Lauren Grey | About

Experience

As a seasoned creative, I have led innovative and impactful campaigns, blending strategic thinking with compelling visuals to create unforgettable brand experiences.

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Creative Director – Happy Hour Media Group

May 2019 – Present

Refined operational strategy and enhanced team performance through hands-on mentoring and personalized development in collaboration with the CEO and leadership team.
Improved team efficiency and retention by establishing creative department standards, workflows, and defined career paths for team members.
Secured new accounts and expanded agency revenue as a result of designing winning pitch strategies, price models, and client presentations that showed the team’s capabilities.
Fostered collaboration, innovation, and measurable performance improvement by leading, mentoring, and training a team of junior-level creative team members.
Increased client engagement and boosted campaign conversion rates by expanding the Happy Hour brand with new creative service offerings not previously offered by the company.

Sr. Design Manager – Emerald Studio

April 2017 – April 2019

Drove measurable improvements in brand visibility and engagement by delivering innovative design projects for major clients including Intel, Microsoft, Box, SAP Concur,Schneider Electric, Equifax, CUNA Credit Union, and Rackspace.
Ensured projects were completed on time, within budget, and aligned with brand and business objectives by collaborating with internal teams and client stakeholders.
Streamlined workflows and maintained quality standards across deliverables by recruiting, briefing, directing, and mentoring internal and contract talent in design, programming, and video production.
Produced results-driven creative assets that strengthened and elevated client brand campaign perception by writing detailed creative briefs and providing clear and precise art direction.

Lead Art Director – Hacker Agency

February 2016 – January 2017

Significantly improved performance of direct-mail and creative marketing that transformed campaign direction for AT&T by pitching and developing a data-backed, innovative creative strategy.
Strengthened brand impact, particularly in the smartphone segment of the market, by leveraging testing insights to design and deliver creative assets that increased client’s national market share.
Clearly articulated strategic rationale, design intent, and messaging effectiveness by partnering cross-departmentally to build and refine client presentations.
Contributed to higher-quality output and stronger team performance by mentoring team members in design, technology, presentation skills, and marketing strategy.
Consistently outperformed productivity goals, maintaining a 127% billable utilization rate — the top performance within the creative department of over 20 designers.

Associate Art Director – The Mx Group

September 2012 – February 2016

Elevated and evolved client brands by developing innovative campaign concepts and deliverables that enhanced visibility and market performance.
Achieved a 39% response rate and 62% conversion rate, exceeding industry benchmarks and client goals by co-creating an award-winning direct-mail campaign.
Mentored and coached more than 20 team members in career development, communication, and performance, resulting in measurable improvements in team efficiency and morale.
Nominated for Core Value Awards: “Service to Team Over Reliance on Team” and “Openness to Feedback Over Personal Pride” by being a team member who was always consistently taking on more challenges.

Graphic Design Specialist – Follett Library Resources

June 2010 – August 2012

Delivered cohesive, high-quality creative assets aligned with business objectives by leading and guiding a team of graphic designers and copywriters.
Achieved annual savings exceeding $100,000 by strengthening cross-departmental collaboration, optimizing internal creative resources, and reducing reliance on external vendors.
Streamlined email campaign workflow, cutting production overhead by 94% and saving 15+ hours per campaign, significantly increasing team efficiency to allow the team to take on more work which had been contracted out to freelancers.
Directed and designed the creative execution for Follett’s international expansion into Singapore, producing print materials and environmental graphics for a high-visibility flagship storefront.

Graphic Designer – Freelance

September 2003 – May 2010

Built design and business skills by operating as a Freelance Graphic Designer – one of the greatest learning experiences of my career up to that point.

Web Designer – duoDesign

November 2001 – September 2003

Attracted angel investors for start-up clients by designing cutting-edge websites using new and emerging technologies.

Web & Graphic Designer – TowersPerrin

June 1999 – November 2001

Digitized benefit manuals for use on intranets for internal and external clients by utilizing web best practices leading up to Y2K and beyond.

Web & Graphic Designer – W3DM

September 1997 – June 1999

Created numerous businesses’ first website presences, including early e-commerce sites, as one of the two founding members of this sub-brand of a catalog printing company.