Bradford Stevens
Executive-level creative leader activating exceptional brand outcomes through compelling design and creative direction.
About Me
A driven brand and creative leader known for directing top-talent teams in the execution of compelling, influential creative services, I steer high-impact branding and design initiatives that deliver exceptional results.
With a proven reputation for ensuring top-tier quality, consistency, and cohesion, I serve as a trusted brand champion and thought leader for the development of internal and customer-facing standards, cultures, and processes.
To learn more about my history of leading the development and delivery of captivating, engagement-catalyzing creative content and strategy, reach out to me today!
Areas of Expertise
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Brand & Creative Services Leadership
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Team & Division Management
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Brand Strategy & Execution
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Brand & Quality Standards
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Creative Asset & Content Strategy
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Client & Stakeholder Relations
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Digital Accessibility Management
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Design & Print Production
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Cross-Functional Leadership
Education
Master of Science in Graphic Communications Technology Management, Kean University
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, Old Dominion University
Portfolio
Career Experience
Director, Print & Digital Design Production
New York University, New York, NY
Serving as the Director of Print and Digital Design Production at NYU, I shape and execute creative vision across the School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS), leading teams in the creation of world-class content. In this capacity, I steer strategic direction and decision-making, manage cross-functional teams, advance technology capabilities, and drive the evolution of divisional roadmap to propel operational change.
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Safeguarded and strengthened NYU brand and brand consistency, governing the full scope of brand guidelines, including color, font, layout, and design elements across all division design projects.
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Directed a diverse team of creative experts, unifying designers, writers, editors, freelancers, and interns under a common brand vision.
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Partnered with HR to shape and steer staffing operations, defining job roles and conducting interviews to attract and retain top talent.
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Spearheaded the end-to-end project management system implementation, vetting, and selecting the Asana system to drive a 50% improvement in job request efficiency.
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Pioneered AI adoption within the design team, integrating ChatGPT and Adobe Firefly for daily operations to optimize editorial and visual aspects across projects, build consistency across images, and streamline workflows.
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Mastered digital accessibility in Adobe InDesign and Acrobat, executing a major manual remediation of website PDFs and achieving 100% compliance.
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Initiated a cloud-based PDF project submission process to streamline and improve client feedback.
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Headed the development of comprehensive content, style, and formatting templates, capturing more than $500K in annual costs through improved project efficiency and overall quality.
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Developed and controlled the NYU SPS 85th Anniversary celebration brand and messaging, creating premium treatment and imagery to support a world-class reputation.
Senior
Art Director
O2 Marketing Communications, Inc., Brielle, NJ
During this time, I headed high-impact creative content production and management, building exceptional branded cohesiveness within firm client groups. Governing innovative marketing campaigns, online strategies, and branding standards, I empowered successes for high-ticket clients through top-tier content and approaches.
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Partnered directly with the President and Sales & Marketing team to shape creative, bid-winning proposals and pitches for top-name clients, including Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi-Aventis, Pearson Education, Lockheed Martin, and Vonage, capturing $10M in annual contracts.
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Built custom online strategies, defining SEO, social media, website metrics analysis, and online advertising approaches tailored to unique corporate goals.
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Produced an award-winning, multimillion-dollar budget direct mail campaign for RoC skincare (client: Johnson & Johnson), leading the campaign from conception through execution to win three Jaspers, two Astras, two Impacts, and one ADCNJ award.
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Established stringent, company-wide branding standards, forging a unique logo, typeface usage, editorial style, color scheme, and collateral for clients, including Ideal Tile, For-Shore Weed Control, and The Garden State Film Festival.
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Comprehensively redesigned and rebuilt a client website, catalyzing a major rebrand for Ideal Tile and embedding tracking capabilities for more than 10K warehouse items, dynamic multimedia content, social media integration, and a customized branch location finder with bespoke SEO strategies.
Art Director
Fiserv, Jersey City, NJ
In my capacity as Art Director with Fiserv, I directed a cross-functional team of in-house designers, vendors, and talent, leading market-captivating campaigns and collateral aligned to the Fiserv brand and messaging.
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Oversaw the implementation of major production budgets, promotional branding, and communications collateral, establishing a consistent and cohesive brand image.
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Executed a major marketing campaign to empower the successful launch and growth of a leading product (APL) in the $1.7T retail managed accounts industry.
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Defined promotional branding, driving engagement and participation for numerous high-profile industry trade shows with resulting revenue growth of $200K, client growth of 12%, and client retention increase of 22%.
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Initiated a tailored bidding process to cut vendor costs by up to 20%.
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Authored quarterly reports, multimedia presentations, and flash presentations, supporting organization-wide engagement, client pitching, and investor relations.
Additional experience
Senior Creative Consultant, DermX Media (now DermSquared), Remote
Freelance Graphic Designer, Nickelodeon, Remote
Senior Graphic Designer, Feury Image Group, Newark, NJ
Graphic Designer, ADC Telecommunications, Inc., Cranbury, NJ
For more information about my professional experience, please get in touch.
AWARDS
Bronze
UPCEA Marketing Award
Redesigned Noncredit Website
Most Improved
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2016
Bronze
UPCEA Marketing Award
NYUSPS “U” Campaign
Print Ad Campaign
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2015
Bronze
UPCEA Marketing Award
Diploma Programs
Print Ad Campaign
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2015
Bronze
UPCEA Marketing Award
Summer Direct Mail Postcard
Print Publications, Postcard
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2014
Gold
UPCEA Marketing Award
Summer 2014 Bulletin
Print Publications, Catalog/Tabloid, Color Cover
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2014
Silver
UPCEA Marketing Award
Summer Intensives Bulletin
Print Publications, Catalog/Tabloid, 4-Color
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2014
Silver
UPCEA Marketing Award
Fall 2014 Bulletin
Print Publications, Catalog/Tabloid, Color Cover
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2014
Bronze
UPCEA Marketing Award
What Does it Take to Move Ahead?
Print Publications, Postcard
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2013
Gold
UPCEA Marketing Award
Summer Continuing Education (CE) Bulletin
Print Publications, General Catalog or Tabloid, 4 Color Cover, 1-2 Colors Inside
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2013
Silver
UPCEA Marketing Award
Summer Summer Continuing Education (CE) Postcard
Print Publications, Postcard
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2013
Silver
UPCEA Marketing Award
Fall Continuing Education (CE) Bulletin
Print Publications, General Catalog or Tabloid, 4 Color Cover, 1-2 Colors Inside
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2012
Silver
UPCEA Marketing Award
Announcement for Fall/General Enrollment Postcard
Print Publications, Postcard
The University Professional & Continuing Education Association
2012
Gold
IMPACT Award
O2 Marketing Communications Holiday Mailer
Single Printed Mail Piece
Business Marketing Association of New Jersey
2010
Gold
IMPACT Award
Johnson & Johnson RoC® Solid Science Dimensional Mailers
Mail Campaign, Multiple Pieces
Business Marketing Association of New Jersey
2010
Gold
IMPACT Award
Johnson & Johnson RoC® Beautiful Skin Dimensional Mailer
Mailings with Gifts under $25
Business Marketing Association of New Jersey
2010
Gold
JASPER Award
Johnson & Johnson RoC® Beautiful Skin Box
Direct Mail, Single Piece
Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association
2010
Gold
JASPER Award
Ideal Tile Fabrications Display Stand
Point of Purchase Display
Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association
2010
Gold
JASPER Award
Johnson & Johnson RoC® Flower Box
Specialty Advertising Packaging
Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association
2010
Gold
JASPER Award
O2 Marketing Communications Holiday Promotion
Self Promotion
Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association
2010
Gold
JASPER Award
Johnson & Johnson RoC® Direct-to-Practitioner Campaign
Direct Mail Campaign
Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association
2010
Gold
JASPER Award
For-Shore Star News Group Ad
Newspaper Advertising
Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association
2010
Silver
ADCNJ Award
Johnson & Johnson RoC® Flower Box
Pharmaceutical DTC-OTC Package Design
Art Directors Club of New Jersey
2010
Contact Me
Interested in learning more about my work or how we can collaborate on an upcoming project? Reach out today.