Paul Hill

Location: Middlesex
Telephone: 07717 337658
Email: pjsgraphics@yahoo.co.uk

Professional Profile

I am an accomplished and highly competent middle to heavyweight designer, confident working with many print formats and with the ability to determine and meet client need effectively. Also a lightweight web designer, I am knowledgeable in SEO and programming bare bones HTML & CSS. I have an eye for the finer details of a brief but do not allow myself to distract from the wider picture, resulting in high quality and innovative work every time. Especially skilled in sign writing I have the ability to take charge at every stage of the process from conception to completion and fitting. My experience in sales and marketing ensures I also have a strong commercial awareness which complements my artistic and technical aptitude very well. A strong team player, I enjoy sharing knowledge and ideas with colleagues to meet targets and realise customer expectations. My experience in management and self employment mean I am very skilled in managing my time and workload and in making difficult decisions quickly but sensibly. I am now looking forward to taking on a new and challenging role where I can utilise my existing skills and develop further.

Career History

Jan 2012 – Present Salesman – Specialized.

In addition to my self employed role I work as a part time Salesman for this specialist, high value bicycle store. My main role is to sell and build bicycles in the £400 – £7500 price range. I utilise my strong sales and communication skills to determine customer requirements and to ensure sales and profits are maximised. My success in this role relies on my ability to sell and liaise at all levels – as well as my exceptional technical skills and knowledge.

Key Responsibilities

 Dealing with queries and advising customers on our products
 Up-selling wherever possible to meet client need and increase sales
 Diagnosing problems, maintaining and constructing bicycles
 Keeping up to date with my specialist industry knowledge through research & being aware of changes in trends
 Working as part of a team to ensure the store runs efficiently and sales targets are met
 Providing first class customer service to ensure repeat custom from our clients

Key Achievements

 I have consistently achieved the highest sales results in the team as well as receiving lots of positive feedback from customers on my service

January 2010 – Present Self Employed Sign Writer & Graphic Designer.

I currently run my own sign writing and graphics business which allows me to utilise my extensive print and website design skills on a freelance basis. I design and produce a broad variety of commercial products from business cards to window films – as a highly competent art-worker I am able to produce the required graphic from scratch or adjust existing artwork to suit client requirements. I then utilise these to build into the final product, whether that be a website or commercial print.
My success in this role relies on my strong technical skills, commercial awareness, attention to detail and ability to manage conflicting priorities.

Key Responsibilities

 Liaising with clients to determine their requirements & what they wish to achieve
 Designing bespoke websites, individually tailored to the clients’ business needs and aims
 Producing posters, banners, leaflets, business cards & promotional material
 Artworking 2d and 3d visual representations
 Sign making and fitting
 Producing and fitting computer cut window film
 Supplying and fitting 3d lettering
 Designing, producing and fitting vehicle graphics and lettering
 Maintaining & managing my own (self built) website
 Handling all sales, marketing and advertising

Key Achievements

 I have kept a constant and efficient work flow in place during the life of my business – as well as being responsible for setting up all of my own computer systems, machinery and advertising
 As well as establishing myself as an accomplished sign writer, I am also able to carry out all of the associated tasks such as the fitting and maintenance of the signs/vinyls

Jan 2008 – Jan 2010 Studio Manager – Aztec Group.

In this role I took over management of the design studio at the start of a change of ownership of this busy sign making company. Responsible for 20 employees, I had the opportunity to combine my design skills and knowledge with my leadership and multitasking skills. I developed a strong management style and increased my commercial awareness – as well as being successful in ensuring a heavy workload was consistently met without compromising on quality.

Key Responsibilities

 Oversaw and contributed to the production of printed window graphics, pull up displays and signage
 Created any design files for production of graphics for signs, stickers and print (large format and litho)
 Organised & delegated design and print work on a daily basis to ensure tight deadlines were always met – it could be catastrophic to the company to miss a deadline
 Liaised directly with clients and out house printers & designers
 Ordered the raw materials required for sign and graphic production – negotiating prices with suppliers to ensure maximum profitability
 Assisted and advised my team in the use of drawing software and the design of signs
 Art worked any in-house marketing, logos, brochures and mail shots
 Took charge of the company network and server providing backup and restoration of files
 Operated and maintained in-house wide format printers and RIPs

Jan 2006 – Jan 2008 Artworker – DisplaySigns.

During this period I was responsible for drawing designs and managing the work flow of the studio for myself and another designer. I utilised my eye for detail and creative flair to ensure I met client requirements with originality and accuracy. My success in this role relied on my ability to think innovatively and laterally where required.

Key Responsibilities

 Worked out the logistics of each job – i.e. how it was to be designed and then the method that would be used to produce the final sign
 Designed and produced graphics, prints and technical drawings for use in sign making, screen-printing, wide format printing, plotting and CNC routing
 Managed the design studio for 4 months, covering the original manager’s maternity leave – delegating work to additional designers and organising jobs to meet tight production deadlines
 Used RIP software to produce wide format prints using SEIKO printers

Education & Qualifications

2001 BSc (Hons) Multimedia 2.1 Swansea Institute

A Level Design and Technology, Computing, Art

9 GCSEs Grades A-C including Mathematics & English

Software Used

Adobe Suite CS5, Illustrator CS5, Photoshop CS5, Gerber Composer, Corel Draw, 3D Studio MAX, Windows XP/7, Apple Macintosh, Command Workstation and other various RIP software. Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Macromedia Director (Shockwave studio), Photoshop 5.5 through to CS5, Illustrator 8 up to CS5 and HTML (JAVA,CSS).
MS Office, Excel, Outlook.

Full references available on request