John Andan | Freelance Creative @ Andan Design Studio

Creative | Builder | Thought starter | Art Director | Husband, Father & former Firefighter
& First responder EPFD MN

Creative  who specializes in building brands. The inspiration & creative mind behind the The Shire ltd. He has designed with forward-thinking companies locally and globally, building brands through interactive-media, print design, brand functional design, and innovation. Over the years, he has developed work for Nestle consumers across 21 countries off CWAR (central & west African Region) and understands the impact of brand identity and creative strategic direction for the success of businesses. He has spearheaded documentaries, a music-based reality show, as well as enhanced and developed  philosophies and brand cultures for a young agency. 

Story

After resigning my role as the Sr. Art Director & acting Creative Director of a global advertising firm and starting my own freelance design studio, I began the daunting journey of “concept to REALITY” in bringing my passion project to life. The result is
The Shire ltd. I have been in charge of the conceptualization, design, and building of this beach home project off the Atlantic coast of Ghana. Located above the beautiful sandy beaches of Langma, near Kokrobite – only 45 minutes from Accra, Ghana’s vibrant capital city. 

It boasts incredible panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and sits on a wooded hillside that slopes dramatically to the water’s edge some 300 meters away. The Shire is beautifully designed; modern yet classic – and built to conform to, and take advantage of, its picturesque surroundings. Come discover The Shire – an incredible one-of-a-kind experience. An Andan design creative studio creation

Work History

2012 – Present

Creative at Andan design andandesign.com
Responsible for the development of product branding. Visually communicated the product or service for clients in a manner that appealed to their target audience under time and space constraints. I have designed with forward-thinking companies locally and globally, building brands through interactive-media, print design, brand functional design, and innovation.

The Shire Ghana | The Shire ltd.
The Shire is a private beach villa rental I built & manage. It is located above the beautiful sandy beaches of Langma-Kokrobite only 45 minutes from Accra, Ghana’s vibrant capital city.

Jan “09 – Oct “11

Publicis Ghana | Senior Art Director

Founding member of the first ever majority-owned network agency in Africa, from scratch – developing work for 300 million consumers across 21 countries

Personally involved in identifying, recruiting, and hiring every resource in what is now a talented 25-person agency team Created the philosophy and culture of the agency (The way of the lion)

Spearheaded the documentary chronicling 50 years of Nestle in Ivory Coast, the ‘Equipe Milo” campaign and Vodafone Brand Refresh work which created an emotional bond between Ghanaians and the brand

Lead member on the music-based reality show “ICONS” for Vodafone. Developed visual identity and multiple stages of through-the-line communication to create a buzz for the Ghanaian audience

Supervised creative design within business groups and directed and developed the final visual images that communicated the organization’s marketing objectives to the consumer

Responsible for the development of product branding. Visually communicated the product or service in a manner that appealed to the target audience under time and space constraints

Directed and lead the work of the creative department. Worked with other members of the Creative Team unit to develop and present marketing communications for an assigned portfolio of brands

May “05 – Feb “09

Eden Prairie Fire Department | Firefighter & First responder
Responded to all emergency paged calls within city district from station 1 & 4 squad 11.
An average of 80 paged calls a month First responder (emergency unit) and HAZMAT ops
Educated and promoted fire safety and fire prevention within the Eden Prairie community

May “07 – Feb “09

Kroll Ontrack | Graphic Designer

Maintained and produced Kroll Ontrack Marketing pieces and branding for its technology-driven services, software and consulting to help legal, corporate and government entities as well as consumers recover and search

Conceptualization of marketing campaigns, from the ground up, working with clients and production team to create these campaigns

April “06 – May “07

Nicros, Inc | Marketing/Graphic Consultant
Created new brand identity and corresponding rules for utilization – resulting in the adoption of a new style guide for the agency Updated marketing publications to reflect new brand identity. Developed look and feel for all trade shows
Worked with marketing team to help devise actionable solutions for all creative processes
Maintained and consistently monitored all 3 company web sites – each targeted towards different markets

Jan “05 – Jan “07

Vascular Clinic of Northwest Georgia | Webmaster Designed entire graphic outlook and layout of main website

Designed a variety of effective microsites – per client direction – to highlight featured products and services. Provided frequent maintenance service and updates for client

May “03 – April “06

Best Buy: Retail Graphic Solutions
Partnered with analytical team to process signage for all Best Buy stores
Worked with Innovations team to develop “consumer-centric” guidelines for placing signage in new Best Buy stores
Conducted research on Best Buy signage products and leveraged learning to improve rollout of messaging to new Best Buy stores

Tool BOX | Software Experience

Adobe CS: (ID, Mu, Ai, Ps,Br, Dw, Adobe Pro), Adobe Muse, Indesign, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, MS Project, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, QuarkXpress, AE, FUJIFILM X-E 2, Canon EOS T3i,

Honors, Awards & Activities

Education

Concordia College, Moorhead, MN

Bachelor of Arts Major: Graphic Design. Minor: Business Relevant Courses: Marketing/Advertising, Graphic Design, Web design and Communications

Publicis Ghana Q4 quarterly lion 2010. Award for outstanding performance, leadership and best work for the quarter May 2005 – February 2009: On call Firefighter for the Eden Prairie Fire Department
“First in class”/Top 7 recruit. First responder (Emergency unit) and HAZMAT ops
Best Buy employee of the month for outstanding contribution to company performance and team spirit (2004) Sportsman of the Year, Achimota Secondary School (1996)