Amy Burrell

Freelance / Illustrator
Dec 2006 - Now
International
I have been working as a freelance illustrator for the past 6 years. In this time I have illustrated 9 published children’s books in New Zealand, Australia, UK and the USA. These books have given me a very strong understanding of the production of a children’s book as well as allowing me to perfect my own style and process. As I created these books on the opposite side of the world to the client, building a clear understanding of the brief and requirements relied entirely on my strong communication skills and effective working processes. Time management was critical in meeting the client’s needs as getting the book published and on the shelves was the desired outcome. My clients relied heavily on my technical ability and skills to bring their story to life not only through the illustrations but also the formats and design. I was responsible for liaising with printers and digital publishing platforms to ensure I supplied the files correctly for the client’s desired format and distribution method. I have received a lot of positive feedback from my clients.

Graphic Designer
May 2008 - Dec 2009
Etm Group, Toorak, VIC, Australia
Etm group are a boutique travel and events company, specialising in corporate travel, events, conferences and incentives. As their in house graphic designer I was responsible for branding events and creating the marketing collateral in a consistent, creative and professional manner. I created graphics for a wide range of formats in various mediums for both print and digital applications. This involved a lot of creativity - one day I would be branding an international corporate event the next day I would be creating freehand typography using icing sugar for a table decoration for a major event. I had to be flexible, creative and a great problem solver. The events industry required me to work to very strict time lines and be able to produce a high quality of work in a limited time frame. I was also responsible for the business of the design department which involved prioritising workload of each designer, invoicing, and implementing new more effective processes.

Graphic Designer
Jan 2007 - May 2008
Biolab (AUST) PTY Ltd, Clayton, VIC, Australia
Biolab are a distributor of scientific and environmental consumables and instruments. This role gave me the opportunity to work with a retail market of consumables and equipment and came with the responsibility of having a marketing assistant under my instruction. In this role I worked closely with the marketing assistant to create all marketing material consistently and professionally. With 10 different companies trading under the Biolab name, I was in charge of many branding and identity briefs, putting together monthly catalogues and promotions. Making sure the companies identity was consistently communicated in a professional and consistent way was my main priority.

Learn to Swim Instructor
2002 - 2007
St Kilda Swim Centre Melbourne, Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre, Huia Aquatic Centre Lower Hutt
In this role, I taught adults and 2-14 year old children to swim. I also took a water babies class of infants from 8 months old. This gave me great confidence in public speaking and finding ways to relate to people from all different age groups. I built up great customer relationships, which resulted in a high improvement and satisfaction rate in my swimming classes. In order to make swimming fun for my pupils I created, researched and learnt a wide variety of songs and games to fit the swimming curriculum. The key to doing this job well was to make all the activities fun and challenging and communicating in a clear and specific way.