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Design Director | Headwear, Apparel, Accessories Designer | Illustrator

Albizu Clemente Rondon Pro

Framingham, MA
Available Now
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  • About
  • About

    Creative professional with over 18 years of experience in accessories, apparel, graphic, and illustrative design. Possesses in-depth knowledge of sports teams, leagues, and entertainment licensing, including approval standards. Skilled in coordinating and guiding design teams, including direct reports, to deliver impactful creative projects. Highly motivated and efficient in developing products that combine graphics and materials to tell a compelling story, resonating with consumers across diverse account types.

  • Education
    • B.F.A. Major: Illustration, Fields of Study: Graphic Design, Web Design
      State University of New York at Buffalo
      Initially Special Major: Medical Illustration, Dean's List
  • Experience
    • Senior Designer, Experiential Design
      DRAFTKINGS
      Boston, MA
      May 2022 - Present (4 years 1 month)
      Lead lifestyle collaborations with brands such as Malbon and the NBA, delivering special product collections, capsules and event experiences for milestones like NBA Tip-Off, NBA All-Star Game, NBA Finals, and the Super Bowl.
    • Freelance Illustrator, Product, and Graphic Designer
      ALBIZUART
      2000 - Present (26 years)
      I have continued to enjoy success contracting out to a wide range of clients, either working independently or as part of creative teams to provide expertise in areas such as creative strategy design, brand identity development, product development, project management, illustrating, graphic design, technical spec builds, consumer insights, and more. Ongoing projects include:

      • Designing/launching a personal website offering apparel and artwork with a cultural twist.

      • FEXPRO (www.fexpro.com), 2021-Present:
      Crafting designs of MLB and NBA-licensed collections of lifestyle apparel and headwear for the client in Adobe Illustrator. I also continue to advise on ways to improve current inhouse product portfolio.

      • MYRACEHORSE (www.myracehorse.com) 2020-Present:
      Creating new logos for the franchise collections and new apparel, headwear, and accessories to buildout the overall product portfolio. In addition, I utilize Adobe Creative Suite tools to develop marketing assets showcasing products across the web and for specific sales presentations.

      • PVCK (www.pvckintl.com) 2019-Present:
      Producing lifestyle hockey product graphics and develop Tech Packs (Design Sketches, Specifications, Colorways, etc.) for assorted products and leveraging my skill with Adobe Photoshop to retouch images used for marketing.

      • IDEGY (https://www.idegy.com) 2019
      Designed headwear collection for Idegy 25th anniversary product offering.

      Ultra Sport, Los Angeles, CA, Senior Product Director 2015 - 2016
      Sportin’ Styles, New York, NY, Product Designer 2015 - 2015
      Red Line Gear, Boston, MA, Accessories Product Designer 2014 - 2015
      One 2 Believe Publishing, The Nativity, Noah’s Ark, Illustrator 2009 - 2010
      Puerto Rican Parade of Western New York, Buffalo, NY, Web Designer 2004 - 2004
      By Reason of Passion, by Aida Irizarry, New York, NY, Illustrator 2003 - 2004
      Judge Betty Calvo Torres Campaign, Buffalo, NY, Web Designer 2007 - 2007
      WNY Hispanic Network, Buffalo, NY, Graphic Designer 2002 - 2004
    • Design Director
      ISLIDE
      2020 - 2020
      • Conceptualize Licensed and Unlicensed Footwear, socks, and accessories stories and designs.
      • Create mocks to visualize product offering
      • Advise on product design industry best practices and strategy.
      • Plan out course for special project offerings for the year
      • Evaluate company for efficiencies in design.
      • Outline Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to coincide with company growth.
    • Design Manager: Lifestyle Product
      '47
      Westwood, MA
      2016 - 2019 (3 years)
      • Communicate creative direction, delegate workload, lead and critique concept meetings and product selection on seasonal calendars for design team.
      • Design creative, trend based, fast to market collections utilizing headwear silhouettes, apparel tops and bottoms, scarves, gloves, and sock accessories.
      • Communicate with PLMs and Marketing to plan out company product stories and collaborations.
      • Communicate daily with global and domestic factories to ensure proper execution, pricing, and delivery of prototypes and production runs for product lines.
      • Present trends, selling tools, and final product lines in-house and to accounts.
      • Travel overseas supervising production, and fabric selection for future seasonal product use.
      • Consult with management and owners while mentoring junior designers on industry best practices.
      • Design Judge for Deconstruction class at Pratt Design Institute in Brooklyn, NY.
      • Increased reach of company awareness in the market with Lifestyle collections/ collaborations like the David Ortiz Retirement collection, Super Bowl 51, 52, 53 collections, Nitro Circus, Coast 2 Coast, Carhartt collection, Diamond Supply x NBA x 47 Collab, and latest seasonal product lines.
    • Design Director Consultant
      Hat Club, LLC
      Framingham, MA
      2019 - 2019
      • Review, Critique, and design product across several major brands contributing to the product makeup of the company's new web and brick and mortar offering.
      • Designed entire product line for subsidiary brands under the Hat Club umbrella.
      • Set up subsidiary brands under the Hat Club umbrella with overseas sourcing.
      • Set up subsidiary brands under the Hat Club umbrella with guidelines/ S.O.P.s for product creation and development process.
      • Conceptualized regionalized product for quick to market offering.
      • Conceptualized tier 1 fashion product for premium stores.
    • Assistant Design Manager: Lifestyle - Sports Lic / Entertainment Lic / EK / NE Branded / Flagship
      New Era Cap
      2011 - 2015 (4 years)
      • Oversaw team designing product to increased revenue within department over $60 million.
      • Designed Fall 15 product that garnered over $3 million in revenue with company’s highest selling items.
      • Communicated creative direction to 10+ member team.
      • Increased efficiency and communication in design and production department using crossover GTM calendar.
      • Created multi silhouette concept template now in use by all 40 + New Era Cap Company designers globally.
      • Worked annually on global trend team establishing seasonal color, fabrics, and themes.
      • Collaborated with Merchandising and Marketing to plan company’s product stories in the market.
      • Coordinated, oversaw and ensured proper execution of conceptualization, development, and production of product and selling tools along an overlapping seasonal calendars for an average of 800 product pieces in 5 categories and 6 distinct global product lines annually.
      • Communicated with global and domestic vendor sourcing outlets to ensure proper execution and delivery of prototypes, salesmen samples and production runs for each product line.
      • Presented trends, selling tools, and final product line at sales meetings and account visits.
      • Traveled overseas supervising production, and fabric selection for seasonal product use.
      • Increased company's public profile and relevence by conducted celebrity design lab sessions with Spike Lee on over 16 Exclusive Cap designs in 2013, and the Spike Lee Joint New York Knicks Exclusive Cap design in 2011.
      • Increased reach of New Era Cap's brand awareness with Interview by Jeff Blundell, Senior Producer of That's Art!? at Whistlestop Productions in 2012
      • Led design lab sessions key accounts including Champs, Footlocker, and Spencer’s.
      • Consulted on account development, workflow, and SOPs for new NYC office
      • Organized / catalogued company wide usage of essential imagery and photography
      • Advocated /Designed first Female Character Exclusive cap, Wonder Woman for Batman v. Superman.
    • Lead Designer: Lifestyle - Entertainment Licenses
      New Era Cap
      2007 - 2012 (5 years)
      • Led the design team in creative direction for developing Entertainment Licensed product.
      • Established new division with dedicated resources bringing in over $6 million, past most recent goal.
      • Designed trend based seasonal product resulting in the Sports Licenses division surpassing $50 million goal.
      • Created innovative, exclusive, high profile account collections for movies, comics, video games, special events.
      • Conducted celebrity design lab sessions at flagship store openings and one on one meetings.
      • Identified key potential Entertainment Licensed collaborations and cross-promotions.
      • Facilitated introduction of company to Diamond Distribution, resulting in increased distribution.
      • Developed internal strategy for new license approval procedures resulting in 50% designer workload reduction
      • Attended apparel and fashion trade shows such as Comic-Con, MAGIC, and Bread & Butter.
      • License responsibilities include Sports: Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL), Hardwood Classics: National Basketball Association (NBA)
      Marvel Entertainment: Iron Man 1, 2 , 3, The Incredible Hulk, Punisher War Zone, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, MarvelxNBA
      Warner Bros. DC Comics Entertainment: The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Watchmen, Green Lantern, Thundercats, Looney Tunes, Looney Tunes x NBA, Looney Tunes x MLB, Hanna-Barbera,
      Hasbro: Transformers 1, 2, 3, G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra, G.I. Joe Retaliation, Battleship
      Disney: Archive, Alice in Wonderland, Tron: Legacy, LucasArts: Star Wars,
      Classic Media: Masters of the Universe, Voltron,
      Dark Horse Comics: Hell Boy, B.P.R.D.
      Ubisoft: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Splinter Cell,
      The Simpsons, and
      Coke
    • Assistant Designer: Lifestyle - Sports Licenses
      New Era Cap
      Buffalo, NY
      2005 - 2007 (2 years)
      • Designed headwear for seasonal product lines using trend research, select fabrics, and original graphics.
      • Approved graphics and product samples for production.
    • Lead Media Specialist
      SDPHIE
      1999 - 2005 (6 years)
      Responsible for all public media presence for organization including graphics, logos, posters, and pamphlets website design, coding, photography and web maintenance.
    • Production Designer: Lifestyle - Sports Licenses
      New Era Cap
      2005 - 2005
      • Built, proofed, and delivered tech packs, logo 100%s, sell sheets, and design approval forms.
    • Global/Domestic Tech Pack Designer
      New Era Cap
      2004 - 2005 (1 year)
      • Created, organized, and approved tech packs templates, and graphics using component sizing, and production guidelines.
    • Caricature Artist
      Kaman's Art Shoppe
      2001 - 2001
      Rendering Caricatures, Illustrations, Portraits
      Consistently drew over 25 profile portraits or humorous rendering of client per part time day
    • Lead Graphic Artist
      UUAB (University Union Activities Board) at SBI
      1997 - 2000 (3 years)
      Designed posters, fliers, brochures, editorial ads, t-shirts, and event calendars for all events
    • Graphic Artist
      Phase 1 Advertising Company
      1997 - 1998 (1 year)
      Designed layout and logos for advertisement in print.
  • Awards

    2014: Advocated for and designed New Era’s first female character exclusive cap—Wonder Woman—for Batman v. Superman.

    2013: Boosted the company’s public profile by conducting celebrity design lab sessions with Spike Lee, resulting in over 16 exclusive cap designs.

    2012: Honored with the "Saluting Hispanics in the Arts" award during Buffalo, NY Hispanic Heritage Month.

    2012: Expanded New Era Cap's brand awareness through an interview with Jeff Blundell, Senior Producer of That's Art!? at Whistlestop Productions.

    2011: Elevated New Era Cap Company’s visibility with a celebrity design lab session featuring Spike Lee, leading to the creation of the “Spike Lee Joint” New York Knicks exclusive cap.

    2010: Promoted the New Era brand through a featured biographical spot in Straight to the Top: Albizu Rondon (Chapter in Game Day by Kevin Sylvester, Annick Press).

    2010: Featured in New Era Cap’s NEXC 90th Anniversary book.

    2010: Received the Disney Quality by Design Award for New Era Cap.

    2010: Awarded Hasbro’s Rookie of the Year Award for New Era Cap.

    2010: Nominated for Hasbro’s Licensee of the Year Award.

    2010: Designed the exclusive cap for Jay-Z’s Yankee Stadium concert.

    2009–2010: Created the Jackie Robinson Foundation exclusive cap design.

    2009: Designed the “Spike Lee Joint” New York Yankees 27th Championship exclusive cap.

    2009: Collaborated on the 7th Letter Crew x New Era cap design.

    2008: Designed the promotional cap for Fat Joe’s The Elephant in the Room album.

    2008: Increased brand awareness with a New Era Cap designer interview on The Watchtower Podcast.

    2006: Opened New Era’s first flagship store in NYC, hosting custom design lab sessions with celebrity guests.

  • Industries
    • Apparel
    • Entertainment
    • Footwear
    • Soft Goods
    • Sporting Goods
  • Skills
    • Apparel
    • Concept Art
    • Creative Direction
    • Design Management
    • Fashion Design
    • Illustration
    • Illustrator
    • Photoshop
    • Product Design
    • Product Development
  • Elsewhere on the Web
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