Once upon a time Jennifer was born. She grew up, had a career in New Zealand and then decided that wasn’t enough. So, she bought a one way ticket to London via exploring 20 States of America and can now erect a tent in under 10 minutes. But that is another story.

Once in London she landed a freelance position in the West End. Starting out freelancing gave her a good feel for the industry there as it was quite different to her experience in far off New Zealand. She had always preferred being part of a team and within months joined Conquest, part of WPP Group plc. This provided the opportunity to work in a medium sized agency as their Senior Designer in a 6-strong design team.

In between freelancing and Conquest she experienced life in small town France for 6 weeks teaching English to a family. She also bravely fought off an attacker in the Paris Metro. But that is another story.

She had a strong commitment to providing high quality work and service to clients and developed strong working relationships. Jen spent two valuable years expanding her knowledge and skills in the area of graphic design, communication and leadership. Europe sets a very high standard in advertising and design and to be part of the industry in that part of the world was exciting, a little intimidating and most of all, educational. The nightlife was also exciting and educational, but that is another story.

The weather finally got to her and she decided to move on. Sunny Sydney looked appealing and so she went and so it was. Jennifer found a job she liked and settled at Our Agency where she remained for over 3 years, their Senior Creative in a team of 9 designers and copywriters. Here her days were spent looking after Our Agency’s larger clients; taking briefs, conceptualising, designing, art directing, presenting ideas, artworking and seeing every job through to the press checking as well as overseeing the creative team. She often brought in her absolutely top rate home made Russian fudge to keep the creatives sufficiently wired. At the 2003 Australian Catalogue Awards she didn’t look half bad as she proudly accepted the Design and Real Estate awards for her work on Glebe Harbour. Another, previously hidden, talent came to the fore that wild weekend in Melbourne. Jen Bailey, TV presenter. But that is another story.

Ready for a new challenge, Jennifer launched herself into studying Life Coaching where she gained skills that have proven valuable in every area of her life. All this self development and deep thinking made Jen want to give the world a giant hug. Starting with Thailand. Then Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Waking to find herself being cuddled by a cheeky Lao guide on a mountain wasn’t quite the type of hug she had in mind so after 4 months of  chopsticks, sang som and the same 3 t-shirts she headed back to Sydney. Back to champers with the girls, online dating and the world of advertising.

She finally found her Prince Charming and after nearly 18 months of freelancing she nabbed a fantastic job managing the studio at the Campaign Palace in Woolloomooloo where she remained happy for 3 and a half years. She loved the people, the place and her new role. Here she used all of her industry skills and experience; taking all studio briefs, allocating jobs, checking all studio work for accuracy and adherence to guidelines, liaising with production, account service and creative, hiring, mentoring and managing studio staff, art directing and crafting each job that came through studio, trouble shooting IT issues and keeping a calm and fun attitude when under pressure. Her biggest achievement at The Palace was creating and implementing all the systems and processes in and around studio, updating the software and hardware and helping turn the studio into a profitable part of the agency. In her spare time she also was a partner in opening an ebay store (yes, the idea did come from The Forty Year Old Virgin) and can now write ads to sell anything from statues of ancient fertility gods to designer fetish attire. But that is another story.

Managing just the 1 team wasn’t enough and not a person to shy away from a challenge Jennifer took on not 2, but 3 new teams at Evocatif, a through-the-line agency in Pyrmont. Being the Creative Services Manager certainly kept life interesting. Managing 5 rather large-personality creatives was actually one of the easiest facets to the role. Creating and implementing new internal processes around her role and between various departments was met with varying degrees of acceptance, but with a little persistence and many meetings things started to change in the Creative Services Department. Her role was pivotal in the running of the agency, answering only to the MD and the CEO. She took an active interest in each of her teams and their interaction with each other and the Account Service Department. She brought on a new Studio Traffic Manager and Production Manager and worked to build the relationships between her 3 teams to create an efficient, highly productive and fun environment. And most importantly she got the sound system fixed so the place felt more like a creative agency and less like a financial institution.

Jennifer rose to the challenge and loved managing her teams, but her creative side was feeling a tad neglected. The pull to design eventually tugged her back and in February 2009 Design This, was born! Her first job; designing her own wedding invite and boy was she one tough customer. She also planned the entire wedding and can advise on the best sneakers to go with any wedding attire, but I digress.

Take what you will from my story. But I hope I have painted a vivid image of Jennifer Marion Bailey. Confident in who she is. Experienced in almost all areas of the design and advertising industries. Adaptable to whatever comes her way or wherever her decisions take her. A fun, assertive woman with highly developed creative, communication and management skills.

I would like to end my tale with Jennifer living happily ever after, but this isn’t the end. She is looking for a greater challenge. That is where you come in. If you like the sound of her and would like to add a chapter to this story, or perhaps create another story altogether, she would love to hear from you.