[ VALERIE AIELLO ]

Order Valerie's Fully Illustrated Book At Your Favorite Book Store!

Valerie Aiello

Hi, I'm Valerie Aiello, an Art Director from Austin, Texas! I love brand strategy, marketing, product development & I created a wide range of professional work.

I would consider myself to be a master creative collaborator. My professional "why" is to always be a part of the creative process generating, developing and communicating new ideas through visual and media tools and techniques. My expertise in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and Final Cut Pro ensures that I can consistently deliver commercial art, branding, marketing, and digital media solutions to any client or organizational needs. I revel in researching aesthetics and culture to capture customer retention with the most authentic design elements while uniquely executing the latest trends.

I can proactively contribute to all stages of the creative process from innovation, to development, to actualization with a constant flow of ideas on a daily basis meeting all deadlines. I am self-motivated, dependable, and one of my superpowers is having an organized and calm demeanor in high productive environments. I always strive to motivate new ideas with a can-do attitude, and inspire to build up all colleagues' strengths by politely giving and taking constructive criticism to develop a perfect project everyone is proud of.

CURRENTLY, ACCEPTING CLIENTS FOR:

1. Full Brand Architecture Development:

For clients who need the fundamentals. I will implement the brand strategy delivering a fully cohesive brand. Often this includes your design foundations, logo, type, textures, website elements, additional collateral with brand voice & copy. Clarity development of your customer identity, sales style, product or service positioning, publicity identity, and social community identity with plans that will turn you into a highly custom, unique & stylish business.

$10,000 flat-rate | Time frame: 1-5 day intensives (10am-1pm & 2-6pm) with brand owners/decision makers. I execute everything according to your company's needs in a live design environment to efficiently utilize your time to get feedback, make edits in real time, polish and move forward. We can take a 6-week project, and get everything you need for your perfect brand architecture in one week.

2. Album Cover:

If your album is mastered & ready to go to print, let's make your album cover tonight & get it into production asap!

$1500 flat-rate for cover & full package design (Cover Designs Available by Donations for Austin Bands)

Send a message or call 512-805-4789

1. RECORD STORE EMPLOYEE

I was lucky enough to work at one of the few Blockbuster Music locations in Austin. At that time we were allowed to open any album to listen in-store. I started at A, and went all the way to Z in the bins listening to every record I could. That store was purchased by Warehouse Music, & I eventually transferred to work at the Burbank, CA location.

2. RECORD LABEL

ART DIRECTOR

As a team member at CMH Label Group in LA. I was responsible for managing a team of 4 designers for a high volume of art deliverables. Along with art file management, creating monthly product catalogs, designing over 100 album covers and packages, I took the extra initiative to executive produce 25 albums including series such as Rockabye Baby! Working under the leadership of David Haerle, CMH was a unique and exhilarating creative office team experience.

3. FREELANCE

ART DIRECTOR

As a freelance graphic designer, I worked with a variety of record labels and artists. I designed many album covers and packages, and expanded to helping clients build logos, photography, video production. I consistently and confidently got approval on projects fast, and always delivered art elements that would go above and beyond any expectations

4. FOOD TRUCK DEVELOPMENT

With a team of friends, we built a custom mobile food trailer, & brought a late-night food restaurant to the scene on 6th Street. One unique highlight to the brand was a one-of-a-kind variety show as dinner & drinks were served. Although this was fun to build, running a restaurant was not my highest best use of my skills at that time, so we sold the mobile restaurant with zero investment lost & leaving with a small profit.

5. COMMERCIAL

GIFT SHOP BUILD

With my same team as the restaurant build, we purchased a 1946 commercial property. We remodeled it & worked with the city of Austin to get it zoned as a retail spot. Opening a gift shop was a great lesson in what it means to have a minimum wage employee. The sale of this property was my most successful entrepreneurial achievement to date.

6. VR GAME

CONCEPT ARTIST

My husband Ben Ballard is a VR game designer, and I always say "yes" to join him on VR/AR conferences & game jams to be additional help to develop games with concept artwork as needed. There is always a VR game being developed at my house, so any way I can contribute with art & ideas is always an awesome opportunity.

7. PUBLISHING BOOKS FOUNDER

Having the skill to design books & a love for making products. Publishing books is a zero-risk endeavor that I can continuously create products for customers to test what they need & love. I've written a creative business book, Become Who You Are, a marketing book, No One Gives A Shit About Your Band, & over 20 branding, marketing & business guided journals.

8. TV MORNING SHOW PRODUCER

I spent 2024 learning how to run the Austin Film Society's Austin Public television studio. From the control room, to lights, to running cameras, and editing a final show is now in my skill set. So, it's time to go live with the show. The first season of Weird Austin Morning will start June 2025 & aired on Austin Cable Channel 10. Stay tuned for details...

Work Experience

Valerie Aiello Design

While living in Los Angeles, I decided to work with a variety of record labels and artists as a freelance art director. I designed many album covers and packages. After moving back home to Austin, I expanded to helping clients build unique brands with logo development, photography, video production, and custom illustration. I was early to experience virtual meetings working from a laptop, and mastered how to carefully curate projects for a variety of client's needs. I consistently and confidently got approval on projects fast, and always delivered art elements that would go above and beyond any expectations.

CMH RECORDS

As Art Director of the CMH Label Group Art Department, I was a valuable team member responsible for managing a team of 4 designers for a high volume of art deliverables. Along with art file management, creating monthly product catalogs, designing over 100 album covers and packages, I took the extra initiative to executive produce album series such as Rockabye Baby!, Indie Translations, The Holiday Party, Texas Country series, and many more unique creative product lines at the label. Working under the leadership of David Haerle, CMH was a unique and exhilarating creative office team experience.

Expertise

Graphic Design

Branding

Art Direction

Marketing

Audio/Visual Production

Custom Illustration

Brand Event Planning

Art Department Management

Audio/Visual Campaigns & Presentations

Podcast Engineering & Development

Social Media Campaign Creation &

Technical Management

Creative Team Leadership

Gear & Programs Expertise

Adobe Creative Suite

Final Cut Pro

Sony FX Camera Line

Canon 5D MarkIII

Blackmagic Pocket Camera

Studio & Field Audio Mics & Digital Recorders

Studio Lighting Systems

Studio Control Room Switcher, Audio Board, Video & Graphics Production

Green Screen Production

CRM Management Systems

Team Management Systems

Mac or PC Compatible

Education

Texas State University

Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) Major in Communication Design

BFA Degree Focus

Commercial Art & Branding

Concentration on logo design, illustration, & art history

Client References

CMH RECORDS, BFM DIGITAL, WATER MUSIC, WAH! MUSIC, GOAL PARTY

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