About Chris
Graphic Design | Art Direction | Photography
Hi! I'm Chris Michalik, a graphic designer located in Downtown St. Petersburg, FL with 13+ years of creative experience in organizations ranging from small business to Fortune 500. I have worked with a range of clients including ESPN, The Outback Bowl, Bob's Carpet & Flooring and Tech Data.
My specialties include logos, branding, and digital design, with extensive experience in packaging, print, outdoor, signage, social media, and front-end web design and development. Additionally, I have a passion for photography and videography, especially sports and urban scenery. During the fall, I volunteer my free time shooting both photos and videos for a local high school football team and I can often be found snapping photos of things that catch my eye around St. Pete.
Unofficially, I've been designing since I was 10 years old when I started recreating various sports logos in Mircosoft Paint. Subsequently, I took design and art classes through high school, then went on to focus on marketing and advertising at Florida State University. This gave me the acumen for the business side of the creative field that I needed to navigate the world of advertising. After graduating with my B.A., I interned with Visit Tampa Bay, focusing on design and creative production.
In my free time, when I'm not freelancing or taking photos for fun, I can be found running, cooking, gardening or enjoying some of the delicious food and beverages that Downtown St. Pete has to offer.
Please feel free to reach out to me. I am always looking for new collaborative opportunities!
Experience
Contract Art Director
The Legacy Theory
2020 - Present
St. Petersburg, FL
- Develop elements and assets for clients including logos, color schemes, and branding guides
- Design digital and print collateral adhering to brand standards for a cohesive look and feel
- Establish scopes of work, timelines, and estimates for new client projects
Art Director
The Spot On Agency
2020
St. Petersburg, FL
- Developed and audited client branding guides, providing recommendations for improvements
- Managed a team of two designers, along with collaborating with developers and writers
- Provided feedback and guidance to designers to ensure a cohesive look and feel
- Worked directly with clients in the absence of account managers to pitch designs, provide recommendations, and keep projects in motion
- Established scopes of work, timelines, and estimates for new client projects
Graphic Designer
CEA Marketing
2016 - 2019
Clearwater, FL
- Developed elements and assets for clients including logos, color schemes, and branding guides
- Designed digital and print collateral adhering to brand standards for a cohesive look and feel
- Collaborated with creative directors, art directors, copywriters, developers, and account managers to provide clients with a creative, seamless agency experience that met clients' needs
- Photographed events for use in print and digital collateral and to be posted live on social media
- Worked directly with sports-related clients to pitch designs and ensure proper terminology and visuals were implemented for their consumer base
- Developed a process for the agency where high-quality photos from a professional camera could be pushed straight to social media without the need for SD card running, reducing the time from when the photo was taken to when it was live giving the audience a better experience
- Established design templates for websites, emails, and social media with up-to-date-specs
- Provided direction and instruction to interns and production artists
- Built out presentation decks and mockups for client presentations
Graphic Designer
BioBag Americas
2012 - 2016
Dunedin, FL
- Implemented and enforced new brand standards, including creating a branding guide
- Created and updated packaging, ads, signage, emails, coupons, and other marketing collateral
- Worked directly with print shops in the preparation of art files
- Maintained database of all product photos, including photographing new products or packaging
Design Coordinator
TDAgency @ Tech Data
2007 - 2010
Clearwater, FL
- Designed ads, collateral, emails, and signage, while adhering to brand and media requirements
- Determined campaign objectives, messaging, and creative direction
- Excuted email campaigns, including design, testing, scheduling, distribution, and reporting
- Managed client accounts as the point of contact for stakeholders
Production Intern
Visit Tampa Bay
2007
Tampa, FL
- Designed print collateral to promote the Tampa Bay area as a vacation and convention destination
- Printed and prepared materials in in-house print room
- Processed media inquiries for logos, stock images, and stock videos
- Maintained web pages and photo libraries recapping recent events
Education
Florida State University | B.A. Marketing
Minor in Advertising | Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society