Maria V.

Experience Summary

Senior Brand & Creative Leader with a strong foundation in graphic design and a career progression from Designer to Art Director to Creative Director. Built and scaled brands across consumer products, e-commerce, retail, wellness, and beverage industries. Combined strategic brand thinking with hands-on creative execution, leading cross-functional teams, optimizing creative operations, and driving brand growth in fast-paced, performance-driven environments. Brought a unique blend of agency, in-house, and freelance experience, balancing long-term brand vision with immediate business objectives. Led distributed teams, managed complex creative production workflows, and collaborated with founders, marketing leaders, and growth teams to deliver impactful brand experiences. **Industry Experience** * Beverage & Alcohol Brands (including tequila and Heineken-related projects) * Restaurants & Hospitality * Beauty & Skincare * Wellness, Supplements & Medical-Adjacent Products * CBD & Consumer Wellness Brands * Retail & Consumer Goods * Mattresses * Furniture * Sportswear * Outdoor, Off-Roading & Watercraft Products * Agriculture & Consumer Plant Products * Seeds * Herbs * Fruits * Plants * Dance, Sports Studio & Festival Organizations **Core Skills & Expertise** Brand Leadership * Brand strategy and positioning * Brand refreshes and rebranding initiatives * Brand architecture and visual identity systems * Product storytelling and brand messaging Creative Direction * Creative leadership and team management * Art direction across digital and print channels * Campaign development and execution * Creative production management Design & Production * Packaging design and print production * Design system development * Creative workflow optimization * Asset localization and adaptation across markets Digital & E-Commerce * Shopify website builds and optimization * E-commerce creative strategy * Amazon and marketplace content development * Performance-focused creative execution Technology & Innovation * Figma implementation and workflow transformation * AI-assisted creative workflows * Prompt engineering for creative and research applications * AI-supported design, content, and production processes Leadership & Collaboration * Remote and global team leadership * Cross-functional stakeholder management * Founder and executive-level collaboration * Creative mentoring and team development **Key Achievements** * Led a global brand refresh for Carnaway, successfully adapting brand assets and messaging across multiple markets. * Directed and managed a remote China-based creative team at SB, improving asset production and campaign execution efficiency. * Drove creative initiatives at RU that directly supported revenue goals, media performance, and company KPIs. * Modernized creative operations at AD by transitioning the team from Photoshop-based workflows to Figma, creating scalable templates, systems, and processes that improved efficiency and collaboration. * Built and launched Shopify e-commerce experiences from the ground up for multiple brands. * Successfully managed packaging development and production across a wide range of consumer product categories. * Established scalable creative systems and processes that improved team productivity and consistency across organizations. **Professional Experience Highlights** Started career in creative agencies, gaining broad experience across branding, design, marketing, packaging, and digital experiences for diverse clients and industries. Progressed into Art Director and Creative Director roles, leading creative teams, overseeing campaign development, and ensuring alignment between business objectives, brand strategy, and creative execution. Carnaway: Led a major brand refresh initiative for this US-based CBD company, managing creative strategy, visual identity development, and asset adaptation for multiple markets. SB: Provided creative leadership for retail-focused consumer brands while directing a distributed team based in China, overseeing asset development, campaign execution, and production workflows. RU: Managed creative direction, production, and performance-focused creative initiatives, ensuring alignment with business growth objectives and key performance metrics. AD: Implemented operational improvements by modernizing creative workflows, introducing Figma-based systems, and building scalable templates that enhanced team efficiency and collaboration. **US-Based Company Experience** Direct experience with US-based organizations, including Carnaway (US-based CBD and wellness brand) and RU. This provided exposure to US consumer markets, cross-functional collaboration with US teams, and brand development within highly competitive consumer product industries. **Time Zone & Availability** * Located in CST (Central Standard Time) * Earliest available start time: 8:00 AM CST * Equivalent to 9:00 AM EST

Key Achievements

Achieved #1 New Release rankings and Best Seller placements on Amazon, maintained ED as a consistent Top Seller in the Amazon Gardening category, and drove Top 5 Best Seller rankings across key categories. Early AI adopter since 2021, successfully managed remote teams of 15+ creatives and worked with major brands including Red Bull, Heineken, Bud Light, and Amstel.

Skills

Work Experience