I’m Christopher Allen, I have over 15 years experience, a masters degree and a track record of working in senior roles and leading creative strategies for the companies I work for.
I’ve spent this time working for agencies, start-ups, freelance and SMEs across a massive range of industries. Not content to just sit back and create visuals, I’m the kind of creative that helps their clients to develop briefs, fashions designs based
on creative solutions, user testing and feedback, and delivers projects that work.
Throughout my career I have managed teams and mentored junior designers.
Between 2007 and 2012 as CEM’s lead designer, I managed a group of four visual, digital and instructional designers, scheduling work and carrying out periodical
reviews. As Art Director for Seven46, I oversaw the work of freelance designers
and photographers, as well having mentored team creative staff throughout the wider Havas Sports & Entertainment Network.
In my last role as art director for one of the leading agencies for sports content and campaign, I headed up projects and design briefs for large international clients within sports, B2B and FMCG, as well as supporting the wider network of partner agencies in the delivery of their projects.
Now as a freelance art director, creative and illustrator; I can take everything I’ve
learnt to bring fresh ideas to a project, help clients see creative from a new angle
and provide support from the ground up, whether it’s artworking, photo-retouching,
strategy and planning or leading a client brief or pitch.
Whatever I’m working on I approach every project differently. I look for inspiration from wherever I can find it, whether it’s walking round with a camera in my hand doing street photography, from my experiences as a musician, or through my background as an illustrator and visual artist.
Work history
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Art DirectorSeven46
- London, United KingdomFull Time
As Art Director for Seven46, I led the creation of print and digital materials for international sports and B2B clients across campaign and content. I most recently worked with Olympic sponsors Atos, the International Association of Athletics Federations, D3O and the winning bids for both the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Some key projects I worked on with Seven46 were: art director for the D3O thought-leadership publication, Impact and the 2018 edition of the Atos publication, Ascent Magazine; lead creative for the ICC Women’s World Cup and Champions Trophy RFP; creative consultant for the HS&E brand roll-out; and art director and project manager for the 2018 HS&E global website relaunch.
My role with Seven46 included: leading on the delivery of creative work for all editorial, branding and digital design projects; directing photo and video shoots; building the network of staff and freelance designers, illustrators, programmers, photographers, picture editors and printers; overseeing all visual creative work produced by third-parties for Seven46; working on new businesses pitches including presenting in live pitches; project management, ensuring on-time delivery and profitability.
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Senior DesignerConsider This UK
- London, United KingdomFull Time
As the Senior Designer, I regularly deputised for the Creative Director and took the lead on a variety of print and web projects for clients including Dance UK, BalletBoyz, London Studio Centre, Royal Academy of Dance and British Ballet Organization. Some key projects I worked on included Dance Manifesto 2015, the website, brand positioning and marketing strategy for Little People UK and Dance UK Conference 2015.
This role involved design from concept to final production across a large range of materials including digital and print advertising, web design and build, brand consultancy and design, and magazine design and layout.
On digital projects where I was not the lead designer, I liaised with the web development team to interpret the design and guide the process to ensure that the project was delivered in line with client expectations and fit the design brief, as well as ensuring an effective balance between usability and aesthetic.
In addition to my design duties, I managed my own client projects and contributed to company social media and blogs.
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Skills
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Art Direction
- Web
- Advertising
- Marketing Design
- Team Management
- Digital
- Illustration
- Photography
Education
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MA Applied Imagination in the Creative IndustriesCentral Saint Martins