Ewelina Holdrege
Senior graphic designer
Modern Marketing Concepts, Binghamton, NY
CAST member since 2009
Former member of the Genesis Awards committee
What does your company do?
Modern Marketing Concepts is a complementary sales channel. It finds and develops hidden revenue opportunities for clients in the building, hospitality, health care and renewable energy industries. MMC offers database development, marketing analytics, marketing consulting, a sales center, printing and fulfillment and creative services.
What’s your role at MMC?
I joined the company in July 2011 as a senior graphic designer. My main responsibility is to provide creative support and graphic design for client programs and internal projects. This includes work on catalogs, brochures, postcards and other pieces used in direct mail campaigns, plus work on email campaigns and website layouts.
What special challenges do you face in your work?
The main challenge in my current position is very different from what I faced in my previous job. It involves creating effective marketing campaigns for awareness and lead generation. I need to produce smart, unique design solutions that get people’s attention and, ultimately, change their behavior.
You also run a freelance business. Tell us about that.
In my “after hours” freelance design studio, I specialize in surface pattern design and illustration. I don’t know of anyone else in our area who practices that discipline. I’ve been creating patterns for the consumer products industry for more than six years now. I would like to see my designs on fabrics or wallpaper some day, or even have my own line of products.
What training and prior experience led you to this point in your career?
I hold a BFA in fine arts and an MFA in fine arts with honors from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Poland, with a major in product and graphic design. I also studied typography, illustration and printmaking at EVTEK Institute of Art and Design in Helsinki, Finland. Before joining MMC, I spent seven years working at MeadWestvaco (MWV) in Sidney, NY.
Why do you belong to CAST?
CAST provides great networking opportunities for the marketing and creative professional, plus meetings on interesting topics. I didn’t have the chance to attend the meetings very often when I worked outside the Binghamton area, but now I plan to become more actively involved.
How have you benefited from your membership in CAST?
Joining CAST has given me the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and gain professional connections, which is especially important for somebody who was not born and raised here. Also, several pieces of my work were recognized at the 2009 Genesis Awards. I was just overwhelmed by that.
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