welcome :)

to my personal website

Hello and thanks for stopping by.

This is my personal space, where you can find out about me and my work as a consultant.
I also run a design firm (well, actually I like to consider it more like a creative lab, where diversity - professional, technical, cultural, of age, experience and outlooks, etc. - meets).

This site was entirely developed by me as a personal project (which was no easy task, as I am not a developer!) so, please, excuse the glitches you might find and, should you feel generous, let me know, so that I can proceed in understanding and learning.

Feel free to get in touch, if you'd like by mail or through the social networks (more info in the "contact me" area).

Here you can download the latest version of my resumé.

about me

my story: thesigning a life

I consider myself a fortunate person.

I grew up in Italy, in the beautiful Umbrian countryside nearby Orvieto, in a time that still allowed me to familiarize with a simplicity and a way of life no longer available - at least in Italy.

After attending a graphic-design oriented high school, I moved to New York, where I learned what a metropolis is. In NY I went to college (the Fashion Institute of Technology) where I studied photography first and advertising design later.

Upon graduation I was welcomed in the NY offices of one of the best and largest ad agencies world wide: McCann Erickson.

Just when I thought my life was pretty much settled, I found love. But love was back in Italy, so I returned, heading for a small city in the Italian northeast. But that wasn't the plan, after all and we settled in Milano shortly after, where I found my way to Italy's largest ad agency: Armando Testa, which I left after two years to experience the small boutique agency context.

In 1997 I started my own business, raffaella isidori thesign, which I am still running.

other experiences

Aside from design and communications, in the last couple of decades I have developed some other interests and skills.
I am fully bilingual (italian/english) and I currently translate and transcreate from the two languages regularly. Writing (mainly copy, articles and essays) is also a skill that I have developed - in both languages - primarily to study or to offer my clients an all-around service.
Photography was my first love and though I chose not to pursue it as a profession, I do shoot for my own projects and I shoot for personal pleasure.
I am also very interested in the digital publishing evolutions and, currently, am working on a personal project to design and develop a personal/professional multi-medial biography.

education

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Advertising Design Department of FIT, in New York, in 1991.

In fall 2008, I felt I needed new challenges, so I applied for the online Motion Media Design Master of Arts Program at SCAD: I was accepted and awarded a scholarship.

In march 2013 I was awarded the Master of Arts in Motion Media Design by the Broadcast Design Department.

characteristics & skills

I like caring for details, even the tiny ones without losing sight of the fundamental “big picture”: the external perception of a cohesive whole.
I like knowing what I am talking about, so every job, every occasion, is an opportunity to further my knowledge and my experience.
I tend to be precise and a perfectionist, which sometimes makes it hard for myself as well as for those around me :)))

recognitions

2010 – Premio Web Italia: AsiaFocus – Finalist site – category: Blog

2008 – Savannah College of Art and Design – Honor Scholarship recipient

2004 – Donna è Web - Premio Web Italia:
• www.thesign.it - Excellent site – category: Design
• www.prometheusonline.it - Excellent site – category: Business

2004 – Italian Web Awards: www.thesign.it - Excellent site

1991 – Fashion Institute of Technology, Dept. Advertising Design, NY – Winner: Dean’s medal of Honor

1990 – Art Directors’Club NY: Scholarship winner

volunteering

I have a huge four-legged family (well, actually, one of my dog has only three legs, due to an accident, so I can say that I have a two-three and four legged household!). My love for animals has brought me to work for quite a few years with a local cat shelter for which I have developed an identity and a website and for which I have organized fund raising events.

Recently, I chose to "expand" my volunteering horizons and I am working with a small Italian association (Microcammino Onlus )that provides economic assistance to the people of the Koinadugu District of Sierra Leone, where I spent three weeks in early 2013.

As of november 2012 I am a volunteer with the Italian Red Cross.

professional associations

AIAP – Associazione Italiana Progettazione per la Comunicazione Visiva; AssoWebItalia; NAPP – National Association Photoshop Professionals; Art Director’s Club, NY; ACNY – Advertising Club of New York

other associations

CRI - Associazione Italiana di Croce Rossa e Mezzaluna Rossa
Microcammino Onlus

what I do

creative coaching & consulting for integrated communication

Working closely with my clients, I aim at creating the best possible integration between all aspects of the image and the communication of a company or a product, exploiting all possible positive synergies, to strengthen and support the brand through the control, the creation and the management of all the fundamental aspects of communication, offering solutions that are sustainabile and opportune.

As a creative coach, I support top managers in evaluating and approaching the image and communication requirements, both internal and external, of medium and large-sized companies, and in successfully resolving their need for effective and impacting top-level presentations, also in other languages and opportunely localized.

My initial training as a graphic and advertising designer has been integrated in years by a long experience as a creative coachcopywriter and my personal story has forged me into a translator, trans-creator and specialist interpreter in both directions between Italian and English. Thanks to this acquired experience, I have often developed and cared for bi-cultural and bi-lingual promotional and communication projects, particularly towards the USA and Canada.

My skills, coupled with the deep knowledge of both languages and cultures, make me an ideal consultant for foreign companies wishing to enter the Italian market, as well as a valid support for Italian firms wishing to enter the North American markets.

Links & Portfolios

Skills & Expertise

• branding (strategy, naming, logo design)
• creative & strategic communication
• graphic design (print & digital)
• web design & development
• creative direction
• copy & editorial writing
• translations & localization
• content design, research & production
• multi-medial & interactive communication
• visual design (packaging, stand, editorial)
• motion media design
• event design & production
• photography
• video editing & digital imaging

what I like

interests, passions, loves & other stuff that make me tick

I have already mentioned my love for animals, currently my household includes about a dozen cats and two dogs. All my pups come from shelters or have been otherwise rescued, and I am actively involved with a local shelter and with a few volunteer organizations.

I love cooking and entertaining at home, reading and I attempt at gardening - but with a scarce success.

Traveling and learning are very important to me and I have recently traveled to Sierra Leone to help out with my skills on a local women-empowering project.

Last year I joined the Italian Red Cross planning, upon passing all necessary tests, to work with terminally ill patients.

On a lighter note, I love rugby, ethnic food, great conversations and the company of my loved ones.

contact me

As mentioned, I'd love to hear from you, whether it's about work, an estimate or an opinion... I am always pretty busy but I'll certainly reply!

Here you can download the latest version of my resumé and you can follow or contact me through the links below.

Ciao! :)