Laurent Newman
Art Director | Photo Retoucher | Visual Designer · Buttercloth
Lakewood, CA
In My Own Words
CPG DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT EXPERT | ART DIRECTOR DIGITAL RETOUCHER | AWARD-WINNING DIGITAL ARTIST
Work Experience
Art Director | Photo Retoucher | Visual Designer
Buttercloth2021 – Present
• Ideate and design print, digital and social branded content, assets, and experiences across owned and paid channels. • Plan and direct photoshoots that deliver against project goals (products / live models / studio and off-site lifestyle). • In charge of photo-retouching, compositing, color-correcting high-volume photography for e-comm, social media, digital and print catalogs. • Maintain imagery on Shopify-based DTC store, updating with new products and corporate announcements. • Manage freelance designers’ projects, workflows and monitor quality output.
Graphic Designer | Art Director
Self-Employed2018 – 2021
• Designed and produced a variety of digital creative deliverables such as Style Guides, Visual presentations, Packaging Designs, Merchandising Renderings, Social Media Visuals, Surface Designs for Interior Decoration. • Developed engaging marketing and promotional advertisements to generate sales revenue and grow customer base. • Walmart • Zag Entertainment • Moose Toys • Gaumont Animations
Director of Product Design
ThinkGeek2016 – 2018
• Head of Design team responsible for R&D of all licensed and proprietary products ($80M business) • Concepted, designed, sketched, prototyped (including managing art-to-product, sample creation, fit sessions, and electronic breadboards, where applicable), delivered and presented trend-right consumer centric product lines that featured market-leading innovations and great price/value for each tier of the value pyramid. • Created in-house Packaging Department and eliminated offshore subcontracting, resulting in cost reduction in product manufacturing of more than 30% over 3 years. • Oversaw and trained multidisciplinary team of 8 comprised of designers and engineers. • Supervised several projects simultaneously, maintaining profitability of each and consistently exceeding design expectations.
Creative Director | Sr. Creative Artist
Artissimo Designs, LLC2011 – 2016
01/2013 - 01/2016 • Creative Director responsible for developing Artissimo's entire line of wall-decor product ($120M business) • Managed team of 5 designers 01/2011 - 01/2013 • Art Director of a new Sports & Entertainment division of licensed wall decor products that generated over $20 million in sales in 2 years. • Licenses included NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA, mulitple Disney properties, Sanrio, Pixar
Freelance Art Director
Mattel2009 – 2010
Mattel: • Team leader responsible for the design of 7 style guides for Mattel's premier brands including Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket and Monster High. • Led a global team of product developers across multiple categories, driving all aspects of the consumer product design process.
Design Manager | Senior Designer
Disney Consumer Products, Glendale, CA2006 – 2009
• Directed design of 20 style-guides for Disney consumer products. • Managed the development of all creative assets and third-party consumer products worldwide. • Reviewed design submissions from licensees and participated in concept line review meetings to ensure a saleable product line. • Traveled to production sites in Asia to ensure a high-quality product line. • Increased DCP’s revenue from earned royalties by double-digit percentages in 2008, with growth across multiple product categories.
Education
American Graphic Design Awards
American Graphic Design Awards2012 – 2019
American Graphic Design Awards