Communicating, creatively.
marilyn@marilynfrank.com.
⭐️ A graphic design practitioner with experience in visual communication, marketing, creative leadership, entrepreneurship and art-making, I bring my creative, analytical and production skills together to address business communication needs through human-centered design methods and a strategic mindset. Today, I advocate for healthcare consumers using the power of design and user research by focusing on the communicative aspects of patient-centric experiences. This involves partnering with research teams, product teams and business partners to co-create and strategize the execution of presentations, print collateral, infographics, prototypes and intranet experiences.
🤓 Achieving a certification in user research confirmed that my curiosity around audience behavioral insights could complement my existing design capabilities. My goal is to create intentional, creative and meaningful communications that drive substantive business outcomes informed by verifiable consumer needs and wants. It's a simple equation to complex problem-solving: research and synthesis supports and drives design, providing a roadmap to understanding and addressing latent user needs. I'm curious about people and technology, the unique artifacts we might create and the stories we might tell when these worlds intersect and shape the future. The marriage of research and design opens the door to great storytelling and great experiences.
🏅 Awards include two-time winner at ADC's Young Guns in NYC, Graphis, and GD USA. My design and artwork has been featured in a range of publications, and was purchased for private and corporate art collections including SoHo House Chicago.
🍄 Fun fact: The typeface Divine is my handwriting, available through [T-26] Type Foundry. Created by the late type designer Frank Heine, I occasionally find it on random things like Whole Foods brand packaging, t-shirts, logos and signage.
Skills and Experience.
Art direction/Creative direction
Branding
Client relations
Content strategy
Copywriting
Creative team leadership
Digital design
Email campaigns
Graphic design
Marketing
Photo shoots
Press release writing
Print design & production
Project management
User research
___
Software/Technical:
Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Xd, Acrobat)
Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams
Insta360 OneX camera; Insta360 Studio (software for editing 360 footage)
CMS (Oracle, Ruby on Rails)
Confluence (project management software)
HTML
Education.
College
Columbia College Chicago: Bachelor's Degree, Graphic Design
Certifications
Nielsen Norman Group – UX Certification: User Research Specialty
Northwestern University – Content Strategy for Professionals: Engaging Audiences
Northwestern University – Content Strategy for Professionals: Managing Content
IDEO U – Storytelling for Influence
Additional Courses
General Assembly – Intro to User Research
General Assembly – User Research Methods
AIGA – Facilitation by Design
Ox-Bow School of Art – Printmaking
Awards.
2016 Design Annual, Graphis Magazine, August 2015
Project: World Relief's 70-year Anniversary Book.
This 100-page book is a singular, concise history of World Relief – the first of its kind in their 70-year history. Intended to be given as a gift to major donors, the book shows how financial contributions and direct involvement can impact the lives of many through programs that promote transformational development. This book is part of a larger effort to rebrand the organization and solidify their position as a relevant force in global humanitarian efforts.
Art Director: Marilyn Frank
Designer: Natalia Bulsza-Gottschalk
Copywriter: Dan Gutnecht
Additional awards:
Creativity International
Graphic Design USA
American Graphic Design Awards
Recognition:
Under Consideration
Mohawk Felt & Wire
2014 Design Award: 70th Anniversary logo for World Relief, Graphic Design USA, November 2014
Logo Design.
Juried competition.
Creative Director: Shannon Lee
Art Director/Designer: Marilyn Frank
2014 Design Award: StudioNorth Poster Series, Graphic Design USA, November 2014
Series of three posters for in-house agency use.
Creative Director: Shannon Lee
Art Director/Designer: Marilyn Frank
Modern+Design+Function: Chicago Furniture Now, Design Within Reach, October 2006
F2 was recognized for "Chemistry Set, " a blown glass, hand-etched series of 30 chemistry-style vessels. "Chemistry Set" combines the form and function of a traditional chemistry flask with the etchings of humorous (and sometimes dada-esque) text in place of numerical markings.
Juried show for product and furniture design.
Young Guns #3, Art Director's Club NY, April 2001
52mm was recognized for motion graphics work (Daily Dose of Truth PSAs).
Juried design show.
Agency: Crispin Porter Bogusky
Creative Direction: Marilyn (Devedjiev) Frank
Design: Katie Marsh
VH1 "Behind the Music," PromaxBDA, August 2000
Silver Award for VH1 "Behind the Music" redesign (intro & interstitials).
Creative Director/Motion graphics designer: Marilyn (Devedjiev) Frank
Editor: Damion Clayton
Producer: Bret Havey
Young Guns #1, Art Director's Club NY, April 1996
52mm was recognized for motion graphics work (short film).
Juried design show.
Creative Director/Motion graphics designer: Marilyn (Devedjiev) Frank
Editor: Damion Clayton
This project was also featured in ResFest and premiered at The Kitchen in NYC (1996).