Photo of Kate Frana

About Me

Designer Illustrator Cat Mom Nerd

My name is Kate Frana, and I’m a graphic designer and illustrator who has been applying her skills to make the world a prettier place for over 9 years. I currently work for Celsius Marketing | Interactive creating and branding websites, landing pages, advertising campaigns, social media content, email marketing, and promotional print collateral for their clients ranging from small businesses to international corporations. My previous professional experiences also include print production, social media management, UI/UX design, and event organization and representation.

My current focus is in interactive visual web experiences, but I’m always looking for opportunities to combine my graphic design and illustration abilities. One day I’ll remember how to do motion graphics.

I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Central Florida in 2014 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts focused on drawing and illustration, as well as a minor in creative writing. It was during my time at UCF that I discovered my love of visual communication and inhaled enough charcoal dust from the drawing studio to make some very concerning boogers.

I live in Michigan with my partner, our three cats, and hopefully a dog someday.

Work Experience

Senior Graphic & Web Designer
May 2019 – Present

  • Designing, building, optimizing, and editing responsive websites for clients in WordPress and Shopify with respect to their established brands, target demographics, and business goals.
  • Creating and publishing campaigns via email, social media, websites, signage, and print for clients in order to nurture leads, communicate ideas, and promote products and services, which resulted in up to an 80% increased website traffic and a 300% increase in sales.
  • Collaborating and communicating with team members and clients to understand objectives, brainstorm new and interesting ideas, and build campaigns to engage and inspire.
  • Leveraging my experience with Adobe Creative Suite, web design, and illustration to create engaging visual experiences for ourselves and for clients.
  • Juggling multiple projects, clients, and fast-paced schedules to effectively meet deadlines and deliver the best products and experience to our clients.

Graphic & Web Designer
January 2018 – April 2019

  • Designing numerous emails, landing pages, sell sheets, postcards, animated graphics, logos, presentations, and more for clients to use for promoting their products and services to their customers.
  • Collaborating with a multi-disciplined team in the redesign and maintenance of a partner’s website, which resulted in more than a 300% increase in website traffic.
  • Planning and building campaigns with partners designed to increase the number of clients as well as reengage former clients.
  • Managing multiple social media platforms for various partners with regularly updated content in order to raise awareness about customer events and special promotions while maintaining brand identity, which resulted in up to a 25% increase in the number of followers and page visitors.

Production Artist
July 2017 – December 2017

  • Designing logos, banners, vehicle wraps and decals, business cards, flyers, window perfs, trade show displays, posters, and much more for both personal and commercial use.
  • Delivering CMYK files ready for printing and die-cutting in a fast-paced environment. 
  • Utilizing my Adobe Creative Suite experience to produce quality artwork for customers on a timely basis.
  • Studying substrates, such as paper and vinyl, in order to best know which material to use when printing each project.
  • Surprising customers with appealing artwork to encourage the sale conversion.

Manager of Marketing
December 2016 – June 2017

  • Attaining and nurturing leads and prospects with regular marketing content—such as blogs, newsletters and eblasts—in regards to customer personas, keywords, and SEO.
  • Exploring and implementing new methods of advertising and customer engagement with persona analysis and targeted content through a CRM.
  • Researching, scheduling, and organizing trade show appearances as well as developing marketing campaigns and materials for those shows.
  • Comparing our manufacturing execution system software and competitors’ in order to understand how to market and improve our own products and services. 
  • Building and maintaining the company’s presence on various social media sites.
  • Creating original artwork and designs to be used in a variety of promotional materials, advertisements, information distribution, and the company website.
  • Multimedia production including motion graphic animation and video filming and editing for digital distribution and trade show displays.
  • Collaborating with software engineers on user interface designs to provide a more streamlined and professional-looking product to the customers.
  • Writing and editing newsletter content, multimedia scripts, and promotional material in order to display and explain the company’s news, products, and services.
  • Spearheading a new marketing campaign advertising the company’s latest hardware and software as a cohesive product for potential customers.

Graphic Designer & Illustrator
2012 – Present

  • Visualizing and completing projects for various clientele for both personal and commercial use.
  • Understanding and incorporating ideas, reference materials, and feedback.
  • Creating original artwork and reproducing to sell at galleries, conventions, and other art sales.
Photo of Kate working at Celsius Marketing with her Art Director Henry Perez.

Skills

Graphic Design

Adept in visual design and composition for digital and print production, with thorough experience in Adobe Creative Suite.

Visual Art

Skilled artist with a comprehensive background in both digital and traditional mediums.

Web Design

Accomplished web designer familiar with WordPress, HTML, and CSS, as well as SEO, responsive design, and UX.

Communication

Precise written and spoken communicator who responds promptly and completely.

Agility

Excellent organizational dexterity and capable of juggling multiple projects and deadlines.

Proficiency

Technologically experienced with both PC and Mac hardware and software. Enjoys troubleshooting issues probably too much.