Hey, been trying to meet you.
I’m a creative director with a design background living in Detroit, MI. Equal parts creative and Type A personality, I thrive on conceptual projects, have an obsession with Microsoft Excel, and love thinking about the big picture.
I served as President of the AIGA Detroit Chapter from 2011-2013 and presented at national AIGA leadership conferences in Minneapolis and in Salt Lake City. In 2012 I also presented at the Re:design conference in Chicago, IL. That year I traveled to Cannes, France to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity as the inaugural recipient of the "I Am MRM" award.
colleenmavis@gmail.com
My leadership philosophy in a nutshell:
People are more important than projects.
Collaboration yields better results than competition.
There’s strength in admitting frankly when you don’t know something (but you should follow it up by trying your darnedest to find the answer!).
Being a leader doesn’t mean you’re always the one talking. More often than not, it means shutting up and allowing other people to talk.
Self-awareness is crucial. Know what you’re good at and more importantly, what you’re bad at.
Hire people who are good at what you’re bad at, then step back and let them use their talents on the job.
Your actions and behavior make you a leader, not your title.
Be kind — to your team, your colleagues, and yourself. Lead with empathy.
Outside of work I enjoy:
Traveling to new places
Listening to podcasts
Cooking vegetarian food
Sipping Malbec and Belgian beer
Organizing and color coding things
Spending time with my husband, dog and cat
Resume
Experience
Ford Motor Company | Dearborn, MI
Communication Design Manager, Human-Centered Design
May 2021 - Present
Leads internal communications for the Human-Centered Design team. Helps team members make connections, translate jargon into meaning, present their work, and get buy-in from executive leadership. Additionally, supports external communications including social and content strategy for Ford Design.
College for Creative Studies | Detroit, MI
Adjunct Faculty, Sep. 2021 | Sep. 2011 - Dec. 2014
Adjunct faculty member in the Communication Design Department, teaching branding, intro to interaction design, and visual communications to undergraduate students. All classes focus on learning fundamentals of design, strategy, industry standards, and presentation techniques.
MRM | Birmingham, MI
VP, Creative Director, Dec. 2017 - May 2021
Leads four teams comprised of 16 creatives working on CLM and CRM business for Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Fleet, and the launch of GM’s new loyalty program. Helped lead new business pitches including Cleveland Clinic, Key Bank, and Fathead. Helped evolve MRM’s role in the creative process from production to content creation.
GTB | Dearborn, MI
Creative Director, Mar. 2014 - Dec. 2017
Creative Director of a team dedicated to bringing the Ford brand to new audiences through the creation of digital, sharable content including videos, infographics, and editorials. Played an integral role as lead in both the day-to-day creation of assets as well as holistic vision for the body of work created throughout the year.
Organic | Troy, MI
Senior Designer, Dec. 2013 - Mar. 2014
Lead art director on the U by Kotex team creating content for a new campaign launch ranging from site redesign to product focused interactive video demos and web based games.
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners | Detroit, MI
Senior Art Director, Dec. 2012 - Dec. 2013
Lead designer of the 2014 model year refresh of chevrolet.com. Additionally works on other aspects of chevrolet.com including interface design, art direction of photography, and overseeing chevy websites in international markets. Works closely with writers, project managers, producers, and clients to ensure the highest caliber of work is produced.
MRM | Birmingham, MI
Art Director, Jan. 2012 - Dec. 2012
Lead designer of customer relations and customer lifecycle print and digital work for Buick and GMC accounts. Contributor to in-house design projects, including logos, brand identity, print and web-based collateral.
Washtenaw Community College | Ann Arbor, MI
Lead Web Designer, Mar. 2010 - Jan. 2012
Lead web designer for the College’s websites. Responsibilities include color and audience research, design, art direction of photography, and writing HTML and CSS.
Elevator | Royal Oak, MI
Graphic Designer, May 2007 - Mar. 2010
Graphic designer at a small, five person studio, working on identity, publication, and web design for a variety of clients ranging from Mercedes-Benz Financial and Chrysler Financial to smaller independent artists and companies.
Achievements
AIGA Detroit
Board Member, Aug. 2007- May 2013, President 2011-13
President of the AIGA Detroit chapter. Responsibilities include overseeing a volunteer board as well as acting as a liasion between the local chapter and the national AIGA organization. During this time membership of the Detroit chapter grew from 250 to 520+, number of sponsors doubled and the chapter hosted over 30 events a year. Served on the programming committee from August 2007 to April 2011, holding the office of Programming Director for the latter two years. Responsibilities include planning AIGA Detroit sponsored events, competitions, and initiatives, and overseeing various programming committees.
Detroit Creative Corridor Center
Advisory Board, Feb. 2011 - May 2013
Selected to represent AIGA Detroit as a member on the advisory board. Contribute advice on connecting and serving the graphic design community with development efforts.
Global “I Am MRM” Winner
Cannes, France, Jun. 2012
Awarded an all-expenses paid trip to the Cannes Lions Festival based on video and written entry that was judged and selected by the global leadership of MRM based on passion, creativity, powerful idea, delivery of presentation and clarity of content.
Education
College for Creative Studies | Detroit, MI
BFA Concentration in Graphic Design, Sep. 2003 - May 2007
Graduated with honors. Placed on the Dean’s List seven semesters while attending CCS by maintaining GPA above 3.5.
De Program | Den Haag, The Netherlands
Graduate course, July 2007
Three-week intensive graduate course studying with studios Lust and NLXL. Primary focus on research and concept development.