A little more about Aleks
My role with o2creative is to provide strategic creative direction and graphic design services for web and print media, along with consultation services in marketing strategy, social media engagement, interface usability and accessibility design and communication. But then… you probably already know this since you’ve visited the site… so how did I get here?
Graduating with an Honours Bachelor Degree in Graphic Design from the York/Sheridan Joint Program in Graphic Design in 2005, I have since gained extensive expertise in consumer-, user- and audience-driven, strategic design and marketing.
Immediately upon graduation, I joined an Ottawa-based, Canada-wide agency, and began working with high-profile corporate clients such as Diageo, Bacardi and Maxxium as well as a full roster of Ottawa-based entertainment and service industry companies.
Jump-starting my career as a freelance designer just year later, I began providing creative direction and editorial design with Ottawa’s Trenz Magazine. The project management requirements associated with developing and coordinating all aspects of a quarterly publication inspired a further interest in strategic and creative thinking.
Over the next five years, I focused on professional development. I initially joined a communications and marketing team at Blue Mountain Wallcoverings, designing and implementing B2C strategic marketing campaigns for high-profile industry clients such as Home Depot and Lowe’s by developing multi-million-dollar point of sale programs, in-store displays and designing rich content product websites for end-consumers.
In 2009, I was hired by Communications New Brunswick as a member of the marketing team for the Government of New Brunswick, where my role revolved around project management and creative direction for a variety of cross-government campaigns. My background in designing web interfaces for consumers resulted in the development of numerous strategically targeted social-media campaigns, digital advertising, blogs and micro-sites with targeted, international reach. Working within the unique usability and accessibility constraints of the provincial government led to a heightened emphasis on user-oriented design in my freelance work.
I eventually moved into B2B marketing when I joined the architecture firm Brook McIlroy and later superkül architect inc., developing and implementing strategic marketing and communications plans with a particular focus on web and social media presence to enhance brand awareness online.
What I do for my clients
Early in 2013, I resumed a full-time freelance career as a creative thinker and graphic designer – providing a range of strategic marketing, branding and graphic design services for print and web, as well as consulting on topics of interface usability and for digital communications, accessibility standards for online content, social media engagement strategies for a range of clients, including PCL and the University of New Brunswick.
My strengths include creative direction, concept development, print-based graphic design, editorial design, branding, strategic marketing and design, and budget management. Over the years, my work has been recognized through a series of awards including the Platinum MarCom Award for a population retention campaign, a Gold CASE Award in communication and design for a university annual report and an honourable mention for design in Applied Arts Magazine.
~ Aleks