Neal Lankester
96 Hindes Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 1RP
neallankester@googlemail.com
07771 843 936
My roles have included…
• The management and running of design and creative studios
• Being a hands on creative manager who leads by example
• Managing multiple projects at any given time
• Delivering the best possible work on time and on budget
• Being responsible for managing and developing brands through creative execution
• Devising and developing creative concepts and visual identities across integrated media, independently
or with other creative agencies and partner businesses
• Developing and working with brand guidelines for both company and client businesses
• Being a creative group head in an agency environment, working with one particular brand to deliver
consistency of message and its subsequent application across multiple touch points
• Representing design and creative at a senior management level
• Looking after the day to day running of my department and dealing with any issues along the way relating
to staff or project work that may arise in a very positive and pro-active manner
• Raising the bar of creative output and striving for excellence within the design community
• Being recognised as the go to person for solutions to any design, brand, or creative issues that may arise
• Keeping abreast of trends in design and digital marketing and to feed these back into my team and the
business as a whole, actively encouraging learning and development
• Being able to communicate clearly, objectively and assertively at all levels with my staff, peers, senior
management and clients on all design and brand related issues
• Using my initiative to see opportunities for improvement and to deliver these to the business
My responsibilities include…
• Managing and working with design and production staff, both off and online
• Maintaining and developing relationships with suppliers and managing budgets and resources
• Working very closely with marketers and account managers to see projects through from start to
completion whilst being precise and methodical in execution throughout
• Presenting cost estimations and timings on project work
• Ensuring accuracy in briefing to minimise potential re-works and eliminating any ambiguities
• Following and developing work flow procedures, including the appropriate allocation of work to my team
• Quality control and attention to detail in all aspects of design and typography
• Delivery of consistent on brand communications to exacting high standards
• Presentation of creative concepts and supporting my staff to present their ideas and initiatives
• Setting staff goals and objectives by regularly reviewing progress to actively encourage personal and
career development
• Full time staff and freelance resource recruitment
• Creating a positive and enjoyable working environment
Examples of how I’ve made a difference:
• Whilst at OgilvyOne I built up a very successful design team. Starting with just myself and subsequently
going on to manage and develop a team of seven designers. I achieved this by working pro-actively
with the business, consistently delivering on brief accurate work and by creating a confident and reliable
service offering
• I helped to grow the design business within OgilvyOne to turn over £4.2m with 35 members of staff.
Equivalent to £120 000 per head per year making a significant impact on the bottom line for the company
• My team and I have won numerous awards, boosting the recognition and value of design in a creative
environment and thereby enhancing the overall quality of the agencies’ products
• I have been an ambassador for design excellence and was appointed to the board of directors at
OgilvyOne Worldwide in recognition of service to the business and its clients
• I utilise my photographic skills to dramatically reduce costs to the businesses and clients I’ve been
engaged with
• My creative and design ideas have won various pitches including one to deliver a £1m launch event for 3’s
X-Series product, and to win Abbey as a new client whilst at Williams Lea Creative, another to win STP as
a new client whilst engaged with Oliis design, amongst others
• I repositioned Smartfusion’s brand and completely redesigned their website generating more traffic to the
site and increasing enquiries to the business. I also carried out the same exercise with similar results whilst
working for Crown Business Communications
• I have streamlined the creative delivery process within the creative departments I’ve been involved with by:
- Introducing new work flow systems to make the whole creative process more efficient and cost effective
- Introducing new briefing templates to cut down on unnecessary mistakes upon project inception
- Employing key members of staff to enhance the companies’ creative departments
• All of the above have contributed to better work being produced more efficiently in less time and to a
tighter budget
• The results of which being happier, more productive teams in more effective and efficient creative
environments
Deliverables:
Skills:
• Brand and identity creation/development
• Online design
• Interactive pdf presentations and downloadable
interactive information sheets and brochures
• Video direction and story boarding
• Integrated campaigns
• Direct mail
• Press advertising
• Icons and supporting graphics and illustrations
• Event design staging and large format graphics
• Experiential creative/concept and design
• Copy writing - headlines and concept
• Photography
Creative department leader and manager
Expert use of Adobe CS5 suite in:
InDesign
Photoshop
Illustrator
Bridge
Acrobat Pro
Media encoder
Cyber Duck and other ftp transfer devices
Photography to a highly professional standard
Competent hands on skills in:
Dreamweaver (at present able to design and
build websites from design and build through
to maintenance). A recent build: http://www.
thegreatlittlefoodcompany.com
Microsoft Word