Summary

Highly accomplished creative leader with more than 25 years of experience driving omni-channel design strategies and building compelling brand experiences across packaging, product development, photography, retail, e-commerce, and digital media. Proven leader in managing multidisciplinary teams and delivering hands-on creative solutions as both a director and entrepreneur. Deep expertise in visual storytelling, content production, AI-assisted creative workflows, and collaborating with marketing, licensors, photographers, and production partners to bring brands to life.

Creative Direction • Omni-Channel Brand Strategy • Packaging Design • Product Development • Photography & Content Production • Visual Storytelling • E-Commerce • Retail Marketing • Brand Identity Systems • Digital Asset Management • Team Leadership & Mentoring • Vendor & Print Management • Adobe Creative Cloud • ChatGPT • Adobe Firefly • LTX Studio • Midjourney

COMPETENCIES & TOOLS

Creative Director, Itzy Ritzy, May 2022-MAY 2026

Directed a cross-functional creative team in producing packaging and omni-channel collateral that strengthened brand identity and elevated the consumer experience for a premium retail baby brand.

  • Orchestrated the comprehensive redesign of a portfolio spanning hundreds of active SKUs and new product innovations, creating a cohesive packaging system across categories

  • Selected and implemented a scalable digital asset management system housing more than 29,000 assets to drive consistency, streamline workflows, and improve operational efficiency

  • Collaborated cross-functionally with C-level executives, sales teams, and marketing partners to establish strategic priorities, manage budgets, and drive projects to successful, on-time completion

  • Directed on-package photography and e-commerce imagery, crafting visual stories that enhanced brand recognition and elevated the consumer experience across retail and digital channels

  • Pioneered the adoption of AI-powered creative tools, including Midjourney, ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly, and LTX Studio, to enhance ideation, accelerate speed to market, and lower photography and production costs

  • Recruited, trained, and managed a network of third-party designers, photographers, and copywriters to deliver cohesive creative assets, including in-store signage, presentations, branded environments, event graphics, social media assets, packaging, and e-commerce imagery

  • Managed overseas printers and packaging engineers to ensure on-time delivery of production-ready packaging that met all specifications

  • Mentored designers, editors, photographers, stylists, and external partners, providing actionable feedback that fostered a collaborative, high-performing creative culture

Principal, Ana Davis, Ltd., NOV. 2012-MAY 2022

Founded and grew an independent design agency that licensed original designs to major brands including 3M, York Wall Coverings, and Boston Warehouse, while providing comprehensive creative and brand-building services to consumer product and healthcare clients.

  • Architected brand identities and creative systems for consumer products and biopharma clients, developing logos, style guides, packaging standards, websites, presentations, and other assets to create cohesive and scalable brands

  • Designed and developed original products across tabletop, housewares, textiles, apparel, and toys, overseeing the creative process from concept through production and retail/DTC launch

  • Developed brand experiences including packaging, digital, social media, and retail touchpoints for clients spanning categories from healthcare to children's products

  • Directed photographers, stylists, and creative partners in the production of multimedia assets, ensuring compelling visual storytelling and consistent brand expression across print, digital, and e-commerce platforms

Creative Director

New Seasons, Publications International, Ltd.

Aug. 2002–Nov. 2012

Spearheaded initiatives in the highly competitive social expressions category that led to white space expansion at big-box and mass-market retailers.

  • Directly managed a team of 10 art professionals to ensure an innovative and consistent in-store presence 

  • Collaborated with sales, marketing, and business leaders to understand business goals and translated them into actionable creative plans and visual executions

  • Developed private-label products for mass-market retail buyers

  • Established design and manufacturing processes, creating clear project briefs and workflows that enabled creative teams to execute efficiently and consistently

Managing Art Director

PI Kids

March 2001–Aug. 2002:

Oversaw all art direction for the children's books department at a wholesale publisher.

  • Managed and mentored a team of nearly a dozen art directors and art assistants

  • Reviewed and approved story development, illustrations, and ensured editorial continuity

  • Verified compliance with licensee brand specifications and style guide for multi-billion-dollar assets including Disney Princess®, Barbie®, Sesame Street®, Winnie-the-Pooh®, and more

Art Director, Associate Art Director, Art Assistant

PI Kids

Brainstormed, proposed, and thumb-nailed book concepts for publisher that specialized in publishing licensed brands.

  • Brainstormed, thumb-nailed, and laid out children’s books

  • Directed freelance illustrators in execution of book art

  • Worked with editors to develop and hone book copy

  • Set-up production files, created die-cuts, and made art corrections to meet licensor approvals and prepare files for production

  • Directed photography for packaging, catalogs, and various book titles

  • Designed and built product mock-ups and prototypes

Education

Carnegie Mellon University, BFA with Honors

Instituto Profesional Arcos, Santiago, Chile

Rhode Island School of Design, Art & Design summer program

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Art & Design summer program