THE ART OF BUSINESS
I appreciate you taking the time to look through my body of work. I am a painter, but I am also an entrepreneur and a marketer. This portfolio showcases my creative professional past.
Please enjoy!
IT STARTED WITH ART.
I have been painting all of my life. My identity is somewhat tied to being a creator. Painting is my release and my meditation, but my passion is building businesses, storytelling, and creatively packaging the appeal. I am left and right brained, and so I must have both art and business in my life!
THEN IT BECAME BUSINESS.
"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." - Steve Jobs
THE EARLY DAYS
2010 - 2013
Right out of school, I began building a portfolio by doing freelance graphic design work for several companies including Rustic Point and Ziziki's. I later attained a marketing internship at Rocking Mountain Vacation Rentals, and a Marketing Coordinator position at Tutor Doctor, and in addition to designing collateral, began developing and pitching marketing strategies in both of these rolls.
At Rocky Mountain Vacation Rentals, I produced a slue of brochure and rack card designs. I also came up with the concept for "Rocky Mountain Society," a sister site which would showcase upscale rental properties and articles about the elite social scenes in Vail and in Aspen. I worked with our in-house web developer to create and launch the new site in 2011.
MY BUSINESS FOR ART
FOUNDER, GO ART GO!
2014 - 2016
The concept for GO ART GO!, started as way to bring art out of the galleries and to the people. I had spent a few months working at a dying gallery in Dallas, and I noticed that there was a level of pretentiousness that repelled, rather than attracted. I devised a plan to purchase a van and have if fabricated with pop-up walls and lighting structures, to create a sort of art gallery pop-up shop on wheels. The idea of mobilizing a gallery and making art accessible and "cool" transformed over time from a gallery concept into a classroom concept. I realized that GO ART GO! had the capacity to reach a trendier adult audience, and to bring art classes to students at schools where art program had been cut.
MARKETING MANAGER: GOPUFF
This is the original document that I published online and began to send around to potential investors. I worked with the Davies Brothers, 3 up-and-coming artist brothers in Dallas, to design the rendering for the truck. The Davies Brothers were positioned to be the first to showcase their artwork with Art on the Run.
The idea of a mobilized gallery gave rise to the idea for mobile art classes, and thus GO ART GO! was born.
I started Sip and Stencil for three reasons: I wanted to create an art class that men would be excited to go to, I wanted to create a class that was more independent so that patrons could paint at their own pace and still be social, and I wanted my "students" to walk away with a piece of art that they were truly proud of.
I accomplished all three goals by providing hundreds of pop-icon stencils to choose from, higher quality art supplies, and a "menu" that provided step-by-step painting instructions.
As the Marketing Coordinator at Tutor Doctor, I sought to form strategic partnerships with school athletic leagues, and felt that hosting a 5K run would position the brand in a positive light with parents, students and coaches. I partnered with the creators of the emerging "I Run CO" brand, designed preliminary logos, and pitched strategies for planning and promoting the race to both runners and potential sponsors.
I also worked with the owner to develop promotional offers and clever mailers, constant contact campaigns and rack cards. The movie, Elf was popular that year and I thought that utilizing a scene from the movie would evoke a playfulness and likability with families.
Above is one of the menus that I created to help guide painters through the project as well as a flyer that I created and distributed around town.
Standard step-by-step classes were also offered for private parties and corporate events.
A PASSION FOR MARKETING
The thrill of building a brand took hold of me, and I wanted to do it again and again. I had realized my passion for creative direction, idea generation and strategy development. My creative and artistic side found practical use in combination with my structured, results-driven side...GO ART GO was flourishing when I was presented with a new opportunity that I couldn't pass up...
MARKETING DIRECTOR: GOPUFF
2016 - 2018
Initially hired to simply schedule gorilla marketing events and lead a team of brand ambassadors, I quickly proved to be a creative force and was asked to write slogans, script radio ads, design collateral, and to put a "Denver Spin" on vendor presentations and street teaming events.
goPuff was nationally positioned to appeal to college kids. When goPuff expanded into Denver, they had to shift to appeal to an older, more health conscious age demographic. I purchased four blue cruisers and outfitted them with bike trailers and coolers. Not only did this mobilize brand ambassadors, enabling them to easily change locations, it projected approachability and like-mindedness to Denverites. This approach was so successful that the same set-up was later implemented in 17 other cities nationwide.
The normal promo cards that were originally sent to me in Denver, were not well received due to the use of millennial slang. I sought to reposition goPuff as clever and likable by designing promo cards that mimicked Cards Against Humanity planing cards.
Periodic Classes 2014 - 2016
Everything became centered around broadening goPuff's appeal to a more mature, but fun-loving demographic. By strategically participating in, and hosting events like the first ever goPuff holiday party, I was able to promote goPuff as a "gotta have" brand.
With so many hospitals in Denver, I directed marketing efforts towards patients, families of patients, and nurses.
I worked with the warehouse manager to choose and order healthier options. Denver actually ended up offering the largest selection of healthy food that any goPuff location offered.
The majority of people living in Denver assumed that goPuff was affiliated with cannabis. The connotation negatively impacted the brand because it lacked appeal to the key "mommy" and family demographics who needed this service, AND who were willing to pay more for on-demand delivery of household goods.
My suggestion was to soften the marketing by including clouds to visually explain the "puff" and a shopping cart to more clearly illuminate that goPuff delivered all household items, not just alcohol and smoking paraphernalia.
AND THEN THERE WAS VIZOODEO
CUSTOMER SUCCESS/CREATIVE: VIZOODEO
2018
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
The name "Vizoodeo" is hard to remember and to pronounce. The over use of zoo animals on the original website created confusion, as Vizoodeo has nothing to do with animals. I was able to remove all zoo animals from the website and logo, and to begin to contemplate a new name. I created a simple graphic to replace the signature giraffe and suggested the name be called BizVid.
Original Logo
VIDEO PRODUCTION
In an effort to present Vizoodeo as a brand that supports small local businesses, I planned, scripted, narrated, starred-in, and filmed a "Showcase Series" which explored some of Denver's best breweries. Here are two session from our time at Woods Boss Brewing and at Call to Arms Brewing.
Woods Boss Showcase, 2018
ONLINE ARTICLES
I wrote a series of blogs for Vizoodeo with topics ranging from "Why to Use Training Videos" to, "How to Tell a Story Using Video: Raw and Reel." My goal in all of my writing was to help the consumer. I learned a lot about what made effective video and I wanted to share tips with readers, rather than try to convince readers that they NEEDED video...there is already too much of that out there!
Call to Arms, 2018
REVIEWS
I received only 5 star reviews on Google, Upcity and on Bark!
"I love the enthusiasm of Taylor Daum! Her ideas, enthusiasm and knowledge is such a great combination . Making videos can be intimidating...but her presence and support make it feel effortless."
- Maree Chavez, Owner of Hair People
MY OTHER WORK
Here is some of my other graphic design and photography work. Some is work and some is play!
Plein Air Workshop, Provence, France
JILL STIENHUIS, 2015
Bachelors Degree: Art History
Minor Degree: Business/Marketing
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, 2005-2009
PRAXIS II
Highly Qualified Teacher: Elementary Ed
Various Courses, 2014-2015