Brett Wiseman | Art Director | Illustrator

I have always been a visual storyteller...

In third grade, I discovered the magic of picture books and devoted myself to dissecting, analyzing, and copying my favorites. (Sadly, those masterpieces have been lost to time.)

My love for visual communication, however, didn't stop there. I later fell in love with comics. Starting with Archie and eventually Marvel and DC, my imagination ran wild with the endless possibilities of how to create stunning visuals.

Fast forward to my college years at Ringling College of Art & Design, where I explored every medium under the sun and honed my skills in illustration, digital image manipulation, photography, video, and design. Today, I'm living my dream as an artist and art director, creating visuals that tell stories and engage the world.

-Brett Wiseman

📷:@matthewsumi

- Clients -

- Resume -

Dynamic creative professional with proven success managing large projects from concept to completion. Experience in cross-functional team collaboration and leading pre-production through post-production creative process for fashion editorials, e-commerce, and paid social media campaigns. Successful in fast-paced and demanding environments by providing decisive team leadership. Solid track record of mentoring and developing younger creatives in art direction and visual design.

CREATIVE, LEADERSHIP, & WORKFLOW SKILLS:

Sketching/Illustration, Creative Ideation, Brainstorming, Asset Management, Creative Deck Development, Project/Team Management, On Set Direction, Photo Editing, Photo/Video Markup Notes, Quality Assurance, Mentoring.

TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE:

Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom/InDesign/Illustrator/XD, Capture One, Figma, Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook/OneDrive, Google Docs/Sheets/Gmail/Drive, Dropbox, Slack, MacOS/Windows, and other proprietary software.

EXPERIENCE:

Art Director | Photography Lead, Events - Microsoft (Present)

• Manage and lead the photography process for Microsoft's Events team, producing documentary and editorial content for large in-person and digital events.
• Oversee day-to-day production operations, schedule creative meetings, and manage stakeholders' approvals and delivery requirements.
• Lead resourcing of and maintain vendor relationships.
• Provide creative reference/inspiration and shot lists.
• Lead photo selection process, management of assets, and retouching of photography.
• Build curated lookbooks that serve as a visual narrative for each event.

Freelance Art Director | Illustrator | Visual Designer (May 2019 - May 2023)

• Clients: Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, Tommy Bahama, Amazon, Eddie Bauer, Run Studios, RRD

Art Director - Nordstrom (September 2012 - May 2019)

• Planned, cast, and directed Nordstrom’s kids editorial photoshoots, including monthly regular price items and Back to School, Holiday, and Anniversary Sale campaigns.
• Memorized and implemented Nordstrom’s style and photography guides, helping to increase production from 40 garments per day to 65 garments per day.
• Managed two photo crews at a time, doubling e-commerce on-figure photo editing from 250 shots per day to 500 shots per day.

Freelance Photo Retoucher | Illustrator (May 2002 - May 2019)

• Photo Retouching clients: Nordstrom, Nike, Redfin, Facebook, NARS Cosmetics, Boeing, Cutter & Buck, Blue Nile, See Kai Run, Seattle Bride Magazine
• Illustration clients: Moment App, City University of New York, Cambridge University Press, Offbeat Empire

Senior Digital Image Editor - Nordstrom (June 2012 - September 2012)

• Updated photo retouching standards and wrote actions for Nordstrom’s Designer editorial photography, reducing retouching time from 30 minutes per image to 10 minutes per image.
• Trained new hires on photo retouching standards for editorial photography.
• Developed and maintained a tight production schedule while resolving issues and building trust between the post and pre-production teams.

Digital Image Editor - Nordstrom (January 2005 - June 2012)

• Maintained superior photo retouching standards for Nordstrom’s e-commerce and editorial photography.

Artist - Filter Digital (2004)

• Fulfilled a wide range of needs for numerous clients as an Illustrator, Photo Retoucher, Designer, Mock-up Artist, and other roles. All positions required tight deadlines and close attention to detail.

Lead Digital Painter - Hot Java Productions (2003)

• Created color and lighting style guides and hand-painted hundreds of finished panels for a series of direct-to-video motion comics.

Other Experience: Art Director Mentor (2018-2019), Art Director Mentee (2018-2019), President of Condo Association (2014-2019), Board Member of Condo Association (2010-2014), Picture Frame Designer (2004-2005), Office Assistant (2004), Hand Model (2003), Retail Cashier (2003), Retail Stock Clerk (2003), Restaurant Busser (2003), Movie Theater Concessionist (2001-2002), Gift Wrapper (2000), Screen Printer (1999), Office File Clerk (1998-2002), Elementary Art Instructor (1997-1998), Gymnastics Coach (1994-1998)

EDUCATION: Ringling College of Art & Design - Bachelor of Fine Arts, Illustration/Painting