Hi – I’m Meaghan!

When I was a kid, I bounced between wanting to be an author, a teacher, or a vet. Eventually I realized publishing is hard, teachers don’t always get the support they need, and being a vet involves considerably more surgery than I’m comfortable performing.

The common thread was that I liked figuring things out, making things, and helping people. These days, that means helping people and brands figure out what they’re trying to say, sharing what I know with the people I work with, and working with organizations and projects that are trying to do some good.

Creator. Deadline saver. Fastest designer in the east (or west).

I’m an experienced designer with a T-shaped skillset and a passion for context and the end-user experience. I work fast without sacrificing quality, adapt quickly to change, and have extensive 360° campaign experience working with cross-functional teams. I also speak fluent “coder/developer.”

My background in computer science and game development gives me a different perspective on projects and process optimization. I tend to look at the whole system – how the pieces fit together, where something might break, and how we can make it work better.

I’m a big believer in lifelong learning, education, and teaching yourself how to do things. I bring that mindset to my work and to the people I work with, and I work hard to make sure no one gets left behind.

A lot of people ask me what I’m looking for next, and my answer is pretty simple: an ethical, socially responsible company with a great, collaborative team. I love to work with good people on meaningful projects.

Testimonial-Elli Plihcik

 

You’re a breath of fresh air. So happy to be working with you!

Elli Plihcik

Marketing Operations Director, DCU | Finance

Testimonial-Dave Goldberg

Meaghan became an expert at WordPress and moved 95% of our landing page and website design work into the Marketing Department.  She also worked diligently on a large amount projects that included ground-up design in support of activation and Business Development work. Many of these projects included significant and seemingly unending design negotiation with three of our partners, including Clover and Intuit. She was able to quickly show that she has the capacity to handle multiple tight deadlines without sacrificing quality.

Meaghan stepped up from day-one to fix or improve our entire design catalog, including a very complex brand color issue relating to print production, and cost-saving improvements to our design software.

Dave Goldberg

VP of Marketing and Communications (Direct Report), AP Intego | Fintech

Testimonial-Emily Wiseheart

Meaghan was a pleasure to work with. She was always willing to take on work outside of her normal initiatives in order to help other teams and grow her skill set. Meaghan authored several blogs for our award-winning editorial, and provided valuable design tips and context for small businesses. Publishing articles about small business design and branding had been a gap we were looking to fill. As a designer herself, Meaghan stepped out of her department and everyday tasks to provide her expertise and value to our readers. She was a wonderful asset and bridged department silos in a huge organization. I truly hope our paths cross again one day.

Emily Wiseheart

Content Manager, Constant Contact | SaaS

Testimonial-Prasanna Dhungel

We enjoyed working with Meaghan – would love to continue to collaborate with her as she has done a very good job.

Prasanna Dhungel

CEO, GrowByData | SaaS/Tech

Testimonial-Dana Palzkill

Meaghan is a very talented graphic designer and art director. She is creative in her approach and designs and with a strong eye for selling. She created some of the best performing web and email designs at Buy Seasons. She was very connected and engaged in her work, not afraid to ask questions, and understood the customer. Very talented art director/designer. It was a pleasure working with Meaghan!

Dana Palzkill

VP Merchandising and Product Development, BuySeasons | Retail

Testimonial-Kim Dorant

Meaghan, you’ve been so great with all of this! Thank you so very much for all of your hard work. Looking forward to working together again soon! 

Kim Dorant

Business Development Manager, DCU | Finance

Testimonial-Anthony Coletta

 

I had the opportunity to have Meaghan in my classes while she was pursuing her degree in Multimedia at New England Institute of Technology. Meaghan showed considerable skills in coding, animation and design. Her insight, contributions to class discussions and helping her peers was tremendous.

Anthony Coletta

Instructor, NEIT

Testimonial-Mike Abbott

Meaghan’s attention to detail is excellent. I found her to be reliable and creditable and would highly recommend her.

Mike Abbott

VP Operations, The Claflin Companies | Healthcare Tech

Testimonial-Sue Weinlein

Meaghan has so much to recommend her! Not only is she a talented designer, her client service is superior and her follow-through is hard to match. She goes the extra mile to give me a variety of options and is very open to feedback. I love working with her.

Sue Weinlein

Assistant Director, Northwestern Mutual | Finance

Testimonial-Kirk McDonald

I shared a workspace with Meaghan at Kohl’s, and she amazed me with her knowledge of everything–from computer programs to world events. She was always willing and able to help new employees (including me) navigate the organizational structure of Kohl’s. She was awesome under pressure, maintaining her “cool” even when others were rattled. There are so many roles in which I can see her being successful.

Kirk McDonald

Copywriter, Kohl's | Retail

Beyond the brief.

I’m also involved in a number of local community projects, where I get to put my organizing, communication, and design skills to work outside of my day job. I’ve helped organize and promote community events that have reached thousands of people online, and I’m always happiest when I can take an idea from “someone should really do something about that” to actually making it happen.

I have ferrets, and I’ve called Massachusetts home since 2016. My hobbies include video games, cooking, crafting, and acquiring random skill-sets in case of…well, I haven’t figured out why, to be honest. It’s a built-in feature.

If you’re browsing this section for icebreakers: animals, good recipes, movie/podcast recommendations, videogames or your recent Netflix obsession will always be a hit.

Context matters.

From kick-off to go-live, I want to know the context of what we’re creating. Where will it live? Who will see it? And most importantly, what do we want them to do?

A good design should be part of a cohesive, enjoyable customer experience. From lead generation to win-back, every touchpoint is an opportunity to provide value, affect the customer relationship, and tell the brand’s story.

Knowing where and how a design will be used can also make a huge difference. I like to ask the questions upfront that can save an organization time and money – and a lot of it – later.

When I worked for CVS, it was important to know who would be seeing (or not seeing) our designs. We were often communicating with customers who had processing issues, low vision, or no vision at all. That required a real understanding of accessibility, but more importantly, it required taking ownership of it.

And then there’s the end goal. Are we trying to drive clicks? Awareness? Purchases? Are we even marketing to the right people?

Part of my job is knowing when to ask questions and when something warrants a closer look. In one case, I noticed a potential issue with a proposed merchandise campaign and took a closer look at the audience being targeted. The campaign included a large customer segment that contained memorial websites.

The plan had already been reviewed by multiple teams, but looking at the underlying data raised some concerns about how the campaign could be received by customers. I brought those concerns to the appropriate teams, and the data and targeting were reevaluated before the campaign moved forward.

It was a good example of why I like to understand the bigger picture of what I’m working on – sometimes the thing that needs the most attention isn’t the design itself.

Deep experience. Wide range.

Education

Computer Science
New England Institute of Technology

Programming & Game Design
New England Institute of Technology

In Progress:

AdWords Certification
Google

Inbound & Content Marketing Certification
HubSpot

Other Experience

Board Member
Ferret Association of Connecticut

Member
Pepperell Celebration Committee

Chair
Civic Town Committee

Secretary
Civic Town Committee

Design & Creative

Accessible Design · Accessibility · Adobe After Effects · Adobe Creative Suite · Adobe Illustrator · Adobe InDesign · Adobe Photoshop · Adobe XD · Animation · Art Direction · Brand Guides · Brand Standards · Canva · Component Libraries · Design Automation · Design Systems · Email Design · Figma · Generative AI · Illustration · InVision · Logo Design · Modular Design · Performance-Driven Design · Prototyping · Responsive Design · Sketch · Template Development · UI Design · UX Design · User Research · User Testing · Variable Design · Visual Design · Visual Accessibility · Visual Hierarchy · Wireframing

Digital & Marketing

360° Campaigns · B2B (Business-to-Business) · B2C (Business-to-Consumer) · Campaign Development · Campaign Strategy · Content Development · Content Management Systems · Content Strategy · Copywriting · Customer Experience · Digital Advertising · Display Advertising · Email Marketing · Marketing Communications · Marketing Strategy · Social Media

Production & Media

Adobe Media Encoder · Environmental Graphics · Final Cut Pro · In-Store Graphics · OOH (Out-of-Home) · Photography · Powtoon · Print Design · Print Production · Print Shop · Production Handoff · Production Workflow · Stock Selection · Tradeshow Graphics · Video Editing · Vendor Relationships

Leadership & Collaboration 

Client Relationships · Creative Direction · Cross-Functional Collaboration · Mentoring · Project Management · Process Improvement · Stakeholder Management · Workflow Optimization

Technology & Technical

C++ · Computer Hardware Troubleshooting · Computer Hardware Repair · Database Management · HTML/CSS · IT Systems · Programming Logic · SQL

Want to work together?

Tell me what you’re building, what problem you’re trying to solve, or why your team is great. I’m interested in all three.