Act-On

Lead-Generating Brand Design Systems and Management

At Act-On Software, I led contract and agency design professionals through creative direction, mentorship, and hands-on art direction, partnering closely with Marketing, Sales, and Product to deliver integrated campaigns, sales enablement materials, brand assets, and product-focused visual systems. I brought structure and creative clarity to complex, cross-functional initiatives while maintaining high standards for craft, consistency, and brand expression.

I built and maintained scalable visual systems and asset libraries that streamlined creative workflows, strengthened brand consistency, and made it easier for teams to produce high-quality work efficiently. By pairing strong creative direction with thoughtful systems and process, I helped create an environment where designers could move faster, collaborate more effectively, and consistently deliver polished work at scale.

Below are examples of the systematic approach I took to accomplish those systems.

Elevate. Streamline. Scale.

Step One

Photography

Before, I worked at Act-On, the approach to brand photography was hindered by fuzzy, awkward masking that detracted from the overall quality, along with imagery that did not reflect our customer demographic.

As the Senior Graphic Design Manager, I immediately established a new photo editing process that introduced meticulous attention to detail, precise masks, and sophisticated technical adjustments, such as adding realistic transparency to glasses. Once that process was established I set out to expand our photo library by creating a system that better utilized our stock purchases.

BEFORE |

Before images

Only

124 Library Images

  • Photos that do not reflect our ideal customer profile

  • Poor and inconsistent editing

  • Imagery that lacks sophistication

  • Under-utilized Shutterstock subscription

AFTER |

788 Images and Counting

50+ images added every month through my process with the same subscription.

PROCESS |

Clear Art Direction

The updated Brand Guidelines which I art directed explain photo direction as well as contain the production steps with links to our process folder. This system makes onboarding new designers seamless, and efficient.

Step Two

Consolidated Systems

For better collaboration, transparency, and oversight I decided to move all of our design work into Figma. There, marketers, executives, and designers are able to view, comment, and review all in one location without endless rounds of exported versions in different folders.

The Move to Figma

  • Less seats for Adobe Suite which saved the company thousands

  • One location for all working design files

  • Version history, live review ability, async commenting

  • Better collaboration, transparency, and process

Product Illustrations

Step Three

The next stage of my “Lead-Generating Brand Design Systems and Management” overhaul was to update the product illustrations to more accurately showcase the Act-On software experience and integrate our fresh, heightened photography. Below you will see what they looked like before and then after my art direction and new process.

BEFORE |

Not UI Accurate

Customers felt:

  • That the product illustrations were not reflective of the true customer experience

  • Confused by their content

  • Deceived!

AFTER |

82 Beautiful, Accurate Product Illustrations

Sized and available to use for:

  • Ebooks

  • Social Media

  • Landing Pages

  • Display Ads

  • Emails

  • Print Materials

  • Demo Video Thumbnails

My updated process and art direction ensured that each product illustration would be readily available in variable sizing so they could be used across channels including print and web

I carried this process across all of our graphic elements so omnichannel production would be elevated, streamlined, and scalable.

PROCESS |

Clear Art Direction

The updated Brand Guidelines which I art directed explain what product illustrations are as well as contain the production steps with links to our process folder. This system makes onboarding new designers seamless, and efficient.

PROCESS |

Clear Project Management

For this massive, cross-department project my creative director and I developed the project in Wrike so every link in the chain was trackable, accountable, and notified.

Step Four

Ebooks

BEFORE |

Inconsistent, One-Off Design

  • Fragmented, non-systematic approach to creative

  • Visual elements lacked strategic purpose and did not meaningfully enhance the content

  • Data graphics lacked visual impact

Before Examples |

AFTER |

From One-Offs to a Cohesive Design System

AFTER |

SMS Marketing Best Practices Guide

AFTER |

Marketing Automation Strategy Guide

AFTER |

Act-On Marketing Technology Insights

PROCESS |

Clear Art Direction

The updated Brand Guidelines which I art directed explain the high-level design ethos of the Ebook’s as well as contain the production and style guides built within the Figma platform with links to important files. This system makes onboarding new designers seamless, and efficient.