Art Director @ HATCHBEAUTY

Erin M. Routson

Los Angeles, CA

Follow
Contact
Save to list

About

I want to do excellent, informed work; I want to solve problems. After completing my MFA in Design Criticism exploring public housing as a system and service, and three years at L'Oréal, I am now Art Director at HATCHBEAUTY in Los Angelesl. If I can swing it, I write about architecture and NBA basketball (separately for now) for print publications and the Internet.

Specialties: Writing & Editing, Print, Art Direction, Branding & Identity, Adobe Creative Suite, QuarkXPress, Pre-Press, Budgeting, Vendor Relations, Press Checks, Color
Education
- MFA Design Criticism
  
  School of Visual Arts
  
  2010 - 2012
  
  Masters thesis "Public Housing is for People: A Critical Manifesto" presented at Eventually Everything, the 2012 Design Criticism Conference. TA for the Blogging Workshop with Elizabeth Spiers, and the Design Book with Karen Stein
- BSDes Graphic Design, Pre-Law
  
  University of Cincinnati
  
  2001 - 2006
  
  Completed six quarters of internship through professional practice co-operative learning program
Experience
- Director, Global Creative
  
  L'Oréal
  
  Feb 2013 - Present (11 years 10 months)
  
  Ralph Lauren Fragrances - concept and design for primary and secondary packaging, promotions, gift sets, and other collateral. Development of texture items and visual merchandising both domestically and internationally. Press and product approvals. Art direction for promotional photography.
- Freelance Art Director
  
  L'Oréal
  
  Jul 2012 - Feb 2013 (7 months)
  
  Ralph Lauren Fragrances - concept and design for primary and secondary packaging, promotions, gift sets, and other collateral. Press and product approvals.
- Visiting Critic
  
  Fashion Institute of Technology
  
  Jul 2012 - Jul 2012
  
  Visiting critic for the MA Exhibition Design program, critiquing students' final projects for the summer session
- Senior Researcher
  
  Public Policy Lab
  
  Jan 2011 - Jul 2012 (1 year 6 months)
  
  Researching and writing about the intersection of policy and design, focusing on effective service design developed by government agencies. Articles are regularly published on the Lab's blog.
- Masters Candidate
  
  School of Visual Arts
  
  Aug 2010 - May 2012 (1 year 9 months)
  
  Thesis development regarding what comes after high rise public housing in America in terms of policy and design, focusing on case study work in Newark, New Jersey.
- Senior Graphic Designer
  
  Heather B. Moore Inc.
  
  Mar 2010 - Aug 2010 (5 months)
  
  Managed a small team producing all print collateral and marketing materials for handmade jewelry company. Responsible for art directing product photography and coordinating retouching. Maintained website and handled all press and vendor contacts.
- Freelance Designer
  
  Freelance
  
  Oct 2009 - Mar 2010 (5 months)
  
  Freelance consulting and design work for various Cleveland businesses including Stancato's Italian Restaurant and Signature Sauces, Inc. Creation of print collateral for marketing purposes as well as logo work, packaging, and web design.
- Graphic Designer
  
  Abercrombie & Fitch
  
  May 2008 - Jan 2009 (8 months)
  
  Brand Marketing - Photo Marketing and Fragrance/Personal Care Packaging Design
  
  Responsible for preparation of photographs for in-store as well as outdoor marketing usage. creation of photo stories for each season, all brands. Previously designed packaging and other collateral for the fragrance/personal care team for Gilly Hicks and Ruehl brands. Work with vendors, on-site color approval and on-press experience for products.
- Art Director
  
  Newell Rubbermaid - Beauty & Style
  
  Nov 2006 - May 2008 (1 year 6 months)
  
  Beauty & Style (Goody), Fashion Accessories - Packaging, Print Marketing and Merchandising for fashion side of hair accessories business
  
  Responsible for design development of packaging, merchandisers and all print collateral for fashion hair accessories. Conceptualization and execution for campaigns involving exclusive packaging, editorial photo shoots and lookbooks. Responsibility for taking projects from inception to completion, including work with vendors.
- Creative Services Intern
  
  LPK
  
  Mar 2005 - Dec 2005 (9 months)
  
  Work with design and production teams. Responsibilities from concepting, packaging design, and presentation preparation to scanning, comping and image searching for various clients – primarily Hershey brands as well as Jimmy Dean, Mr. Clean, and Tampax.
- Design Intern
  
  University of Cincinnati College of DAAP
  
  Sep 2004 - Dec 2004 (3 months)
  
  Design and production of promotional materials for the college, including gallery opening mailers and brochures, faculty announcements, and internal items such as calendars and posters.
- Design Intern
  
  FRCH Design Worldwide
  
  Mar 2004 - Jun 2004 (3 months)
  
  Hospitality and Restaurant studio, Graphics team. Design and production responsibility on projects from clients including Hampton Inns and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Prepared boards and project briefs for presentations, researched imagery for proposals.
- Production/Design Intern
  
  Deskey Integrated Branding
  
  Mar 2003 - Dec 2003 (9 months)
  
  Worked on projects for Procter & Gamble, Georgia Pacific, and other clients. Scanning, printing and comping work for both teams. Prepared and released files to separators. participated in photo shoots, user testing, and client meetings.
Awards

work exhibited on designingwithtype.com

writing published by CLOG, Unbest, and on the D-Crit Reading Room
Affiliations

AIGA
Skills
- Art Direction
- Graphic Design
Elsewhere on the Web
- n
On Coroflot

@erinmroutson, member since 2006
- Followers 8

Erin M. Routson

Level 3 - Interior Project Architect / Technical Lead

Graphics Design and Social Media Manager