Craig Sosonko

Art Director

CraigSosonko

San Francisco

Portfolio: http://portfolio.sosonko.com

I've been creating award winning interactive experiences for top brands since the dawn of the dot com days. With a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York I'm experienced not only in Design and Information Architecture, but also with Illustration, Photography and Video.

My resume includes over 10 years of creative experience working with brands including E*TRADE, CNN, Nokia, American Express, Kmart, Absolut, and MTV.

Outside of pushing pixels, I can be found traveling the world, learning Japanese from my wife Natsuko or going a few rounds at the Kyokushin Karate Dojo.

Don't be shy, say hello!
http://portfolio.sosonko.com/say-hi/

Experience

  • Creative Consultant
    Tokyo, Japan
    Apr 2008 - Mar 2009
    Nikon Internet Business Department

    Responsible for developing and guiding all areas of creative for mypicturetown.com including Design, Marketing, Information Architecture and User Experience.

  • Senior Art Director
    New York, USA
    Feb 2005 - Aug 2007
    Agency.com
    • Collaborated extensively with Creative directors and account teams to develop strategies and award winning marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 clients.

      Played a key role in developing and presenting new business pitches to prospective clients.

      Developed Online and Offline brand-building concepts including Websites, Banner Ads, Print Ads, Television and Out of Home Digital Displays for clients such as: ETrade, Discovery Networks, CNN, eBay, Long & Foster, Del Monte and BrownCo

      Supervised and mentored junior Art directors, Designers, Copywriters and production teams.

      Worked with clients and Project mangers to Develop schedules and creative budgets.

      Assisted in client relations and management including creative briefings, project updates and client presentations.

      * Responsible for casting and managing studio photography and video shoots.
  • Art Director
    New York, USA
    Dec 2002 - Jun 2004
    Smartmoney.com
    • Created and managed all aspects of creative for Smartmoney.com as well as Advertising Partners and Third Parties’ licensed tools and content.

      Responsible for redesigning Smartmoney.com, which averages 2.1 million unique visitors a month and generates 24 million monthly page views.

      Created and implemented style guides and site guidelines.

      Managed junior Designers and closely collaborated with development teams to build World Class personal Finance and Investment tools.

      Collaborated with Advertising Partners to develop uniquely tailored marketing campaigns to run specifically on Smartmoney.com, Clients included: American Express, Chase, JP Morgan and Cigna
  • Interactive Art Director
    New York, USA
    Oct 2000 - May 2001
    TBWA\CHIAT\DAY
    • Collaborated with traditional print and television creative teams to develop the online creative for complete through the line marketing campaigns.

      Responsible for the concept, design and development of award winning web banners and websites for clients such as: Kmart, Absolut, New York City Public Schools and the Sci Fi Channel.

      Managed and supervised production teams and freelancers.
  • Senior Designer
    New York, USA
    Nov 1999 - Oct 2000
    Heavy.com
    • Responsible for all aspects of web design with a focus on High Bandwidth content.

      Designed and developed websites in Flash as well as traditional HTML built sites.

      Collaborated closely with Creative Directors, Designers and development teams to build unique online experiences for clients such as: Showtime, Nothing records, Transparent Music and Independent Pictures

  • Jun 1998 - Present
    Additional Clients / Freelance

    Microsoft, Yahoo, United Healthcare, British Airways, Media Tavern, Independent Film Channel, Zentropy Partners McCann-Erickson, Grey Direct, Atmosphere BBDO, Pratt School of Design, Viacom, Beyond Interactive

Education

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts - Illustration
    New York, USA
    Sep 1994 - May 1998
    School of Visual Arts

    Recipient of the Silas H. Rhodes Scholarship

New section


  • Awards & Honors

    Ad: Tech Awards
    * 2007 Best Direct Response Campaign - eBay
    * 2001 Best Consumer Campaign – Kmart
    * 2001 Best Local Market or Small Business Campaign – NYC Public Schools


    2005 American Design Award - Post-it

    2007 Effie Retail Campaign Award - Gold - eBay

    Horizon Interactive Awards
    * 2007 Self-Promotion/Company Identity - Gold – Long & Foster
    * 2006 Sales/E-commerce - Gold – eBay
    * 2006 Magazine/News - Silver – CNN.com
    * 2006 Banner/Email Ad - Bronze – CNN.com

    Internet Advertising Competition
    * 2006 Best News Rich Media Online Campaign – CNN.com
    * 2006 Outstanding Rich media Online Campaign – eBay
    * 2006 Best Retail Microsite/landing Page – eBay
    * 2005 Outstanding Rich media Online campaign – Post-it


    2005 iNOVA Award - Marketing: Banners – Silver – CNN.com

Expertise


  • Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Image Ready, After Effects, In Design, Final Cut Pro, Dreamweaver, Microsoft Word, HTML, Photo Retouching, Mac and Windows OS, Basic Japanese

Links