Elaine de la Mata

Independent contractor for the Toy, Entertainment and CG industries. Sketches, renders, concept art, product specs, line development, new product pitches, design management. On-time, on-cost, everybody happy!

• Strategic design lead and product management on Care Bears, ZooBalloos, CakePop Cuties, Mash’ems Wear’ems, Pound Puppies
• Ideate and innovate on existing brands
• Present original concepts to executive team to expand company portfolio
• Manage freelance designers and work in tandem with HK engineers, giving clear direction, meeting deadlines, maintaining cost margins and overseeing deliverables
• Highly skilled in traditional sketching, Sketchbook Pro, and Adobe Creative Suite - Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, iMovie, Adobe Acrobat
• Proficient in Microsoft Office - Excel, PowerPoint, Word
• Work cross-departmentally with Marketing, Packaging, Social Media and Sales
• Lead trend-spotting, market analysis and competitive updates for Product Development team
• Collaborate on update of Product Development departmental procedures
• Represent Product Development department in building new company-wide workflow system

• directed, developed and designed for several brands including:
Disney Princess Palace Pets, Squinkies ‘do Drops and multiple Target Exclusives
• art directed development of new websites, webisodes and social media presence
• researched and presented monthly trend overviews
• managed graphic design team in the creation of all artwork for packaging, websites, tradeshow and marketing materials
• communicated daily with HK team and China factories (travel 1x per year)
• worked closely with company owners to ideate and plan product lines
• hired and directed vendors
• negotiated production costs at or under goal
• presented new product lines to retail buyers at Target and Walmart

• designed and product managed several brands, including Dora the Explorer and Mickey Mouse
• worked closely with content, packaging, media and marketing departments
• regularly presented concepts and product updates to upper management
• communicated daily with HK and China factories
• hired and directed vendors
• attended weekly licensor meetings

• senior Toy Design students’ Children’s Book Class

• founded design and illustration studio with partner, Kurt Marquart
• freelanced and consulted with creative companies around the world
• created and licensed unique character lines, including Squaredy Cats
• clients include Mattel, Spin Master, The Bridge, Basic Fun, Scholastic Books

• designed and product managed brands including Backyardigans, Dora, Blues Clues
• communicated daily with HK team and China factories
• hired and directed vendors
• attended weekly licensor meetings

• responsible for team of 5 full-time designers, plus freelancers and interns
• lead on product, packaging, art and media for brands including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Nickelodeon
• directed, cast and styled all photo shoots
• designed trade show booths
• communicated with, and traveled to, Asia
• regular communication and travel with licensors

• designed licensed toys and premiums, plush and plastic, including:
Marvel, Disney, Pixar, Warner Bros and Barney
• assisted on photo shoots and trade show design