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About

Hi there! I'm Darcy

Designed to work and to love the work I do—as a personable, passionate problem-solver, I thrive when I can expend my enormous wealth of creativity, experience, and empathy to deliver solutions that help propel growth and success!

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Ambitious and assertive, my process and ethics don't give up until the job is done. A clear, objective, honest, moment-to-moment mechanical response connects me directly to insight and value. Conceptualizing, inspiring, or pressuring others to think, I thrive on my brain's capacity to solve problems, process data, create, and receive vital spontaneous, intuitive information. I make discerning and trustworthy decisions with my intuition and instinct. With these elements in place, I can determine which steps are essential and what can be skipped, resulting in efficiency.

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Motivating others with stimulating questions and possibilities puts ideas into action—and eliminates the resistance met when ideas are imposed on a world that has not yet prepared itself to act. My ability to ask thought-provoking questions and provide uplifting, inspiring, and empowering answers is a quality I possess.

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With 15+ years of freelance and in-house experience, I have delivered hundreds of B2B and B2C projects under budget and on time. I enjoy crafting multi-channel campaigns based on user/consumer research and analytics. It eliminates the guesswork in campaign development to understand target audiences and their motivations. The right words and images presented in the right places create bulletproof creative.

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Originally trained as a graphic designer and photographer, my skills have expanded to creative direction, copywriting, SEO, email marketing, social media, business communications, UX/UI, events, PR and community relations. From start to finish, I can lead projects self-directed or collaboratively, whatever it takes to get the job done!

Résumé

Experience

2018 - 2022 | Hybrid-Remote
CREATIVE DIRECTOR /
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
(Dual Role)
Ramshackle Industries,


Ramshackle Industries is an incubator for people working at the intersection of restaurants, consulting, marketing, and design.

2013 - 2022 | Remote
ART DIRECTOR /
CREATIVE STRATEGIST /
DESIGNER
(Freelance)
SavvyD Design Studio


Served as a creative force while living abroad to provide innovative design, marketing and brand initiatives to diverse clients.

2013 - 2015 | Woodstock, ON
MANAGER, EVENTS /
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Oxford Golf & Country Club
(now Craigowan Golf Club)


Opened in 1959, this historical private 18-hole golf club was designed by legendary golf course architect C. E. Robbie Robinson.

2010 - 2013 | Cambridge, ON
MARKETING COORDINATOR / GRAPHIC DESIGNER
(Dual Role)
Babcock & Wilcox Canada Ltd. (now BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT),

 

BWXT Canada Ltd. provides expertise and experience in the designing, manufacturing, commissioning, and servicing of nuclear power generation equipment.

2007 - 2013
GRAPHIC DESIGNER

  • Developed and directed company branding, including creating SOPs, brand guidelines, media kits, publications, employee standards, new hire packages, and grant proposals

  • Directed creative portfolios of five restaurants, including photography, video, print, web, and digital marketing projects

  • Supported Managing Director/Owner; developed and maintained relationships with team members at all levels through motivational conversations and constructive feedback

  • Oversaw operational workflow and handled all daily customer communications and public relations at local and entity levels for all outlets; solved variety of challenges each day

  • Played key role in design and development decisions for four new restaurant outlets and two location rebrand renovations; coordinated and managed all contractors/service providers

  • Improved user experience by developing successful landing page to funnel sites, 80% cost savings, 80% management improvement, 50% traffic growth, 200% organic search increase, and 32% sales increase

  • Increased click-through rates by 400% and social media engagement by 30% by creating 15+ successful Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads campaigns

  • Implemented a membership program and email marketing campaign to offset losses caused by the pandemic, leading to 48% conversion rates and sales of 500+ memberships

  • Reviewed and evaluated creative teams' work and project results; delivered constructive feedback and provided guidance on areas for improvement

  • ​Collaborated with clients and dynamic cross-functional teams; responded to inquiries and feedback

  • Produced compelling digital marketing projects; devised concepts and strategies for project ventures to attract brand-specific target customers and provide ROI; monitored progress

  • Developed and maintained 20+ websites, blogs, and e-commerce sites for clients who needed web presence or modernized overhaul CMS and WordPress

  • Spearheaded creation of 100+ design, photography, and content assets for healthcare, tourism, education, and immigration clients on time and within budgets

  • Conducted competitive assessments, SEO audits, and wrote SEO-friendly articles, blogs, and web pages that utilized effective content to increase organic visitors and reduce bounce rate by 10.6%

  • Achieved 98% client satisfaction by designing and developing innovative and engaging digital design projects aligned with brand guidelines to enhance client marketing strategy and brand integrity

  • Improved operational efficiency by 40% with an employee cross-training and development plan; hired, scheduled, and managed 35+ employees

  • Executed high-stakes events with up to 250 attendees utilizing leadership and project management

  • Reduced staff turnover by 20% by implementing an employee recognition and incentive program that set a record-breaking improvement in staff retention

  • Handled Learning and Development training for crew; provided constructive feedback to improve

  • Established policies, procedures, and training for crew members inspiring commitment to quality

  • Contributed to marketing campaigns and brand strategy; tracked sales data; maintained databases; prepared reports; improved processes, content, and lead generation to serve business goals

  • Recognized by the organization's President for professionalism and 'poise under pressure'

  • Optimized $50,000 promotional budget through research, innovative acquisition, inventory forecasting, and waste evaluation, resulting in 15%+ annual savings

  • Developed electronic system and file-sharing database to archive and catalogue 145+ years of historical assets, including marketing literature, publications, technical papers, and photography, reducing manual source time and effort by 90%

  • Launched multi-phase design projects with advertising budgets of $65,000+ for distributed executive teams, departments, and subsidiaries within Canada, the U.S., and Europe

  • Created 1000+ design assets, including marketing collateral, trade show collateral, ads, presentations, proposals, reports, executive summaries, digital graphics, technical illustrations, signage, and photography to support the company and subsidiaries

  • Decreased average turnaround time of photography from four hours to 15 minutes by curating a library of 5,000+ images of products and services

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