JAMES DATZ / 101 Lafayette Avenue #10B / Brooklyn, NY 11217 / 267 872 0938

I’m currently available for any and all freelance Art Direction, Design, and Illustration projects. Additionally, I continue to be interested in creative collaborations. If you have something fun to work on, feel free to email me. Please read on for some vitals:


EXPERIENCE

12.06-Present
Freelance Art Director/Designer/Illustrator, Neither Fish Nor Fowl, Brooklyn
Managing an independent practice and juggling numerous projects in the corporate and cultural sectors. Clients include Fenchurch, Terrain/Urban Outfitters, J.Crew, Madewell, Bitten SJP for Steve and Barry’s, Dear (Amanda Bynes) for Steve and Barry’s, Fortune Magazine, Koko Architecture and Design, B Corporation, The Crier Magazine.

07.06 – 11.06
Freelance Art Director, Urban Outfitters Europe, London
Responsible for end-to-end creative (both pre- and post-launch) for the EU division of Urban Outfitters. Art Directed, designed, and wrote copy for all cyclical site content (homepages, email blasts, gateway pages). Established standards and processes for photoshoots. Directed all photography.

05.02 – 07.06
Art Director, Urban Outfitters Direct, Philadelphia
Managed an internal team of four, and partnered with an external team of up to 12 to produce the entire customer experience for 2 major channels of the Urban Outfitters brand (Web and Catalog). Worked closely with the Creative Director and Retail design team to develop integrated multi-channel seasonal campaigns. Partnered daily with Marketing, Buying, and Planning teams to guide the direction of the Brand in print and online. Provided Conceptual and Art Direction for a year of the most ambitious Catalogs in the history of the company. Art Directed thrice-yearly seasonal Site Reskins. Twice managed the ground-up redesign and replatform of the UO site. Significantly impacted the growth of the Direct business through the design and implementation of targeted email and cyclical content campaigns. Directed the design and photography of UOUK e-commerce site. Managed web photo team in the construction of a full digital studio. Established standards and processes for all product photography.

12.99 – 05.02
Design Director, Monsoon, Philadelphia
Responsible for the Creative and Design Direction of a 12- person brand-building boutique. Managed and coordinated closely with interactive and broadcast leads, account planners and research staff in a close-knit team environment. Produced integrated branding campaigns, corporate identity, package and display design across all media (Print, Web, Broadcast) for clients which include Urban Outfitters, Sub Verse Music, American Ramp Co., City of Philadelphia, The Restaurant School, The Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema, Bucks County Coffee, University of Pennsylvania.

12.97-11.99
Graphic Designer, Urban Outfitters Retail, Philadelphia
Delivered complex projects rapidly, within strict budgetary parameters, while coordinating closely with multiple departments and outside vendors. Responsible for design and production management of in-store display pieces for seasonal campaigns (posters, window silkscreens and other collateral material), corporate identity, product, packaging, and t-shirt graphics, woven labels, banners and exterior signage. Developed new visual ID for Housewares department. In charge of all budget administration, billing, and task scheduling for Art Department.

11.94-12.97
Architect, Jacobs / Wyper Architects, Philadelphia
Participated in projects at all levels, from predesign through construction documentation and construction management. Resident specialist in the use of CAFM software. Projects included new buildings and interior fit-outs for The City of Philadelphia; Elf Atochem; Immune Response Corporation; Tradestar Investments; Wawa, Inc.; The National Sports Academy; and the University of Pennsylvania.

05.92-11.94
Toy / Packaging Designer, Larami Corporation, Mount Laurel, NJ
Tracked projects through all phases of production, from initial concept to finished piece. Responsible for total design of products and packaging, package graphics, logos, catalog layouts, and advertising. Constructed two and three-dimensional package comps, box prototypes, and precise mechanicals for printing. Created product renderings and lineart. Facilitated communication of multiple constituents, including internal creative and marketing staff, and external design houses, color separators and printers.



EDUCATION

Master of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts
Thesis. “Perilous Architecture and the Drowning Man: An Ocean Rescue Facility for a Barrier Island.”

Japan Summer Studio, University of Pennsylvania
Intensive study of traditional and contemporary Japanese architecture and culture.

Bachelor of Arts, Design of the Environment, University of Pennsylvania



TECHNICAL SKILLSET

Fluent in Adobe CS (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc), Quark, Freehand, Sharpies and Play-doh. Extensive working knowledge of Flash, HTML, and the limitations, potential, and production requirements of Interactive Media.



PUBLICATIONS AND EXHIBITIONS

11.07
IdN Magazine, v14n5:Art Directors Issue, Hong Kong
Typography and illustration.

11.07
Wish-Well, Minneapolis
Eight pages of indie zine illustration.

09.07
Hand Job: A Catalogue of Type, Princeton Press, New York

05.07
The Crier, Volume 1, Issue 4, Brooklyn
Editorial Illustration.

02.07
The Crier, Volume 1, Issue 3, Brooklyn
Featured Artist.

11.06
The Crier, Volume 1, Issue 2, Brooklyn
Editorial Illustration and House Ads.

12.03
XHAND, 222 Gallery, Philadephia

12.02
800×600x30, 222 Gallery, Philadelphia

08.02-09.02
Hook, Line and Sinker, 222 Gallery, Philadelphia
A series of mixed media installations that used an undersea metaphor to explore the juncture of art and advertising. A hybrid exercise that coopted the process of branding as a generative means for conceiving a body of work.

06.01
Collab, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Invited Critic for region-wide design competition open to graduating college seniors. Collab is an organization of design professionals supporting the Modern / Contemporary Design Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

03.99
Typography 19
Urban Gift Certificate / Urban Pounds.

02.94
Sites + Stations: Provisional Utopias, Lusitania Press, New York, NY
Page layout and content creation for “The American City, The Automobile”, by Alex Wall.

05.93
OMA: the sublime start of an architectural generation, NAi Publishers, Rotterdam, Holland
Publication of entry from Atlanta Public Space Competition in global architectural compilation.



REFERENCES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST (just email me).