Kelly Hobkirk

Current

• Co-founder and Creative Director at Train of Thought

Past

• Marketing Director at Sunhill Machinery
• Art Director at Jackson & Johnson Advertising

Education

• School of Visual Concepts
• Art Institute of Seattle

Recommended

1 person has recommended Kelly

Connections

43 connections

Industry

Marketing and Advertising

Websites

• My Company
• My Blog

Kelly Hobkirk’s Summary

I have held a variety of senior level positions in design, marketing and advertising during a 23 year career. For the past 16 years, Train of Thought has been my passion and constant proving ground for graphic design, copywriting, websites, strategic development, advertising, and a full range of marketing communications. My goal on every project is to truly understand client needs and their target market, then strategically write and design the best possible marketing communications to meet their objectives. I take great pride in producing superior creative that meets or exceeds my clients' objectives every time.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching clients about what I do because when they are involved in the process, they can really appreciate the exceptionally high return on investment that they get. After working with me, clients consistently tell me that they can see how all of the elements of their corporate identity, brand, and marketing communications work together to form an incredibly strong whole. These efforts shape their employee and customer experiences and truly guide their perception of the company and its products.

Our work is empowers companies and helps stimulate sales. I personally get very excited when I see my clients succeed.

Kelly Hobkirk’s Specialties:

I specialize in corporate identity, brand identity, brand messaging, new product development and launch, illustration, website design, advertising, and marketing communications. I provide a productive environment wherein projects are thoroughly managed, from strategy to creative, and from precision execution to launch.

I believe in an integrated approach to advertising and graphic design because it results in stronger brands every time.

Kelly Hobkirk’s Experience

• Co-founder and Creative Director

  Train of Thought

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  June 1992 — Present (17 years 7 months)

  Full service brand development and management, brand messaging, strategic development, websites, print and web advertising, marketing communications.

• Marketing Director

  Sunhill Machinery

  (Machinery industry)

  June 1992 — June 1995 (3 years 1 month)

  Corporate identity, brand development, full advertising campaigns with periodic ROI reviews. Reduced ad expenditure by 60% while increasing ad response by 500%. Served on senior staff for three years, then as a consultant for eight more years. Revenue increase of over $3M in first three years.

• Art Director

  Jackson & Johnson Advertising

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  November 1989 — August 1990 (10 months)

  Responsibilities included coordination with other art directors and account representatives, plus design, illustration, and print production of advertising, brochures, direct mail, logo design, POS displays, billboards, and other collateral for a varied client base.

Kelly Hobkirk’s Education

• School of Visual Concepts

  Advertising, Copywriting 1992 — 1993

  Worked in collaborative teams to create and thoroughly explore concepts.

• Art Institute of Seattle

  AA , Graphic Design, Advertising , 1986 — 1988

  Graduated early. Landed Art Director position in an ad agency at age 19.

Additional Information

Kelly Hobkirk’s Websites:

• My Company
• My Blog

Kelly Hobkirk’s Interests:

design, typeface design, reading, writing, illustration, bicycling, human interaction design, architecture, brand optimizing.

Kelly Hobkirk’s Groups:

American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
Graphic Artists Guild
Cascade Bicycle Club
Biznik
Marymoor Velodrome Association

•    Linked:Seattle
•    LAUNCH: branding small business roundtable

Kelly Hobkirk’s Honors:

4 label designs featured in Rockport Publishing's "1000 Bags, Tags, & Labels"
2 package designs in Rotovision's "Bags, Labels & Point of Purchase"
Oustanding Senior Artist Award, with scholarship.

Kelly Hobkirk’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• consulting offers
• expertise requests
• business deals
• getting back in touch