Chris Young Resume
I’m a seasoned, strategy-focused Art Director / Senior Graphic Designer, and I have a passion for designing digital, print, packaging and environments – and enjoy seeing my vision translated across different mediums.
I’m easy to work with, enjoy working in a collaborative creative team environment, and build client/co-worker relationships with ease. I’ve worked in various small and medium-sized studios and agencies over the years, so I’m used to the fast-paced environment and wearing multiple hats. I’m reliable, dedicated and committed to achieving goals and objectives. I am detail-oriented, maintaining focus and consistency on long, complicated projects such as large websites with many moving parts and extensive/detailed functionality requirements.
If you’d prefer to look at my LinkedIn page or you can download a PDF version of my resume.
Qualifications
20+ years of agency experience; Art Direction and UX/UI graphic design across multiple platforms- Personable and approachable; easily builds relationships with clients and colleagues
- Detail-oriented with the ability to maintain focus and consistency on long, complicated projects such as large, complicated websites
- Great sense of humour, and handles stress well
Work Experience
KIMBO Design Inc.
Design Manager, Art Director, Senior UX/UI Designer
January 2016 – August 2022, Vancouver, BC
For the past six years, I was the Design Lead overseeing a team of designers, developers, marketing support staff and social media department. Also oversee freelance designers, photographers, illustrators, videographers and video production teams as needed.
Duties include Art direction, strategy, design and brand development, information architecture, wireframing, prototyping, UX/UI, user research, user journeys, front-end responsive website design, digital and traditional/OOH advertising campaigns including SEM, economic development campaigns, brand strategy, brand/website audits, strategic marketing, packaging, print production and large-scale integrated social media campaigns. Creating and presenting concepts to clients, as well as working closely with stakeholders throughout the process.
Mentoring and training junior design staff, including onboarding and walking them through our processes.
Clients range from high-tech companies, government agencies (federal, provincial and municipal), restaurants, healthcare to retail brands. See below for a list of clients serviced.
Achievements
District of Squamish economic development website design: As the Design Lead on this project, I oversaw the website redesign from the beginning to the end. Squamish wanted to authentically showcase the adventurous lifestyle so many see themselves living – yet still be professional on the world stage when promoting Squamish to the world as a place to start, grow or invest in a business. The new Squamish website features new highlight videos, robust Why Squamish and Key Sectors sections of the website, and a completely overhauled resources area.
FarmFolk CityFolk website design: An intensive website redesign that brought three websites all together under one website. The website includes a refresh of their brand identity, colour palette and a fresh, modern look to their organization. The website has lots of great new functionality including a customized interactive agriculture map, events section, multiple landing pages for their programs, and an advanced resources section.
Tech Island identity, website design and videos: Tech Island is a joint initiative launched by eight coastal communities on the Vancouver Island (VI) tech corridor to encourage investment in the region’s technology sector. I designed the new brand identity and website and provided art direction for the videos.
University Neighbourhoods Association (UBC) website design: A feature-rich municipal website that puts users first, highlighting their recreational programs with robust search and filtering capabilities, taking full advantage of PerfectMind’s API integration for a seamless experience. Other features include a custom-programmed alert system with global and localized alerts with set-and-forget functionality and advanced search results which display in digestible segments.
Please note the following projects are not shown publicly and are only linked from this page.
Clients Include:
- BC Government Communications and Public Engagement (GCPE)
- BC Ministry of Agriculture
- BC Ministry of Citizens’ Services
- BC Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy
- BC Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure
- BC Corrections, Adult Custody Division
- City of Surrey
- City of Campbell River
- District of Squamish
- Sunshine Coast Regional District
- Government of Canada – National Security and Intelligence Review Agency
- Government of Canada – Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- PwC Pricewaterhouse Coopers
- BC Liberal Party
- Small Business BC
- Alpine Credits
- Invero Digital
- Coast Mental Health
- Aviva Insurance
- Cystic Fibrosis Canada
- Catalyst Community Developments
- Translink
- Canfor (Canadian Forest Products)
- Tourism Valemount
- McKenzie’s Country Farm Honey
- FarmFolk CityFolk
- University Neighbourhoods Association (UBC)
- Downtown Vancouver BIA
- BC Forestry Innovation Investment
- Providence Health
- Industry Training Authority (ITA)
Chris Young Design (freelance)
Art Director, Senior Graphic Designer
October 2014 – January 2016, Vancouver, BC
Conceptualize, strategize, art direct and design brand development, UX/UI, print and digital collateral, digital and traditional advertising campaigns, websites, annual reports, packaging, environments, tradeshow booths, signage, editorial layouts, lead social media campaigns and more.
Achievements
Gardens British Columbia identity: A new brand includes a logo, brand standards guide, print collateral, print/digital ads and a fully-responsive website. Gardens British Columbia is a coalition of public gardens that promotes British Columbia as a tourism destination for garden visits and experiences.
Clients Include:
- Red Bull
- MacNeil Bikes
- Industrial Brand Creative
- Peoples Jewellers
- Blenz Coffee
- Gardens British Columbia
- Cycling British Columbia
- Latitude Agency
- The Salient Group
- Coercion Design
- Chum Television (CityTV Vancouver)
- Free Agency Creative
- Twin Fish Creative
Tugboat Group
Art Director, Senior Graphic Designer
September 2010 – October 2014, Vancouver, BC
Conceptualize, art direct and design brand development, UX/UI, print and digital collateral, websites, packaging, environments, tradeshow booths, signage and more. Full understanding of Drupal and WordPress CMS frameworks, PPC and SEM landing pages.
Achievements
Windset Farms office environmental and wayfinding design – Interior design/environmental design and wayfinding signage at Windset Farms’ office and three million sq ft greenhouse in Santa Maria, California.
Windset Farms packaging design – Redesign of Windset Farms’ entire product line with a fresh new look, including resealable bags, net bags, clamshell labels and packing cases.
Tugboat Group website redesign – a major update to the design agency’s website was no easy feat, trying to incorporate all the different stakeholders’ ideas.
Clients Include:
- Windset Farms
- Jind Fruit Co.
- Taylor Farms
- What’s at the Market
- Forestry Innovation Investment
- BC Ministry Of Forests and Range
- Mink Chocolates
- BC Construction Industry Training Organization
- Reimer Alliance Concrete Mixer
- Vista D’oro Winery
Other Design Experience (1996-2010)
Coercion Design Inc.
Art Director, Senior Graphic Designer
2006 – 2008, Vancouver, BC
Conceptualize, create and produce branding and collateral for Coercion, an award-winning design studio whose focus is on many of Vancouver’s high-end condominium developments and historic conversion projects. Materials include branding, identity work, brochures, websites, presentation folders, stationery, and specialty promotional items.
Achievements
Using my web experience, I brought Coercion closer to a full-service studio, which previously concentrated on print projects within the real-estate marketing sector. This resulted in many more websites staying within Coercion’s studio – keeping the project’s branding more on-point. Full corporate website redesigns for Intracorp, The Salient Group and the Townline Group of Companies, as well as websites for some of those developer’s projects.
Clients Include:
The Salient Group, Townline Homes, Intracorp, Bogner Developments, Mosaic Homes and more.
World Bicycle Sports Inc. / MacNeil Bikes
In-house bicycle company that included several internationally acclaimed brands: MacNeil Bikes, Ten Pack Distribution, Red Bull Elevation Professional Contest Series, Metro Jam BMX Professional Contest Series, and Pivotal Seats and Ceneca Components
Art Director, Senior Graphic Designer, Event Manager
2002 – 2007 (5 years), Burnaby, BC
Created and supervised all design and promotions for MacNeil Bikes, Ten Pack Distribution, the Metro BMX Jam contest series, and Pivotal Seats.
Duties included: Producing brand identities, catalogues, posters, clothing, website design, copywriting and website news updates, studio product photography, and everything under the sun.
Oversaw design, editing and production of four commercially released full-length action-sport DVDs (The MacNeil Video, MacNeil San to Van tour video, Ten Pack Evolution, Props Metro Jam video)
Achievements
While wearing many hats and utilizing several skill sets across multiple platforms, I elevated the worldwide recognition of the many brands that World Bicycle Sports promoted.
- MacNeil Bikes – our in-house bicycle brand, and one of the most innovative BMX brands of all time.
- Ten Pack Distribution – Canada-wide distribution company.
- Pivotal Seats – their patented seat/seatpost combo accessory.
- Metro Jam contest series – the standout professional BMX contest series in Singapore, Toronto and Vancouver over five years.
- Red Bull Elevation – the infamous contest series in Guadalajara and Whistler over four consecutive years.
- Chase BMX Magazine – our Canadian-produced magazine from 1999 -2003.
Event Management includes large-scale international filmed/televised sporting events for:
- Red Bull Elevation: Whistler, Canada (2005-2007) and Guadalajara, Mexico (2008)
- Metro BMX Jam contest series: Singapore, Vancouver, Toronto, Kingston, filmed for the RushHD network and FuelTV network, USA (2002-2008)
- ERA Elite Race Association
- 2008 Kingston Bike Festival
Twin Fish Creative
Senior Graphic Designer
2001 – 2003 (2 years), Vancouver, BC (Freelance position turned into full-time position)
Created promotional collateral and advertising campaigns for a mostly corporate client base.
Clients Include:
Future Shop, Masev Communications, Stormtech Outerwear, Champion Sportswear, Ryders Eyewear and more.
Sheldan Wood Creative Associates (SWCA)
Senior Graphic Designer
2000 – 2001 (2 years), Vancouver, BC
Created annual reports, identities, advertising campaigns, brochures, presentation folders, packaging, websites, and tradeshow booths.
Clients Include:
BC Rail, Sun Peaks Resort, Forbes Medi–Tech, ReturnAssured.com, SoBe Energy Drink, Cool Canadian Water and Virgin Cola.
Vivid Graphics
Graphic Designer
1994 – 2000 (6 years), Vancouver, BC
Created promotional collateral such as kit folders, magazine campaigns, tradeshow booths, websites, and some small multimedia projects for a wide range of clients.
Sertapak Packaging Systems
Junior Graphic Designer, Junior Industrial Designer
1992 – 1994, Ingersoll, ON
I worked part-time throughout the school year, and full time during my summers while attending Conestoga College. I designed packaging solutions for a broad range of applications, from medical supplies to automotive.
Tasks included working with the Senior Industrial Designers creating samples and prototypes, quality control of first-offs prior to moving into production, creating Autocad drawings for tooling, as well as verifying dies.
Skills & Expertise
Creative & Design
20+ years in brand identity, web and digital design, UX/UI, art direction, and production design. Expert in Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Premiere, Lightroom, Acrobat), Figma, Adobe XD, and design systems planning/implementation.
Web & Technology
Extensive experience in website design and production, CSS customization, QA/UI review, and launch management. Proficient with WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, Drupal, SilverStripe, Hubspot, and CMS-B. Skilled in HTML, PHP, CSS, information architecture, wireframing, prototyping, and Google Analytics.
Leadership & Collaboration
Proven ability to lead projects end-to-end or step in midstream to resolve challenges. Strong background in hybrid Production Designer/Project Manager roles—collaborating with developers, managing QA cycles, and driving projects to on-time launches. Experienced with Asana, ClickUp, Basecamp, and AirTable.
Marketing & Email
Strategic knowledge of email marketing platforms (Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Drip, Constant Contact), segmentation, personalization, and deliverability. Experienced in creating PPC and SEM landing pages optimized for conversions.
Video & Motion
Hands-on skills in video editing and motion graphics (Final Cut Pro, Premiere, After Effects).
Office & Collaboration Tools
Proficient with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams), and Google Workspace.
Education
Conestoga College
Graphic Design and Advertising program
1990 – 1994, Kitchener, ON
The Graphic Design and Advertising program covered all elements of graphic design and advertising; design, layout, packaging, pre-press, typography, illustration, photography and darkroom fundamentals, plus design fundamentals, colour theory and art history.
Interests and Hobbies
![[L to R] Canoeing with the family at Paul Lake just outside of Kamloops. Mountain Biking on Hornby Island. Snowshoeing at Whistler's Callaghan Valley. Snowboarding at Cypress Mountain. Sweet dive off a cliff. Riding at my friend's backyard ramp in Richmond.](https://i0.wp.com/www.chrisyoungdesign.com/portfolio/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/cyd-resume-2023-about-interests-image-hor-6-up-opt.jpg?ssl=1)
![[From top] Canoeing with the family at Paul Lake just outside of Kamloops. Mountain Biking on Hornby Island. Snowshoeing at Whistler's Callaghan Valley. Sweet dive off a cliff. Riding at my friend's backyard ramp in Richmond.](https://i0.wp.com/www.chrisyoungdesign.com/portfolio/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/cyd-resume-2023-about-interests-image-2x3-vert-mobile%402x-opt.jpg?ssl=1)
If it’s outdoors, I’m probably into it. BMX, mountain biking, snowboarding, skiing, snowshoeing, swimming, camping, hiking, canoeing, photography, eco-friendly living, cooking, eating healthy, travelling, reading, writing, and I’m a huge fan of music.
Design Industry and Volunteer Work
CreativePulse: Volunteer member of Creative Pulse, which produces at-capacity monthly casual speaker events for Vancouver’s advertising/design creatives and other industry professionals. CP’s aim is to connect like-minded creatives in a collaborative and inspiring setting. During COVID-19 we pivoted to monthly ZOOM presentation events and bi-weekly online socials to engage and help our active community. See our Facebook page for more info.
I also attend monthly meetings for the Vancity Digital Projects Managers to hear from the other side of the table and pick up tips to share with my Project Managers.
Design Professionals of Canada, Vancouver Chapter: Volunteer at GDC and partner events, such as Creative Mornings, Practivism and Interesting Vancouver.
International BMX Freestyle Federation (IBMXFF): Board member and Canadian representative for the International BMX Freestyle Federation since 2004. IBMXFF is the international governing body of BMX Freestyle, partnered with Union Cyclists International (UCI), the cycling governing body for the International Olympic Committee. Freestyle BMX debuted at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan this summer – a year late, but it happened.
Vancouver Skateboard Coalition: Executive board member since 1999, working with the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Park Board to create better opportunities and active spaces for youth.
Vancouver Dirt Jumping Coalition: Founding member, creating Vancouver’s first public dirt jumping facility at Vanier Park, which opened in October 2010 and the pumptrack at Hastings Park in July 2015.
View Portfolio Projects
— PUBLIC PORTFOLIO —