Michiko Rhoden, MFA
Portfolio: www.MichikoDesign.com
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Art Director / Graphic Designer / Web Designer

Create world-class, highest quality print / web design with an exceptional eye for detail. Listen to clients and truly understand their objectives and audience. Passion and intuition to solve challenging visual problems in the most elegant way.

  11 years of graphic/web design experience
  Solid experience in social network site design
  High Exposure to startups and online companies
  Expertise in branding, logo, packaging, print and web design
  Strong conceptual skills: able to translate ideas into reality
  Solid knowledge of traditional graphic design & typography
  Proven ability to optimize UI/UX with technical feasibility
  Responsible & professional: time, budget and communication
  Flexible on clients’ requests
  Excellent team player, "Easy to work with"

 


Professional Experience
OUTSPARK
Art Director
San Francisco, CA
July 2008 to September 2008

Drastically redesigned Outspark.com to a fully functional and fun social networking portal for gamers from merely a list of games. Created much lighter and up-to-date look & feel that fits the current market.

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  Designed the main Outspark.com portal that contains the most current functions in which users can participate and socialize.
  Created templates that can be utilized for the entire websites, including the individual game portals.
  Templates include the most effective ad placements.
  Enhanced the Shopping channel that is one of the key elements for revenue generation.
  Gave directions to create a new online virtual world to match the new Outspark brand.
  Actively led the other designers on how to apply the new Outspark brand and at the same time balanced and utilized their creativity.

 

CURSE, INC.
Art Director
San Francisco, CA
April 2007 to June 2008

Having hard core online gamers as their audience, Curse.com needed much more refined look & feel, better navigation and layout to accommodate expanding services including add-on downloads, forums, news, numerous upcoming games, videos & images, wiki, blogs, database and social networking. Redesigned not only Curse.com with an innovative approach but many other Curse Network websites to enhance their brand positioning.

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  Designed the main Curse.com main portal and sub-portals and drastically enhanced the user experience.
  Designed a template for fan site and applied it to the other game sites.
  Created many marketing pages such as sweepstakes pages and ads.
  Created the attractive UI for Curse Client application.

 

Military Advantage (acquired by Monster Worldwide)
Lead Designer / User Interface Graphic Designer
San Francisco, CA
April 2003 to April 2007

Successfully redesigned the large scale, complex and diverse portal website for Military.com, a division of Monster Worldwide. Created trustworthy look & feel and dramatically enhanced their visual brand image.

Simplified the navigation and information layout, considering both the intuitive user experience and all the marketing needs. Integrated all the channels visually, including Homepage, News, Benefits, Careers, Education, Finance, Recruiting, Travel, Community, Shopping, and Entertainment.

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  Over 400 design projects including numerous landing and content pages, applications, email newsletters, marketing emails, online ads, co-branded webpages, member registration pages, and lead forms.
  Created the Design Guideline for the entire website for the first time in Military.com and was responsible for keeping the high standard on all the design related projects.
  Optimized the UI for key products and directly affected the member acquisition and revenue increase.
  Designed the websites for major presentation for several government contracts including Army ROTC Alumni Network, CG (Coast Guard) Homeport, Guard Community, Navy 4 Life, Military Spouse Career Center, Military Style, and Transition Assistance Program.
  Designed the essential corporate/marketing print collaterals including promotional bookmarks, business cards, stationery system, folder, B-to-B sales flyers, and Monster Military co-branded logo.
  Designed the book jacket for The Military Advantage: A Comprehensive Guide to Your Military & Veterans Benefits (Publisher: Simon & Schuster), which was #2 ranking at Amazon.com.
  Actively led the other designers and improved not only their design skills but also the productivity.

 

Extraprise
Designer
San Francisco, CA
October 2000 to August 2001

Recognized as an excellent conceptual thinker and solid designer. Designed logos, environmental graphics, identity systems including business cards and stationary, print collaterals, and websites for various clients. Assisted production work for a high-end consumer catalog.

Projects: Kodak Student Filmmaker Program (Logo), Kodak CinemaWorld Theaters in Shanghai (Environmental graphics), Kodak Cinema Notes (Newsletter masthead), RCA (eCommerce website), QoE (Corporate website and informational illustration), Extraprise (Business card, stationery system and corporate website), Arthur Beren Shoes (Consumer catalog)

 

Peoplesoft
User Interface Designer
Pleasanton, CA
May 1999 to September 2000

Developed user-friendly UI for PeopleSoft's first web-based software. Designed a simple, strong and recognizable icon style that fits the corporate brand image and created more than 50 icons with the consistent style. Designed team logos and applied them to corporate clothing and email signature.

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  Visual UI development for web-based applications for employees, management, suppliers and HR.
  Applications include Travel booking, Time Report, Expense Report, Treasury, and eProcurement.
  Translated abstract concepts into concrete, solid and simple visual icons.

 

Cooksherman (BrandTank)
Designer
San Francisco , CA
July 1999 to September 1999

Demonstrated a persistent exploration of design possibilities until solving problems. Designed logos, stationery, folder, sell sheet, vehicle graphics, and packaging for various clients. Learned real-world design process, from concept development and design excution to practical implementation. Gained extensive knowledge of printing process.

Projects: NetGravity (Folder), NewsReal (Logo, business card, stationery system, and folder), Niman Ranch (Food packaging, business card, stationery system, sell sheet, and vehicle graphics), StockPower (Logo)

 

PMP Advertising Inc.
Intern to Full-time Designer
San Francisco , CA
June 1997 to June 1999

Designed covers and layouts for monthly Japanese magazine. Designed the web version of the magazine and updated monthly. Designed print collaterals such as flyers, brochures, business cards, and posters for various clients. Created numerous ads for magazines and phone directory.

Major projects: Monthly Japanese magazine MON (Covers and layouts), Japanese Phone Directory (Layouts and ads), Benihana (Poster), Cherry Blossom Festival (Poster and brochure), Kikkoman (Ad), JFC International (Rice bag packaging), Nippon Express (Brochure)

 


Freelance Experience

1997 to present
Design a wide range of branding, print, and web projects for various clients. Self-motivated to deliver the best quality design that exceeds clients' expectations, on time and within budget. Expanded knowledge of creative process, approach, and vision through working for different design firms/agencies, with talented designers and art directors. Gained communication skills to build comfortable yet professional relationships with clients, including clarification of budget and deadlines, design directions and changes, and practical implementation.

Clients
Airnex Communications (Logo, business card, phone card, and signage)
American Reprographics Company (Brochures)
Banks.com (Logo)
Café de la Presse (Restaurant logo and poster)
C&L Steak (Restaurant logo)
Cocola Bakery (Website)
Curse, Inc. (Homepage www.curse.com, icons, and sweepstakes pages)
Dark Horse Chocolate (Logo)
Kellog School of Management (Website enhancement)
Liberty Foods (Pie dough packaging)
Live Gamer (Website)
Louie & Wong LLP (Print and online ads)
Military Advantage (Helmets to Hardhats brochure)
Real Exposure Photography (Logo, business card, stationery, and Flash website www.real-exposure.com)
Star Dough (Logo and package enhancements)
Start Fitness (T-shirt)
Suna Solutions (Website www.suna.com)
Sunlight Readers (Logo and label)
Those Boys (Website)
Urban Peacock (Logo enhancement)
Vicolo Wholesale (Pizza packaging, labels, sell sheets, print collaterals, food show poster, and website www.vicolopizza.com)

Design Firms / Agencies
2001-08 Convergencies, San Francisco, CA
JGC (Newsletter, brochure, and binder cover), Ivy Athletic Trust (Logo), Firelake Capital Management (Logo, business card, stationery system, and PowerPoint template), Kodak CinemaWorld (Brand guide), iKnowMed (Brochure)
2007 Sloat Design Group, San Francisco, CA
Peter Imlay (Logo), Veaco Group (Website enhancement)
2004-05 Hutner Group, San Francisco, CA
Stern Grove Festival (Logo), Marina Bay Real Estate (Logo), Bayside Village (Logo)
2003 Evenson Design Group, Culver City, CA
Encore Software (Game packaging), Harcourt School Publishers (Social study textbook layout) Vistamar High School (Logo)
2003 Vigon | Ellis, Studio City, CA
Spike TV (Logo)
2003 mires > design for brands, San Diego, CA
Intel (Brand guide), Upstate (Newsletter)
2003 Nita Ybarra Design, San Francisco, CA
Collaborated for a book design: Drumming the I-Ching (Icons and book interior layout), Elle Dining by Design (Brochure layout)
2002 Mortensen Design, Mountain View, CA
Venture Bank (Logo)
1999-03 Lucid Strategies, San Francisco, CA
Book: Drumming the I-Ching (Icons and book interior layout), Lucid Strategies (Website and Flash intro), Orange Guard (Pesticide packaging)
1999 Pentagram, San Francisco, CA
Excite@Home (Stationery and co-branded logo)

 


Previous Work Experience

Tasaki Shinju, Co., Inc., Kobe, Japan, Sales Person/Office Worker,
April 1993 to April 1995

 


Awards

Graphis Poster Annual 2007, Gold
Western Art Directors Club
, 37th Annual West Coast Show, 2003, Award of Excellence

 


Technical Skills
• Photoshop
• Illustrator
• InDesign
• QuarkXpress

• Flash
• Dreamweaver
• HTML
• Adobe Acrobat

• Microsoft Office
(Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Both Mac and PC platforms
• Proficient in use of Japanese fonts

 


Education

MFA in Graphic Design, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, 1998
Post Baccalaureate in Graphic Design, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, 1996
BA in Linguistics, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan, 1993

Licences
English teacher for junior/senior high schools in Japan
Museum curator in Japan (practical training required)

Languages
English and Japanese

 


Contact

Michiko Rhoden
Art Director / Graphic Designer

4001 San Leandro St. #13, Oakland, CA 94601
Phone: (415) 640-5661
Fax: (510) 534-7345
Email: michirho@comcast.net
www.MichikoDesign.com

References available upon request