Claire Armstrong


objectives

In the 12 years since I first began tinkering with web sites, I’ve seen the internet change, evolve, and become a central part of everyday life. My work in interaction design, coding, print design, and information architecture has evolved along with the web, affording me an opportunity to grow and expand that few professions could offer. I’m looking for a position that will help me continue to grow, and enable me to continue to raise the bar for user experience on the web.


education

California State University, Sacramento
attended 8/04–5/07
degree Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design
gpa 3.5 overall, Dean’s Honor List
scholarships Fred G. Wade Scholarship, Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation, GSE
involvement Graphic Resource Information Design Society president 06–07, alumni volunteer
memberships Art Director & Artist Club (ADAC), American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)


skills

Adobe Photoshop Expert
Adobe InDesign Expert
Adobe Illustrator Expert
Dreamweaver Expert
Flash Intermediate
BBEdit/TextMate Intermediate
Microsoft Suite Expert
HTML Expert
CSS Expert
PHP Intermediate
MySQL Intermediate
JavaScript Intermediate
ActionScript Novice
 

work experience


Drum Channel
Lead Interaction Designer
03/08–present
This position has allowed me to take a leadership role in an emerging web 2.0 startup, combining my love of music and social media. I wear many hats within the company, including web design and development, graphic and print design, and community management.
In 6 months, I designed and implemented the front end of a 200+ page web site. In addition to the typical Photoshop design and XHTML/CSS/JavaScript implementation, I would also often write wireframes, research JavaScript libraries and write copy. Finally, I was instrumental in developing Drum Channel’s social network marketing strategy and community management, as well as the graphic design of print ads, banner ads, promotional materials, and apparel for the company.


Armst & Associates
Freelance Web and Graphic Design
5/98–present
As a hobby, I began designing and developing web sites for friends. Soon word-of-mouth spread, and I ended up declaring a home business to manage my design and web services. I have created and maintained over 25 websites since then, which allowed me to experiment in layout as well as develop my programming and business skills. This experience taught me many valuable lessons about client management and professional relationships.


SuicideGirls.com
Model Assistant/Administrative
06/07–03/08
My transitional job after college while settling in LA. I’ve always had a lot of respect for this company and website and was curious about the inner-workings of the alt culture phenomena. My responsibilities included running online support, managing paperwork and filing, photoshopping photosets, booking travel, transporting models, assistant to the founder, and creating documents.


Red Bull North America
Mobile Energy Team/Promotions
2/06–5/07


CSUS Library Systems Department
Graphic Designer
11/05–7/06
I held this position while a full-time student at CSU Sacramento. The job consisted of designing print pieces such as event banners and signs, websites for library special collections, programming kiosk systems, web programming, and performing web updates. I also covered some troubleshooting and network management.


Alphagraphics
Graphic Designer
4/04–9/05
Alphagraphics was a great experience for me, because I worked as a designer working with major state departments and variety of other clients, as well as my participation in starting up the new franchise. So not only was I designing print pieces, performing pre-press tasks, meeting with and presenting options to clients, performing digital production and bindery; I also designed the forms and workflow which defined the business.


Kinko’s
Document Creation Specialist
6/03–4/04


UCSC Merrill and Crown Colleges
Web Designer
10/02–9/03