Lawrence, KS 66046
(785) 841-9523
reneblake[at]yahoo.com
Johnson County Community College
Communication Design / Desktop Publishing 2005
- Earned A.A.S. in Graphic Design
- Earned Specialist's Certificate in Desktop Publishing with honors
WORK EXPERIENCE:
Marketing, Graphic Design - Straub Construction Co., Inc.
Lenexa, KS June 2004 - Present
- Design and assemble job proposals
- Interview and write for company press releases
- Redesign of company web site
- Write and design compnay newsletter, brochures, print advertising, and marketing materials
- Digital image scanning/cleanup
Information Specialist - Pearson Government Solutions
Lawrence, KS May 2003 - June 2004
- Researched and clarified post-secondary school aid funding procedures for customers
- Utilized basic computer skills for data entry and shipping
Freelance Writer - Citysearch.com
Kansas City, Kansas / Missouri October 2003 - March 2004
- Research and write profiles and reviews on the local bar and restaurant scene
Designer, Writer, Illustrator - The Pub Crawl Magazine
Lawrence, KS March 2001 - December 2002, Summer 2003
- Designed business ads primarily using Photoshop and Quark
- Wrote articles on various topics including human interest, news, reviews, and columns
- Responsible for all stages of production including page design and layout, collecting for output, and saving each issue for publication
- Handled outside client projects including menus, logos, flyers, and photography
- Corresponded directly with clients for ad sales and content
- Wrote and illustrated a bi-weekly comic strip
Staff Writer - The Campus Ledger
Overland Park, KS January 2001 - May 2001, Spring 2003
- Reporter, writing news, human interest, and sports profiles for Johnson County Community College's newspaper
- Won 2003 Award of Merit for news and headline writing
Web Design, Writer - MowDownMusic
Lawrence, KS October 1998 - June 1999
- Designed, edited and wrote for online webzine/record label
- Created graphics for both MDMmagazine and MDM Records, including CD cover art and promo materials
- Ad design for MDM products and business advertisers in MDMmagazine
Illustrator - Student Press Law Center
Washington D.C. Fall 1998 - Winter 1999
-Art for two issues of the SPLC magazine The Report, Fall of 1998 and Winter of 1999 issues
Arts & Entertainment Editor - Southwestern Silhouette
Garden City, KS August 1997 - December 1997
- Handled all aspects of production for the A&E section including photography, page design, and layout
- Wrote news, reviews, human interest, and a bi-weekly column
- Wrote and illustrated bi-weekly comic strips
- Kansas Associated Collegiate Press Award winner
INTERNSHIPS:
Staff Writer - RockKansas.com for CJ Online / Topeka Capital-Journal
Topeka, Kansas Summer 2002
- Wrote news stories and reviews on the local music scene
- Web-based work - calendar and news updates, online photo galleries
- Digital camerawork and editing of concerts using Final Cut Pro
SOFTWARE:
Experience in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, MS FrontPage, MS Publisher, QuarkXPress
Trained in Adobe GoLive, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Final Cut Pro, iMovie, MS Powerpoint
Cross-platform ability.