Freelance Designer
Hamburg Area, Germany
- Current
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- Freelance Designer at Matt Balara, Freelancer
- Senior Art Director at SinnerSchrader
- Freelance Photographer (Self-employed)
- Past
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- Art Director at sanmann, hammer & roske
- Designer at Lighthouse Multimedia
- Animator at Henninger Media Services
- Education
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- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Recommended
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4 people have recommended Matt - Connections
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connections
- Industry
- Design
- Websites
Matt Balara’s Summary
I "designed" my first web page in 1993, which is hard to believe, even for me.
Since 2001 I've worked as an Art Director responsible for client consultation, launch and relaunch design and concept development for web sites, mobile and "out of the browser" internet apps for clients in the automotive, retail and tourism industries. I'm also proud to lead a team of happy designers.
I hope to make a few corners of the internet not only easier to use, but just as importantly, more fun to use.
Matt Balara’s Specialties:
Creation of functional and enjoyable designs, presentation and explanation of complex ideas, development of interface concepts, and interface simplification.
Fluent in written & spoken English and German.
Matt Balara’s Experience
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Freelance Designer
Matt Balara, Freelancer
(Design industry)
August 2008 — Present (2 months)
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Senior Art Director
SinnerSchrader
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; Internet industry)
May 2001 — Present (7 years 5 months)
Client consulting, interface concept & design development and presentation, team leadership. Clients include Volkswagen, TUI, OTTO, Plus and more.
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Freelance Photographer
Self-employed
(Self-Employed; Myself Only; Photography industry)
January 2001 — Present (7 years 9 months)
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Art Director
sanmann, hammer & roske
(Partnership; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)
July 1998 — February 2001 (2 years 8 months)
A small advertising agency wanted to get on the web bandwagon, like many others. I was their web department. My responsibilities included concept, design, HTML, CMS maintenance, client massages, i.e. everything.
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Designer
Lighthouse Multimedia
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Internet industry)
January 1996 — August 1997 (1 year 8 months)
Web design as it was in the Wild West. Earned my seat-of-the-pants pilot's license, and produced many designs which would today embarrass me (all of which have been, thankfully, relaunched), but were at the time bleeding edge.
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Animator
Henninger Media Services
(Public Company; 201-500 employees; Motion Pictures and Film industry)
September 1994 — September 1995 (1 year 1 month)
3D animation, compositing & morphing for t.v. ads. Other skills learned: sleeping under the desk, coke & pizza self-sustenance, client-over-the-shoulder immunity and an ability to work for weeks at a time without natural light.
Matt Balara’s Education
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Virginia Commonwealth University
BFA, Communication Arts & Design, 1988 — 1994
- Activities and Societies:
- Instrumental in the founding of the VCU Virtual Reality Lab.
Additional Information
Matt Balara’s Websites:
Matt Balara’s Interests:
Art, photojournalism, imaginative literature, cinema, Asian cooking, travel.
