Michele Aed

Art Director & Designer

Email: micheleaed@gmail.com  ✿  Website: micheleaed.com  ✿  Phone: 570.592.5809 

Skills for success

Adobe Creative Suite  ✿  Complex design projects  ✿  Project management ✿. Directing and styling photo shoots  ✿  Brand development  ✿  Midjourney  ✿  Runway ✿  Video editing  ✿  Proofreading, writing and editing  ✿  Graceful and articulate communicator

Profile

Fresh off an exciting new chapter — both educational and geographical — I’m ready to dive into my next creative adventure. I’m an award-winning visual storyteller with 15 years of experience transforming bold ideas into sophisticated, high-impact designs. Whether tackling complex narratives or lifestyle content, I thrive in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments where strategy meets emotion. With a sharp, detailed eye, I design with intention, concepting refined, scroll-stopping visuals that inspire, engage, and connect brands and companies to their target audience.

Experience

JUNE 2016 - MARCH 2023  
Art Director - Advance Local

  • Directed and designed high-impact concepts and visuals for 20+ publication markets, delivering consistent creative storytelling within diverse regional audiences across the country. 

  • Collaborated with editorial teams, illustrators, and designers to execute complex storytelling initiatives with clarity and visual cohesion, ensuring proper usage of style guides, company branding, and conversational, cohesive copy.

  • Led art direction and design for multiple special sections, annual content, and quarterly magazines. 

  • Participated in daily design critiques and creative planning meetings to align vision across editorial and visual teams.

  • Assisted with design of the company's first fully digital publication and led design for its web banners.

  • Developed animated assets for seasonal campaigns, including the high-engagement “Countdown to the Holidays” series.

APRIL 2013  - MAY 2016 
Lead Designer - Gannett Design Studio | USA TODAY NETWORK 

  • Owned art direction and layout design for lifestyle sections of two major regional newspapers under the USA TODAY umbrella.

  • Directed and styled photo shoots for lifestyle covers from concept to design.

  • Collaborated with cross-functional studio teams during daily design critiques and brainstorming sessions to ensure alignment and innovation.

  • Won multiple state and company-wide awards for lifestyle design portfolio, and one published international award for art direction and design. 

  • Acted as Creative Director for two 100+ page summer magazines distributed to over 600,000 readers annually.

  • Co-created the “13 Weeks of Summer” campaign, spotlighting local businesses and experiences up and down the Jersey Shore.

  • Designed the UI and branding for the “Go Jersey Shore” mobile app, winning a company-wide innovation award.

  • Won multiple state and company-wide awards for design portfolio, and one published international award for art direction and design. 

  • Creative Director for two annual 100+ page summer magazines reaching more than 600,000 readers.

    AUGUST 2010 - SEPTEMBER 2013  
    Features Designer - The Times Leader 

  • Designed lifestyle sections across categories including food, home, health, arts, and entertainment magazines; ensured strong visual storytelling throughout.

  • Took part in daily newsroom briefings to align design and layout with editorial strategy and breaking news priorities.

  • Designed front pages on a rotating schedule, balancing fast-paced deadlines with layout precision.

  • Won multiple state-wide press awards for excellence in features section design and front-page design.

  • Contributed written stories and design to annual holiday gift guides and themed special sections.  

SEPTEMBER 2009 - AUGUST 2010  
Designer - The Martinsburg Journal 

  • Mentored junior designers and supported copy editors with layout design and strategy, proofreading, and content refinement.

  • Conceptualized and designed front pages, lifestyle pages, and entertainment magazines. 

  • Stored and organized reporters’ photographs and team designs. 

  • Finalized editing of photos and captions before publication. 

  • Checked first copy of the newspaper on a nightly basis for quality control, inconsistencies, and noticeable errors. 

  • Updated The Journal’s website and social media daily with breaking news and new content.

Education

BRANDING AND ADVERTISING - JOB PROPULSION LAB (SEPT 2023 - MAY 2024)
BA MASS COMMUNICATIONS - KING’S COLLEGE

Awards

SND (Society for News Design) Award of Excellence Design and Art Direction; Features cover - March 2015

3rd Place: News Portfolio
Design of branding for Pope Francis Commemorative Special Section - Feb 2016

Best Cover Design
Gannett 4th Quarter Award of Excellence - Dec 2015

Third Place: Features Design Portfolio
New Jersey Press Association - Apr 2015

2nd Place: Features Page Design; Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association - Jan 2015

2nd Place: Art and Illustrations
Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association - Jan 2015

Gannett Award of Excellence
Features Design Portfolio - Sept 2014

Gannett 2nd Quarter Innovation Award
Design of “Go Jersey Shore” app - Sept 2014

2nd Place: Front Page Design
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s Keystone Press Awards - Apr 2013

3rd Place: Features Page Design
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s Keystone Press Awards - Jan 2010