Building Creative Ops from Zero
How I built the systems, from asset management to briefing to production, that let a creative team scale without breaking.
Role/Dates
Creative Content Director, Tipsy Elves | 2023–2026
Skills
Project Management
System Building
Creative Operations
Monday.com
Digital Asset Management
Cross-Team Collaboration
Team Mapping
[ outcome stats ]
50% ↑ first-round approval
400% ↑ content output
50% ↓ photography cost
[ the gap ]
When I stepped into this role, none of it existed yet: no digital asset management system, no formal creative briefing process, no vendor tracking. Requests came in ad hoc, feedback happened mid-production instead of before it, and nothing was documented anywhere but gmail.
[ the approach ]
01. Audit
Found bottlenecks, cross-team communication breakdowns, expectation misalignment, inconsistent tool usage, no file or naming structures…
02. Build rough, fast
Built wireframes, a flow chart, production schedule, brief template, naming convention key, stakeholder & owner mapping, KPI tracking…
03. Roll out & train
Onboarded team members, persistent training, daily practice, heavy implementation period, early feedback
04. Refine & Evolve
Added tagging, automations, shifted schedules, adjustments based on what actually broke in real use, not what I assumed would.
[ what i built ]
Contractor Onboarding
Built a structured onboarding process covering contracts and creative briefs, so new contractors had clear expectations and direction.
Monday.com & Figma
Production System
Built out a full creative production cross collaboration flow chart, task boards, a vendor/casting board, and a full photoshoot management system connected end-to-end from pre-production through post.
[ tools ]
Creative Briefing Process
Redesigned how briefs moved through the team, front-loading stakeholder feedback so alignment happened before production, not during it.
Org Chart
Built and maintained the team's org structure as it grew from one designer to a 6-person team, clarifying reporting lines and ownership as new roles came on.
Monday.com
Figma
Dropbox
Google Suite
Slack
Monday.com Figma Dropbox Google Suite Slack
Digital Asset Management
Built the company's first formal system for organizing creative assets, folder structures and naming conventions that made everything findable, from a standing start
[ before ]
No formal asset system
Ad hoc vendor tracking
Feedback caught mid-production
Requests worked in order received
[ after ]
Centralized DAM
Feedback locked before production starts
Requests prioritized by real business impact
6-person Team + Outsourced Vendor Network
Optimized Bandwidth Distribution
Structured vendor/casting board
