I'm Michael Emery, a designer and art director based in Oakville, Ontario.
I have over 20 years of combined experience designing mobile products and creative marketing solutions for established businesses, start-ups, and agencies. I excel at executing and leading projects seamlessly across mobile, web, socials, and more.
EXPERIENCE.
KINDERTALES
2014 - 2024
Head of Design
Kindertales is an enterprise class SaaS platform for managing all operations of a daycare business via apps for mobile and web. As a founding team member, I achieved success in a variety of roles within the company by taking on projects of all sizes.
Highlights and Achievements
- Responsible for naming, branding, and creating visual identity of the company.
- Steered growth of a new business by executing solid user-first mobile experience design, market analysis, customer needs research, and partnership development resulting in:
- Kindertales platform has grown to serve over 30,000 children, tens of thousands of childcare staff, and over 80,000 parents daily.
- Kindertales processes well over $100 Million USD per year in childcare payments.
- Consistent month over month growth in payment processing.
Head of Design
- Directed and executed product design on all UI/UX aspects across mobile and web applications.
- Maintained design system guidelines and best practices for UI/UX and branding.
- Designed and art directed all marketing materials (sales decks, web, print, tradeshow, video).
- Key voice in all critical meetings regarding product direction and strategy.
- Completed market research, met with key clients to assess their needs and refine the product roadmap to prioritize solutions and features that would attract the largest customers.
Project Leadership & Product Management
- Lead multiple agile local and overseas development teams for both mobile and web.
- Created project plans, established timelines and ensured milestones were met.
- Chaired daily scrum meetings for development and support teams, collecting feedback, and implementing improvements to processes.
Business Development
- Established strategic partnerships with Proctor and Gamble, MarcoPolo Learning and Greenrope CRM and leveraged them to differentiate Kindertales from competitor products.
- Participated in sales meetings and uses expertise of the platform to demonstrate in real-time how the platform services a client’s needs to secure their business.
- Interviewed and selected candidates to satisfy key roles within the company.
- Served as product subject matter expert, assisted in onboarding new hires to ensure they become productive as quickly as possible.
PURE3 INTERACTIVE
2010 - 2014
Art Director
Pure3 Interactive was a start-up web marketing and web application development agency. I was hired to execute marketing and UI/UX design and art direction on all projects. This role quickly grew to include project and product management responsibilities.
Art Direction and Mobile Product Design
- Successfully designed and directed design of all client projects including UI/UX for mobile and web applications, corporate identity, web and print marketing, video production, and tradeshow presence.
- Played a key role in launching several successful custom software solutions, including point-of-sale systems and the childcare management platform that evolved into Kindertales.
Project Leadership
- Successfully managed local and overseas development teams to develop multi-platform mobile and web applications which resulted in the Kindertales platform becoming its own successful business.
- Implemented company-wide project management standards and processes into the workflow of all projects leading to successful outcomes and satisfied clients.
SCRATCH MARKETING
2005 - 2010
Senior Graphic Designer
Scratch Marketing is a highly successful marketing agency in Toronto, Ontario who services multiple global brands.
- Successfully executed design work for global brands such as Electrolux, Conair, and Frigidaire.
- Projects included web and print marketing, tradeshow product launch event materials, packaging, and corporate branding.
FREELANCE GRAPHIC & PRODUCT DESIGN
2002 - Present
Owner, Freelance Graphic & Product Design
I have over 20 years of experience in freelance graphic and product design. Most recently I have tailored my client list to work with businesses that align with my personal interests.
Key Collector Comics – Mobile App Product Design
- Successfully redesigned the mobile and web applications leading to increased positive user feedback and increased subscriber growth.
- Rebranded the company to a more modern aesthetic while keeping ties to its established identity.
- Executed numerous web and print marketing campaigns that successfully drove new users to the product.
Dungeon Comics & Cards – E-Commerce Design
- Designed a new Shopify based e-commerce presence for a well-established comic and card shop.
- Revamped their process for holding TCG tournaments by implementing an event calendar and allowing players to purchase their event tickets online.
CGC Comics – Marketing Campaign
- Executed ongoing marketing campaign between Key Collector and CGC with the goal of driving new users to both platforms.
EXPERTISE.
- Art Direction
- Graphic Design
- UI / UX Design
- Mobile Product Design
- Online Payment Systems
- Design Systems
- Prototyping
- Project Leadership
- Team Leadership
- Multi-Tasking
- Communication
- Collectibles Market
- Business Acumen
- Staff Coaching
- Hiring
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Jira, Figma, Asana
- Microsoft Office, PowerBI
EDUCATION.
Introduction to Project Management
Project Management Program
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario
Interactive Multimedia (Postgraduate)
Web Design & Development
Sheridan College
Oakville, Ontario
Bachelor of Design
Graphic Design
Sheridan College
Oakville, Ontario
Art Fundamentals
Fine and Studio Art
Sheridan College
Oakville, Ontario
PERSONAL.
Other than how many selfies a day I take with our dogs here are some of the other things about me that you might find interesting.
ARTISTIC
Love for art and creativity is the driving force behind most things I do and enjoy in my professional and personal lives.
Whether it is creating, appreciating, critiquing, or collecting, a passion for art is constant in my life.
TECHY
I am an avid tech enthusiast. I've been building my own PCs since computers ran on DOS and ran games like Wolfenstein.
I also love discovering and tinkering with emerging technology like A.I. (please don't kill us all) and VR.
ANALYTICAL
As much as art has always been my passion, I am also an analytical thinker and spreadsheet lover.
My background includes web development experience. This helps me be aware of the challenges of someone having to build what I design.
COLLECTOR
Probably painfully obvious at this point but I wear my nerd flag loud and proud.
If it is covered in webs, has pointy ears or is swinging a laser sword there is a very good chance I'm a fan of it and collect it.
My wife is very patient.
CONTACT.
Feel free to reach out if you want to discuss a project or job opportunity.
Mobile: +1 905 334 6280
E-mail: mike@emerymedia.com
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