About me

Hello there,

My name's Emma and I've been working as an Art Director in London marketing agencies for nearly 13 years. I'm currently still working in London but now live in Kent and am keen to explore opportunities closer to home.

I began my first job in the industry in 2000, when things like smartphones and Facebook were merely glints in Jobs's and Zuckerburg's eyes. So, I feel I have grown up with digital, and am living through and taking part in this incredibly exciting revolution. The world has changed beyond recognition in this time, and this has been reflected in the type of work I've done, moving from an emphasis on print to digital media.

When starting work on a brief, I believe in picking up a pencil and having a stonking good think. The best work comes out of a great idea and for me that means finding a quiet corner and scribbling. A good, big, solid idea becomes the anchor for everything else, when craft comes in to play to ensure that that idea, the key message and brand sing out as clearly as possible. This approach has proved successful, as I've picked up 29 industry awards and won pitches for brands such as Vodafone, Royal Mail, Bird's Eye and ASOS.

Working with a team of people and motivating other creatives can be a delicate skill to master. As an Art Director, I gained a good grounding in this working with designers, artworkers, photographers and illustrators. This has helped me greatly in stepping up to become Brand Guardian on clients such as ATOC (Railcards), Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, and Nectar. Whilst I feel it's important to keep a tight control of the ultimate vision, I try to ensure everyone's voice is heard and that all parties feel they've invested in the project. It's extremely rewarding to brief another creative person on a job and see them respond enthusiastically with fresh ideas.

I've been fortunate enough to take some excellent presentation skills training courses over the years which has given me great confidence in client meetings and when pitching. I've been told I have a calm, reassuring manner and explain things well. I always take a great deal of trouble to be well-prepared for a meeting, and try to structure my presentation to sell the work in a way that, I hope, doesn't feel too much like selling.

I'd love the chance to come in and find out more about such an interesting role, so I really hope you like the work that you see on my portfolio site.

Many thanks,

Emma Leaney.