Meet the head of our design department: Michael Keesee. He’s been making sure everything that leaves our hands looks good for the past three years.
Ensuring that every piece we create supports the client’s brand positioning and identity, he supports our design team in creating everything from traditional and digital ads to high-impact videos and responsive websites. As head of the department, he also fosters an environment of creativity, flexibility, and growth for the design team. “I also like to stay up to date on trends and best practices within design, media, and content creation,” notes Michael.
How MC approaches design
Before we begin a design project at Martin Communications (MC), we must understand three things:
- The intended audience
- The message and tone
- How the piece will be used
“Once we have the answers to these questions, we can properly problem-solve to find the best design solution for the task at hand. We use our collective knowledge of the client’s market, consumer psychology, and current cultural trends to develop a piece that effectively communicates to the intended audience.”
“This is why working so closely with our media team allows us to have a leg-up compared to other agencies — both teams can collaborate on a given piece of creative for a holistic solution, rather than each doing their job within a silo and sending it down the line.”
Apart from the actual design work, Michael explains how his department operates: “Although we designers aren’t necessarily known for our rigid processes or attention to details, it’s exactly those things that allow us to be successful on the design team at MC.”
“We rely on project management software, a meticulously organized server, and our forward-thinking Project Coordinator, Ben, to ensure our tasks are dispersed evenly, files are stored properly, and everything is completed on time.”
Further describing the design team’s daily activities: “The designers are given several tasks per day — anything from t-shirt designs to animated digital ads — and are charged with interpreting the creative direction to develop an ideal design solution. They are then responsible for sending to me and at least one other team member for rigorous quality control and proofreading before sending to the Account Manager for that client.”
“Each designer has brand assets and style guides at their disposal, which makes it much easier to switch between clients for each task they’re working on. We prefer to partner with clients long-term, so everyone on our team is familiar with each brand’s intricacies.”
Learn more about our creative services here.
Back to Michael
Before joining the team at Martin, Michael got his education at the Art Institute of York where he had the unique opportunity to learn from the first-hand experience of veterans of the design industry. After completing his education, he moved into the workforce. “I worked in an in-house marketing department for a group of large regional remodeling brands, starting as the only designer and building up a creative team of several designers and a full-time video producer over 10 years.” All the while, Michael also maintained a robust client base outside of his in-house role, specializing in hand-lettered logos based on market research and consumer psychology.
When asked about his current role at Martin Communications, he said, “I’d be remiss to describe what I love about my position without mentioning the culture of MC. It’s refreshing to work at a place where personal responsibility, innovative thinking, and true work/life balance are valued.”
In addition, he notes: “Coming from a background of brand-centric work, it’s fun to partner with so many different clients, getting to know their brand intimately and helping them better connect with the right audience.”
Outside of work hours, Michael’s passion for design continues. “Design is a huge part of my life and I’m almost always thinking about it. I have a Pennsylvania-themed store called Penna Shirt Co. (pennashirts.com) that has allowed me to hone my hand-lettering and illustration skills and learn more about e-commerce and digital marketing.”
Need help with design or ideas to refresh your creative? Reach out to us through the link at the bottom of this page; we would be happy to help!