

- Designed and created in-store displays and windows.

Freelance Designer

Kelly Hickenbottom is a Design Manager at The Walt Disney Company / Disney Consumer Products in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.

Kelly Hickenbottom

Kelly Hickenbottom

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Education history

California State University, Fullerton