About Me
Hi. I'm Kathleen Schassen, a pacific northwest native, design enthusiast and project manager extraordinaire.
In a galaxy far, far away I started my career as a graphic designer for print, web and digital media. I also became a design instructor. Along my journey I added copywriting, editing, email marketing, UX design, HTML/CSS, user-testing, and a bunch of other stuff related to building brands and customer experiences. While I still do all those things, my main focus has shifted to organizing teams and details to move projects from idea to completion.
Professional Experience
Quality Matters (QM): 2014 to Present
Director of Creative Services & Brand Experience - January 2019 to Present
Creative Director & Brand Strategist - January 2015 to
December 2018
Art Director/Media Specialist - August 2014 to December 2014
In my current position, I direct the work of copywriters, designers, developers, — both inhouse and outsourced — and community content creators with the aim of marketing QM's conferences, services and brand value. I manage a yearly budget for marketing communications initiatives and have managed organization-wide projects with budgets up to $400k. I work with senior leaders to outline initiatives, establish priorities and assign resources to projects. I manage customer journey, user experience, email marketing, advertising, the QM public website, the QM member platform, event websites, and marketing communications collateral projects using cloud-based project management tools.
I advise the organization from a strategic perspective on why we should (or should not) do a project, what technology, platforms and/or channels could be used to achieve it, what it could look like, how it could work, how much time/effort it will take, and when it could be delivered.
Art Institute of Portland: 2001 to 2018
Adjunct Instructor for Graphic Design & Web Design
- Developed and taught courses in computer graphics, Internet technologies, web development, and graphic design.
- Responsible for communicating course objectives, and guiding students to meet those objectives through text readings, lectures, labs assignments, projects, and exams.
- Directed students in goal setting aimed at achieving course objectives.
- Designed instructional materials for web-based delivery — using the D2L Brightspace LMS — that both educate and engage the student.
- Assessed student progress based on project assignments with formalized rubrics, quizzes and exams designed by me.
- Utilized interpersonal skills to connect with students to encourage student-centered learning and retention.
Independent Contractor: 2001 to 2014
Designer/Marketing Strategist/Information Architect/Content Creator
Provided design services to large company marketing departments, small business clients, and marketing and advertising agencies. The following experience summaries highlight my skill and design expertise:
Nike B2B Global Division: Developed architecture and user-experience interface for the first iteration of Nike‘s Catalog/Order Entry web site — the avenue for Retail Business Buyers to purchase Nike products. Worked with team strategists to determine user and business requirements for various user regions and countries. Created wireframes and digital mock-ups. Coordinated with HTML and database programmers to implement page structure, color palette and functionality flow.
Mitchell Wine Group: Designed, developed and deployed company web site with password-protected price list application. Negotiated project scope, budget and schedule. Researched and presented hosting and technology solutions. Contracted with and managed Ruby-on-rails programmer to assist in development. Managed all aspects of project: user and business requirements, IA documentation, prototyping, QA and usability testing, server deployment, maintenance and follow up.
Creative Abandon: Provided part-time freelance design assistance in a senior designer capacity over four year period to this small design firm. Client roster included medium and large financial and healthcare companies. Specific assignments included brand identity development and web site development for Members Credit Union, ATM graphics and IA for secure-area web site.
Collier Arbor Care: 1998 to 2013
Contractor: Marketing Coordinator/Graphic Designer
- Coordinated across teams and vendors to ensure successful delivery of print and web-based projects.
- Completed projects per negotiated scope, budget and timeline.
- Managed client expectations and communication flow from inception to final product.
- Designed print and web-based marketing materials: vehicle graphics, web site, HTML emails, print collateral, video editing, etc.
- Developed and managed digital marketing campaigns using Google Analytics, AdWords, MailChimp and key words.
- Wrote content for web site, newsletters, fact sheets, print ads, video scripts, and press releases.
- Developed and implemented brand guidelines across all mediums: print advertising, marketing communications, video, web, email marketing, and social media.
- Researched and proposed technology and user experience solutions tied to business goals.
Academic Background
| South University |
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| Argosy University |
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| Portland State University |
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Technical Skills
| Design Software |
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| Marketing Tools |
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| Project Management |
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| Web Design |
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Project Management Examples
QM Member Portal
- Project charter and RFP documentation
- RFP management and vendor selection
- Business process documentation and analysis
- Persona definitions and user story documentation
QM Public Website
- Project charter and creative brief
- Needs assessment and organizational intake
- Full redesign using Drupal
- Development maintenance, updates and enhancements
- API integrations
- Content management
QM Annual Reports
- Project charter and creative brief
- Content sourcing and organization
- Deadline and milestone management for copywriting, graphics, layout and production
- Routing for stakeholder reviews
- Distribution
QM Event Marketing
- Map out timelines and deliverables for communications and web presences
- Deadline and milestone management for copywriting, graphics, layout, user testing, and production
- Asset management for email marketing and Cvent websites
- Coordinate social media
- Coordinate photography