my marketing/pr/graphic design portfolio - karlene olesuk

05/02/23 Karlene Olesuk 1

Overview

This is an abbreviated presentation of my portfolio. It demonstrates some of my abilities and successes that uniquely qualify me for a Project Director/PR/Marketing/Art director-level position.

Within the presentation are examples of brochures, newsletters, printed materials, and a press release. For most projects in my portfolio, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXPress, or MSWord were used.

As requested, professional references are enclosed separately within a MS Word document.

Karlene Olesuk’sPortfolio

(630) 254-3246 ~ [email protected]/in/karlene


Newsletters

This is an example of an “every-other” month newsletter for The Guild Complex distributed to over 2000 organizations and people around Chicagoland area.

As part of developing and implementing a marketing plan, one of my responsibilities was to update the content of the newsletter. This included basic graphic layout and editorial text to be sent to a graphic designer. The material was then returned to me so I could proof, make any necessary changes, get printer quotes, distribute, and make press releases. Later, I turned the material over to a web designer to create updated pages for our website.


Printed Materials: Postcards

I also updated material for additional marketing collateral, such as, posters, post cards, newspaper ads, radio ads, press releases, media interviews, etc.

Attendance, donor satisfaction, and media awareness were dependent on the timely creation and distribution of the newsletters and postcards.


Newsletters

I edited a 10-page newsletter for a Los Angeles nonprofit theatre company. l have also edited playbill programs for events such as plays, festivals, performing arts series, and orchestras.

This particular independently contracted newsletter and other projects I believe were a success, due to the positive feedback from the companies after printing.


Printed Materials

I’ve designed or collaborated on printed materials, such as: Newspaper ads, Bookmarks, event tickets, flyers, mailers and large-scale banners.

For example, I have created various size newspaper ads for “Having Our Say” at the Mark Taper Forum. These ads were later turned into a two-sided tri-folded mailer by me for their subscribers.

I feel that these initiatives were a success because design time was efficiently utilized, there was high attendance, and I was asked to supervise more critical work.

(Newspaper Ad) Bookmarks (2-sided, 3 up)


Programs I’ve designed program covers

and text for events, such as plays, jazz nights, and cultural festivals. This program was part of collateral for a city-wide Cuban festival.

I also solicited vendors, completed contracts, communicated with sponsors, and supervised on-site activities for five annual Los Angeles festivals.

I designed festival flyers, programs, participant parking passes, and created VIP “back-stage passes” to events.

My work was personally a success because I was asked to design marketing collateral and participate in other event programming.


Press Releases

Though college, graduate school and my working career, I’ve had numerous listings and articles appear as a result of press releases and media follow up calls. Some of the press releases that I have worked on were for events, such as:

– Theatre, music, poetry, and visual performing arts presentations– University-wide humanities programs, and– City-wide multicultural festivals– One-act theatre, music and independent film showcases– National-level arts advocacy projects advocating for public awareness about the arts

and for lawmakers to keep or increase government arts funding

For example, I co-produced an evening of two one-act plays by Lynn Manning. The next slide is the press release that I wrote for the event.


Press Release - “Visitations”


Portfolio Conclusion

I feel that this particular initiative was a success because critics and Hollywood stars came out to the event, like Motown singer Smokey Robinson, and Jack Hammer (writer of over 25 hits that made it to the top 10 including “Great Balls of Fire”) which received a Drama Critics Circle Award. The director asked me to co-produce with him again and Lynn Manning has gone on to a successful career, performing his works around the world.

Again, I believe, this brief portfolio demonstrates several of my abilities and successes that uniquely qualify me for a Director of Marketing and Public Relations position through the use of newsletters, printed materials, and a press release.

Please contact me if further information or more portfolio samples are required at (630) 254-3246 or [email protected].