My Journey
I have been a creative person with an analytical mind all my life. I have a passion for visuals and a flair for structure.
My professional career started in Pittsburg Kansas at Millers Professional Imaging where as a digital retouch artist I was tasked with digitally retouching professional photographers' images. Everything from senior portraits to celebrity events. I removed so many blemishes! Was a great job to have while finishing my college degree in Commercial Graphics.
After graduating from Pittsburg State University, I was hired as a Production Artist at a small packaging design company located in Kansas City named AGI, Inc. (Amundson Group International). I was responsible for creating precise mechanical die lines and adding designer artwork to several differently-sized boxes, backercards, hangtags or labels. After a year of learning all I could about the packaging industry, I started moving into the different areas of the company. I was elevated to Sr. Production Artist, where I helped maintain our IT equipment, trained new artists and also started to assist in photo shoots with the Art Director. After our longtime Art Director retired, I was named her successor. As Art Director I oversaw all of the photo requirements of our clients. From booking photoshoots to budgeting costs, I performed this job for several years. I continue to perform freelance duties for one of our best clients today.
After AGI, Inc. closed its doors after many successful years, I was looking for a new opportunity. That's when I was hired as an Engineering Production Coordinator at Toner Inkcycle, Inc. Not my normal creative position, but it allowed me to use the other side of my brain, the analytical side. I was tasked with coordinating all of the engineering depts. projects. From R&D to Quality, I performed many duties to help the team stay on track time-wise and budget-wise. While performing these duties, I also took every chance I could to show that I could also contribute creatively. Initially creating all of the interoffice social gathering posters and photography. Then by gaining the trust of the Marketing Manager, I started working on client-side items.
I started providing all of the creative needs in-house instead of hiring outside firms to do the work. This reduced the costs and was significantly more efficient. It helped the company start a third division called Consumer Products. Not only did we remanufacture Ink and Toner Cartridges, but we now were able to brand, produce and sell consumer products outside our normal offerings. The first new product we helped succeed was a handy little item called "Mighty Handle". We took a prototyped product from minimal sales to the largest US retailer and ended up selling over 900,000 units nationwide. Was a great initial project. This is when I was moved from Engineering Production Coordinator to Marketing Coordinator. The next big project came in the form of providing new images for our dated dealer-only website. We had over 1,800 products in our Toner and Ink catalog. I was able to provide all of the photography in-house at a greatly reduced cost. The site was fully revamped within 2 months and provided our customers with a visual representation that matched their orders. After a few more projects like that, I was promoted to Creative Marketing Specialist. I was given another great project, it was to create a new consumer-side website that was separate from our dealer business. At the direction of the EVP, we created Office 66. A web business that offered several of the highest-demanded items from our dealer catalog. I was able to create the website (which I've not done before to this point), produce the images for over 500 items and set up a store to start selling to everyday consumers. This turned out to be a great success, helping further our reach to the end users. In 2020 everyone was concerned with their health due to the pandemic. So the company created a new brand of personal protection products called EPH (Emerald Prairie Health). I provided the branding, which included everything from the logo, packaging, photography and a website, to the marketing assets and social media presence for over 50 items. In a very short time, we were able to provide people with the protection items they needed to get through this horrible time.
Projects
WALMART CURTAIN PROGRAM
The company was awarded the complete production and photography responsibilities of the Walmart curtain program. My duties included Art Direction of the imagery, which included direction, booking studio time, booking stylist, cost control and continued contact with client lead art director for immediate approvals. Click the image for examples.
EMERALD PRAIRIE HEALTH
Created a Health & Beauty division within Inkcycle, Inc. The program became a very successful division that sold on the main EPH website store and Amazon. Included a wide variety of products from Hand Sanitizer, Disinfectant Solutions, KN95 Masks, Foggers and other self-protection items. Click the image for examples.
CRAFTSMAN TOOL
The company was awarded the complete production and photography responsibilities of the Sears Craftsman Tools program. My duties included Art Direction of the imagery, which included direction, booking studio time, booking stylist, cost control and continued contact with the client lead art director for for immediate approvals. Click the image for examples.
MIGHTY HANDLE
Mighty Handle is a new product that I helped update the look and functionality of. Included creating sales & marketing pieces, packaging and images. I acted as the liaison between my company and Walmart's supply chain team. Kept detailed records of store sales and internal documentation. Click the image for examples.
michaelriley226@gmail.com.com | 913-231-6136