

MICHELLE LOUISE EVANS
Freelance Graphic Designer
LONDON / ESSEX / REMOTE
A 17 year veteran of the Graphic Design trade by day and a sword wielder by night (no, really!) With me you get everything you’d expect from someone who’s been in the design game for as long as I have. From packaging to brochures, mailers to OOH marketing, if it’s got words and pictures on it, I’ve designed it. I hit the ground running, working until the job is done. I can handle pressure, and never shy away from projects that involve concepting, presenting, and tight deadlines.
MY SKILLS
DESIGN / BRANDING / CONCEPTING
ILLUSTRATION / TYPOGRAPHY
PRINT / PACKAGING / BROCHURES
OOH ADVERTISING / DIRECT MAIL
REPORTS / PRESENTATIONS / POS
LARGE FORMAT GRAPHICS / STYLING
ART DIRECTION / PHOTO EDITING
DIGITAL ASSETS / EMAIL DESIGN
WEB DESIGN / BASIC VIDEO EDITING
MY TOOLS

MY EXPERIENCE
FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNER
SEPTEMBER 2022 – PRESENT
After a successful in-house design career within Harrods, and later within Abel & Cole, I took the plunge to go freelance. Firstly, to seek out new creative opportunities and challenges. Secondly, it allowed me to turn a passion into an opportunity, and free up some time to become a business partner in a Martial Arts company.
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Alongside part time management, teaching, and creative tasks for my own company, I have provided freelance graphic design services to notable brands including Abel & Cole, Oddbox, and &Sisters. Projects have included the creation of flyers, direct mailers, corporate presentations, brochures, OOH campaign assets, packaging, and social media assets.
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I continue to maintain ongoing freelance design support for Abel & Cole based on my strong familiarity with the brand and my ability to work quickly, especially with tight deadlines.
MIDWEIGHT DESIGNER – HARRODS
AUGUST 2010 – AUGUST 2016
Harrods is an established luxury brand and as part of their team I not only adhered to their aesthetics, but helped to re-imagine them through ideas of my own. Developing many campaigns from initial concepts right through to final print, I utilised the latest techniques and materials to achieve a high quality finish, every time.
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I produced an array of graphics for a number of different media and usages, from seasonal POS and heavily typeset brochures, through to customer direct mailers and illustrating graphical identities for Harrods’ nationally advertised seasonal promotions.
SENIOR DESIGNER – ABEL & COLE
AUGUST 2016 – AUGUST 2022
From above the line adverts on the tube to cute illustrations of veg, I’ve turned my hand to it all over the years at Abel & Cole. Working closely with marketing colleagues and copywriters, I ensured each piece of work was on brand, and met business objectives, deadlines and budget requirements.
I project managed and designed a broad range of collateral, including; delivery boxes, own-label packaging (twice-over), marketing mailers, monthly newsletters, seasonal brochures, presentations, and OOH campaigns. I oversaw prop styling and art direction on my projects, routinely working alongside the in-house photographer on shoots. When required, I created digital assets for social media, emails, blogs, and the main website.
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I also managed a small team of Junior and Midweight Designers. Assigning them projects, plus approving and critiquing their work, whilst continuously encouraging their confidence and building their knowledge within the role.
REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
CREATIVE ARTWORKER – HARRODS
AUGUST 2008 – AUGUST 2010
Harrods gave me my creative start in the ticketing and signage team. My role was to make their luxury events and departments dazzle with beautifully designed signage and vinyl productions, both inside and out.
It was through this particular role that I was able to build an essential understanding of the artworking process, which has made me a particularly fast typesetter, and a stickler for precision and detail.
MY EDUCATION
GRAPHIC DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION
BA HONOURS DEGREE
SEPTEMBER 2003 – JUNE 2006
University of Hertfordshire.
ART & DESIGN
FOUNDATION COURSE
SEPTEMBER 2002 – JUNE 2003
Epping Forest College.
WHEN NOT DESIGNING I...
Train and teach in sword fighting techniques, including foam LARP weapons and LED sabres! I also practice Taiji Martial Arts and Qi Gong.
RIGHT NOW I'M LEARNING...
Additional skills in Adobe Premier Pro and After Effects programmes.
I'M CURRENTLY WORKING AS...
A Freelance Graphic Designer, but I'm also interested in going back into a permanent senior role for the right company.