PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Associate Director, Creative Services
Cardiovascular Research Foundation - CRF (March 2022 to Present)
Develop and execute innovative concepts, leading an in-house creative team to produce best-in-class print, digital, and out of home marketing materials for CRF business units and partners. Achieve measurable results through strategic planning and creative oversight, strict adherence to brand standards, and optimization of workflows and efficiencies to stimulate CRF’s growth.
- Increase Audience Engagement: Enhance digital designs by leveraging dynamic motion graphics and animation to create eye-catching visuals that significantly boost user engagement and increase CTR across all platforms.
- Strengthen Brand Consistency: Reinforce brand standards across all CRF entities and campaigns, ensuring cohesive messaging that aligns with the foundation’s core mission and resonates among diverse audiences.
- Design for Immersive Environments: Transform interior and exterior event spaces with compelling, large-format physical installations, strategically placed high-impact, large-scale visual graphics, informative wayfinding and signage for eight annual cardiovascular medical conferences.
- Improve User Experience: Develop interactive UX/UI strategies for websites, e-blasts, social media, and the CRF Events App, contributing to a quantifiable increase in user satisfaction ratings and repeat engagement.
- Optimize Creative Operations: Collaborate and guide senior leadership to implement standardized processes (SOPs) and streamline interdepartmental workflows using PM software RedBooth and Monday.com.
- Mentor and Lead High-Performance Team: Supervise Jr. Designer, Graphic Designer, and all outsourced creative talent, including photographers and videographers, fostering a collaborative, diverse and inclusive environment.
- Enhance Team Development: Spearhead recruitment and training of new hires, monitor staff performance, conduct annual reviews and prioritize employee accountability.
Debra Lund
Director of Marketing, CRF |
"Chris Rugen brought exceptional creative vision and leadership to CRF during our two years working together. He consistently translated complex requirements into effective visual solutions that met our objectives. What I value most about Chris is his ability to take feedback and improve his work without ego—keeping great concepts great while making internal clients happy. His mentorship has been instrumental in developing a cohesive team that produces high-quality work consistently. Chris would be a valuable asset to any organization seeking a collaborative Creative Director who delivers results."
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Graphic Design Lead
Resorts World, New York City (March 2019 to March 2022)
Drove the creative development and managed production of all print, digital, social and interactive marketing for three of the branded entities operated by Genting Group America: Resorts World, New York City, Resorts World Catskills and Resorts World Bimini, Bahamas.
- Crafted Targeted Messaging & Media Solutions: Worked directly with senior executives to deliver impactful marketing for each unique property.
- Optimized E-Marketing Automation with Salesforce Migration: Modernized database management capabilities and implemented best practices.
- Enhanced Email Marketing with Responsive Templates: Developed a library of mobile optimized templates and conducted A/B testing to boost CTR.
- Elevated Patron Engagement: Reimagined end-to-end digital experiences to maximize user interaction and deliver impact.
Michael C. Savino
Marketing Director, Resorts World NYC
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"I tend to evaluate graphic designers based on 3 criteria: creativity, accuracy and speed. When Chris came on board at Resorts World Casino, we hit the "jackpot!" A take-charge leader always looking to do more, Chris set about making significant improvements to our robust direct mail and email campaigns, including creating responsive-design templates. Migrating to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Chris was an invaluable resource for current best practices, while balancing time for our junior designers—keeping everyone on brand. I highly recommend Chris for his skills, passion and drive!"
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Lead Art Director
WebMD (Nov. 2008 to Jan. 2018)
Led a creative team in development of interactive learning programs and digital marketing campaigns to promote major pharmaceutical brands across Medscape’s professional online community.
- Delivered High-Impact Creative Solutions: Collaborated cross-functionally so design met brand-specific requirements, exceeded client expectations and outperformed metric markers.
- Managed Resources to Optimize Team Efficiency & Output: Monitored daily workflow of three staff designers and one off-site freelancer.
- Streamlined Processes to Accelerate Launch Timelines: Implemented strategies proven to maintain a near-100% on-time completion rate and boost revenue.
- Mentored Talent & Led Performance Development Initiatives: Identified individual/team goals and provided professional pathways for growth.
Stefanie Zsamba
Experienced Market Access Account Leader, WebMD |
"Chris was an asset to the company for his exceptional design capabilities and flexibility in meeting the needs of client deliverables. He has displayed a wealth of graphic design knowledge in creation of designs for a broad range of products which included HTML-based interactive programs, websites, emails, and print and digital advertisements. He also exhibited patience in keeping up with client demands while adhering to deadlines, most of the time with early delivery-keeping a project on track. His designs were spot on in what the client was seeking thereby making presentations much easier. Working with him was a pleasure and I give him my highest recommendation."
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UNIQUE EXPERIENCE
Graphic Communications Instructor
Hendriks Institute
Prepared early-adult students for workforce success through real-world design projects, presentation coaching, and constructive portfolio/resume critiques.
- Course Development: Delivered practical lessons on design, color theory, typography, digital imaging/photography and print production.
- Professional Development: Personalized instruction on how to apply industry-best tools and techniques.
