Branding | Communication | Content Management
My first experience with branding was with a startup company, which is still a successful company today. From there, I naturally gravitated into the role for my clients as I advise them on how to brand themselves or their companies. Branding is not marketing. It comes before marketing; it is in the branding process that you discover “who” you are and who your customer base is. It is then a matter of authentically communicating your service, brand, and mission to the world at large. The language you use is that of your (potential) clients, so the first step is to create a profile of that demographic. This is exactly what a good designer does, and it is integral to UI/UX design, and design thinking.
VISUAL DESIGNER | MULTIMEDIA
My career as a visual designer has had a lot of variety, to say the least: I have created/programmed websites and interactive games, edited/created videos, created opening title sequences and motion graphics, edited sound, created props for feature films, designed Print-on-Demand books/products, and designed for print. I love all types of design, and I believe that a good designer is constantly updating her skills and educating herself while broadening her view. I am constantly learning. I got a chance to teach design at top schools in NYC: this was an amazing opportunity to share my love of design and learning with others.
A design is transparent when it is so well-executed that its structure seems to disappear—I use this same communication style in other fields, such as instructional design, education, visual design, UI design, and graphic design. ~ Aliyah Marr
FREELANCE CREATIVE DIRECTOR | BRAND DEVELOPER
As a freelance art director/creative director, I have helped brand several successful startup companies, aided entrepreneurs, and over the years, have collected a client list that includes Fortune 500 clients, such as Morgan Stanley, IBM, American Express, and Chivas, but I’ve also enjoyed the dynamic of working with smaller businesses.
As a Creative Director, I use images and words in order to create a brand. You really have to love words and be a stickler for precise communication in order to do this job! ~ Aliyah Marr
Book Designer
I love designing books that are not just pretty faces, but beautiful inside and out. I have designed, edited my clients’ books, and helped many of them through the publishing process.
Hidden Grandma
A children’s book that “hides” Grandma in ever-more ridiculous places. Design and branding: part of the “I Love my Grands” series.
No Time Like the Present
Stark, bright posterized illustrative style underlines the title in the artwork with the shadow of the runner that points to her future romantic interest in the distance.
The Myth of Race
The image is of a push-up toy that I bought in Chelsea a few years ago. Tension is conveyed by the jarring offset of the foreground and background colors.
Anonymous was a Woman
The subtitle, “an exploration of gender and genius,” was inserted inside the area of the title instead of placing it in a more traditional location underneath the title.
Graphic Designer
I started out as a fine artist, went into illustration, then into interactive design, and finally returned full circle into print design when I started designing books. There is something very satisfying about practicing “pure” graphic design again. There is no need to consider how the page will look on different screens and devices (“responsive” user interface design), and no concern about the typefaces or changing layouts.
And while what-you-see-is-NOT-what-you-get, the freedom to practice pure design again is quite heady: the images against the white paper, the color of the body copy, using negative empty space in the design. Ahh. So satisfying. Fun, beautiful. Like Happy Cat Sushi. Below are some examples of graphic design layouts.
—> More Graphic Design Projects
Design Teacher | Corporate Trainer
As a design teacher for Pratt Institute, The School of Visual Arts, and Parsons School of Design, I taught courses in graphic design, UI design, interactive game design, motion graphics, WordPress CMS, and video editing using the following software: Director, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere, Flash, and After Effects. HTML, Javascript, Actionscript. PHP.
I am also a corporate trainer/workshop leader and public speaker with over 20 years of experience. My clients have included the Department of Defense, the IRS, The NYC Economic Development Corporation, and trade shows. I specialize in Adobe programs and WordPress.
Instructional Designer | Adobe Instructor
In 2020 I completed a total of 294 video tutorials on Illustrator and Photoshop. I converted my in-depth knowledge into full three-level courses for each program. I wrote the scripts, did the screen capture, recorded the voice-over, and edited the video. In addition, I created quizzes for each level.
UI Designer
Over the course of my career, I have designed and developed thousands of web pages and other online media. When I worked for Digitas one of my accounts was American Express—the site at the time was over 50,000 pages—all managed through a proprietary Content Management System. These days I focus primarily on visual design and content management within the WordPress CMS: I function as a creative director/brand designer involved with communication and developing or managing brands.
Vitality Wellness
UI Design | Content Management
The Tarot Cafe
UI Design | Content Management
Barbara Lamb
UI Design | Content Management
Mexico Real Estate
UI Design | Content Management
Video Creation and Editing | Voice-over Talent
I have created online videos for most of my career as a designer. My client list includes Graphics/Create Magazine, Media Bistro, NYC Economic Development Corporation, and the U.S. Army. One of the biggest e-learning projects I worked on was the Hummer multimedia repair manual for the Army. I designed and programmed the user interface, and then headed up a team of designers to create the interactive movies. The manual included text, video, voice-overs, graphics, and sound in two languages inside an interactive interface. The final project included hundreds of files and movies. We achieved this herculean feat in less than 6 months.
Below are some examples of the work I did for MediaBistro: my job was to create instructional videos to teach web design to subscribers of their e-Learning division. The managing editor, Ben Kessler, told me that I was one of the subscribers’ favorite instructors, probably because I liked to bring an element of humor into my work.
Aliyah Marr is wonderful to work with. Her original, idiosyncratic work consistently gets a positive response from our users. She has become a favorite of our subscribers! Aliyah’s enthusiasm and cooperative nature make her a joy to work with.* ~ Benjamin Kessler,Managing Editor, MediaBistro
SKILLS: Adobe trainer, instructional design, curriculum development, scriptwriting, video content creation (screencasting), video editing, voice-over talent, quiz creation.
The Gummy Bear Awards for Sticky Websites
I coined the phrase, “Gummy Bear Awards” for this tutorial on how to make websites “stickier” with good UI design.
Design Police Report 5 Web Design Crimes
In this tutorial series, I get to be a police officer and report on crimes in user interface design.
Lessons From the Bauhaus for UI Designers
How to apply basic design principles from the Bauhaus movement to contemporary UI design.
Gestalt Psychology in UI Design
Gestalt is a term which means “unified whole.” It refers to theories of visual perception developed by German psychologists in the 1920s.
Writing | Copywriting | Content Creation
Following are some samples of some of my work. In the course of my professional career as a freelance art director/creative director, I have created content for my clients for websites, brochures, e-learning courses, email, Amazon listings, branding, communication, etc. I have worked as a copywriter, content creator, scriptwriter for tutorial movies, and author of articles for various magazines. I am the author of 15 books on creativity, self-development, and social change.
I love to write, especially when I use it to teach. If I can throw a little humor into the mix, all the better. ~ Aliyah Marr
How do You Like Them Upside-Down Apples?
How do You Like Them Upside-Down Apples? Article about the marketing genius of Apple.
Baldness as a Brand
As a designer, marketer and all-around cultural observer, I must say that I love Seth Godin. But it is not his trim physique that attracts my attention, it is his head.
What Do Women Really Want?
What do women want and how do you write advertising copy for them.
What is WRITE for Robots isn’t always RIGHT for People
Good copy depends on savvy and honest marketing skills and should be written for the target audience.
—> More Writing / Copywriting Projects
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Additional Accomplishments / Skills
Author
I am the author of over 15 books in print, all of which may be found on major distributors. Topics include self-help, DIY, creativity, and tarot. One of the joys of being a designer as well as the author was getting to design my own books. Frankly, designing my books was almost more fun than writing them!
The Creative Life in 365 Degrees
The cover uses very simple graphics; a circle in an elliptical orbit around the title. The image offers a visual pun that contrasts the idea of 365 days vs. 360
The Tarot Key
The book’s interior uses a large, screened-back (grayed) image on the left page of each entry, balanced by the smaller image on the right in black. A special technique
Do it Yourself Tarot
The target market inspired the cover; commercial images of tools form the letters “DIY”; the title is a metallic-looking embossed
Unplug From the Matrix
The illustration and design emulates the screen of the Matrix: the title swirls as if going down a drain.
—> More Book Designs | —> My Books on Amazon
Film Designer
I worked as a graphic designer for two feature films, Little Man Tate, and The Public Eye. This was an exhilarating and exhausting job. As a designer, I was responsible for designing many of the props: I designed signage, logos, various printed props/materials, and book covers.
Because I was hired as a non-union freelancer, I did not receive credit for either film. However, working on the set for two major films was definitely one of the most interesting jobs I have ever had. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Game Designer | Print-on-Demand Product Creation
I have created many online games, using the Flash interface and Director. Most of these were educational/intellectual games. I designed the interface and programmed the interactive elements. More recently, I launched a couple of Kickstarter campaigns for a Tarot game, which was designed for POD production. I find the Print-On-Demand process very enjoyable because one can produce a mockup of a product such as a game very quickly. Having published many books using this process, I am also well acquainted with how quickly changes can be made. On Amazon, a book can literally be published or updated overnight.
Quick Bio
I studied fine art at École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris, France. When I returned to the USA, I put in a few years as an illustrator before I gravitated to visual design. Then I was asked to teach illustration at a local college, and I started creating online courses (eLearning) while I designed for local clients.
A move to NYC put me in a bigger pond, and I found myself working at Digitas as Senior Art Director while I freelanced at other design firms/ad agencies. I landed plum jobs at the top design schools in New York City, teaching interactive media, design, video editing, motion graphics, and interactive programming at Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, and The School of Visual Arts. In addition, I have given seminars and workshops on multimedia and created many online instructional movies for designers through MediaBistro and Knowledge City. As a teacher, I love to inspire my students to achieve their best. I carry this forward in my work as a corporate trainer and creative coach. As an interactive / digital / UI designer and artist, my artwork has been featured in the Siggraph conference and national shows, such as Digital Concentrate.
Aliyah Marr Bullet point CV
- Freelance Creative Director
- Creative Projects Advisor
- Creative Coach
- Senior Art Director for Digitas
- Senior Designer/Analyst for Aaron Marcus Associates
- Art Director for the Hummer eLearning project for the US Army
- Content Creator
- Instructional Designer
- Course author (Photoshop, Illustrator, how to design for the web) for Knowledge City, MediaBistro
- Visual Designer
- UI Designer
- Game Designer Programming / Design
- Design Teacher (School of Visual Arts, Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design)
- Corporate Trainer (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, PremierePro, AfterEffects, WordPress)
- Published Author—15 books on creativity, personal development: self-help, how-to genres
- Creative content writer/editor
- Graduate École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris, France
Skills
Here is a list of my skills. While no one can actually claim guru-level expertise on so many things, I taught motion graphics, video editing, user interface design, and user experience design at Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, and The School of Visual Arts in NYC. If something isn't listed here, just ask, chances are I know something about it.
Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Creative Suite, advertising, After Effects, art direction, book design, Adobe Captivate, brand development, brand management, branding, business creation, business development, business strategy, client management, CMS, communications, concept development, content creation, Creative Director, content management, content strategy, copywriting, corporate branding, corporate identity, corporate training, creative direction, creative strategy, creative writing, customer service, digital media, e-learning publishing, editing, Flash, graphic design, Google Analytics, illustration, Illustrator, logo design, packaging, personal branding, photography, Photoshop, Premiere, print design, product design, product development, product ideation, public speaking, publishing, seminars, social media manager, software training, technical trainer, typography, user experience design, user interface design, video editing, video production, visual design, voice-over, website analysis, WordPress, workshop leader.
Creative Director | Content Creator | Visual Designer | Corporate Trainer | Instructional Designer | Design Teacher