R E S U M E P O R T F O L I O M A R L A    K A T Z

W O R K   H I S T O R Y
    Shared Media Licensing, Inc., Seattle, WA — Founder / Volunteer (2003-present)
  • Provide input on creative direction for Web development and design, brand identity, search engine optimization, online advertising campaigns, software UI design, and marketing collateral.
  • Provide input and analysis of UI and design of competitive online music services, VoIP systems, and Web 2.0 services.
 
    RealNetworks, Seattle, WA — Creative Director (1997-2001)
  • Managed a 1.7 million dollar annual budget for the Creative Team (included fulltime hires, contractors, interns and vendors).
  • Led a team of graphic designers, Web and technical developers, copywriters and art directors. Grew the team from 3 people to 14. Developed reorganization and growth plans with other executives to build creative teams in several divisions.
  • Provided creative direction to develop a unified brand identity for all RealNetworks products, services and systems. The graphic standards defined were realized across all communications (including RealOne Player beta launch - Sept. 2001, Real.com, RealPlayer, RealJukebox, RealNetworks, RealNetworks Conference 1999).
  • Drove and managed the Real.com site, one of the top 25 most visited sites on the Internet.
    - Real.com was ranked by the LA Times as the top entertainment site (July 2000).
    - PC Data Online ranked Real.com #1 in site traffic for Music, Entertainment, and Free Downloads, and ranked Real.com as the #3 Etailer (Aug. 2000).
  • Provided creative direction, program management, and quality control for Real.com on a daily basis, across company-wide divisions (included all site redesigns, promotions, home page iterations, and key high-traffic pages). Provided statistics analysis to measure the impact of design on revenue and traffic (for example, design modifications to the home page resulted in increased RealPlayer Plus sales by 18%, an additional design modification increased Free RealPlayer downloads by 90%).
  • Developed processes for creative and technical development. Designed and managed development of a Web based project management tool to track, prioritize and create on-the-fly status reports. This allowed us to increase in-house creative and technical development, the result of which improved overall efficiency by 40%, production deadlines by 90%, and saved $231,400 in outsourcing fees.
  • Directed design and production for all retail packaging. The RealPlayer Plus package design was produced ahead of deadline and allowed us to capture an additional $380K in retail revenue for 1999 (other package design included RealJukebox Plus, RealSystem G2, RealEncoder, RealProducer, and Real Developer kits).
  • Directed creative development for in-Player rich media promotions (for example; a RealPlayer Plus promotion designed in RealFlash, sold 15,218 copies of the software with a 13.6% conversion rate).
 
    Herring/Newman, Seattle, WA — Creative Director, Interactive (1996-1997)
  • Led the Web design and development team, and grew it from 2 people to 4. Led the team and the agency on Web site design and all other Web-related projects.
  • Shared knowledge and provided leadership to agency executives on incorporating a Web component into traditional marketing and media plans.
  • Developed project estimates and business plans for existing clients and new business development to incorporate Web design and Web media into the existing client services.
  • Clients included: ENTROS 1996, Pyramid Breweries 1996, Intermind 1997, Westin Hotels & Resorts: Westin Premier 1997, RealNetworks 1996, VISIO 1997, Herring/Newman 1996, and Hewlett Packard 1997.
 
    Brazil Design Group, Seattle, WA — Principal (1994-1997)
  • Provided creative direction for all communications. Responsibilities included project management, Web media planning, account management, brand identity development, and Web site design and development.
  • Organized virtual creative and development teams to provide freelance services to ad agencies and clients.
  • Shared knowledge and provided leadership to ad agencies and clients on incorporating a Web component into traditional marketing and media plans.
  • Provided creative direction, account management, and program management for the April 1995 launch of RealAudio 1.0, RealNetworks (formerly Progressive Networks). Provided concept and design of the RealAudio 1.0 brand identity, graphic design for vision prototype, Web site design and development, tradeshow booth and collateral for the announcement to the press (Brazil Design Group was a sub-contractor for Cole & Weber).
  • Developed complete brand identity, advertising, collateral, and Web site design for startup companies, including RealNetworks 1995-1996, Northwest Link 1995, and Market Link 1995.
  • Designed and developed Web sites for Shurgard Storage 1997, and Pyramid Breweries 1996 (in association with WorkerBees Creative).
  • Designed and developed the first retail transaction, e-commerce Web site in the Northwest, for Capons Rotisserie Chicken 1994.
 
    Beezer/Katz & Co., Seattle, WA — Principal (1992-1996)
  • Provided creative direction, brand identity, account management, marketing, and media buying.
  • Clients included Gateway Athletic Club, Capons Rotisserie Chicken, CareUnit, K&L Distributors, Unico Properties, Northwest Link, Elegant Sweets, Fred Hutchison, American Cities Business Journal, and the South China Morning Post.
 
    McCann Erickson, Seattle, WA — Senior Art Director, Freelance (1994)
  • Provided art direction and production management, worked with in-house creative director and copywriters.
  • Clients included the Seattle Mariners, Washington Mutual, and the Washington State Lottery.
E D U C A T I O N
  • School of Visual Concepts 1990, Seattle, WA
  • Dawson College 1978-1981, Montreal, Canada. Diploma of Collegial Studies, Professional Development in Applied Graphic Arts, D.E.C.
A W A R D S
  • LA Times Top Entertainment Web Site: Real.com, July 2000
  • PC Data Online: Real.com #1 in site traffic for Music, Entertainment, and Free Downloads, and ranked Real.com as the #3 Etailer, Aug. 2000
  • PC Week Top 100 Web Sites: RealNetworks, 1998
  • David Siegal's High Five Award: Pyramid Breweries, 1996
  • Project Cool, Category: Coolest Business Web Site for Pyramid Breweries, 1996
  • First Place, Point Communications Top 10 Sites, Progressive Networks: RealAudio, 1995
  • Northwest ADDY; Bronze, 1994
  • Northwest ADDY; Certificate of Merit, 1994
  • First Place, Campaign, International Newspaper Marketer's Association, 1994
  • Second Place, Campaign, International Newspaper Marketer's Association, 1994
  • National ADDY, First Place, 1993
  • New York International Festivals, Gold, 1993
  • Northwest ADDY, Bronze, 1993
O T H E R
  • Women in Leadership, in support of U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, 2001
  • Featured in the Corbis Design Gallery, for RealJukebox advertising, 1999
  • Featured in David Siegel's book, Successful Web Sites, 1997
  • School of Visual Concepts, Seattle, WA. Instructor: Web Site Design, 1996-1997
  • Featured in PhotoDisc's DesignMind, 1996
  • UW Extension College, Seattle, WA. Instructor: Web Site Design, 1996
  • Member of the Northwest CyberArtists, 1995-Present
  • Cited in Kleppner's Advertising Procedure, Prentice-Hall, 1994
T O O L S
    HTML, CSS, Flash, Freehand, Photoshop, Illustrator, PowerPoint, MS Office
References available upon request.