About me

Hello

I am currently employed as Graphic Designer/Marketing Manager for the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme where I am responsible for all their visual communications amongst other duties.

As a company in the entertainment business, much of what I do now; it's target audiences and stakeholders; have many similarities with your business and what it requires.

My input on the creative side, both with design and ideas, has contributed to the current success of the theatre, which has just had its most successful year to date. I have created campaigns which have covered below and above the line advertising and promotion, online email campaigns, social media strategy and am currently the Project Manager for the website we are creating for our summer plays festival inspired by the Staffordshire Hoard (a parallax content management site). I do have limited coding skills, but I understand the requirements of a website, have designed the current New Vic site (also currently being modernised and re-designed) and am happy briefing web designers. I would be very keen to take on the responsibilities of hands-on web-design and learn the new skills required for your role, as I also feel it is very important to embrace new challenges.

Throughout my time at the New Vic, I have always been at the vanguard of our marketing and design strategy and tactics. Many of our marketing and design initiatives have been instigated and managed by myself, for example; our billboard and street media Christmas campaigns, our magazine-style brochure which enables us to provide both P.R. and sales info in the same document and investing in in-house TV screens which enable us to run our own dynamic adverts and trailers. However, whatever I have championed or created, I have always ensured that our identity and brand personality was evident and protected.

I am constantly juggling a range of projects, as in addition to promoting our work on stage, I produce work for our various outreach projects, (collaborating with partner organisations such as Keele University) and for fundraising initiatives and corporate projects. Needless to say, I believe I am an extremely good plate spinner, who knows that the devil is in the detail.

I use Adobe Creative Suite on a daily basis, and I think of myself as a Photoshop expert having had to put together an incredible range of different images whilest at the New Vic - I can certainly make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. I have put tattoos on fingers, flames from the mouth of a dragon lady, and even piled puppies on Cruella DeVil.

My interest in the strategic side of marketing led me to take the Chartered Institute of Marketing's Diploma in Tourism and Services Marketing and I believe this helps inform my design work making it more targeted.

I would love the opportunity to discuss where you want the business to go and how I could help you get there and beyond. Thank you for considering my application.

Yours sincerely

Candida Kelsall