Daniel Smith
Jindalee,QLD
Summary
Dynamic and seasoned creative lead with a proven track record in managing teams and executing impactful campaigns and rebranding projects across the Australian media landscape. Expertise includes roles as manager, leader, creative director, and art director, consistently producing high-quality artwork for multi-channel experiences including outdoor, rich media, print, and video. Demonstrated ability to elevate brand presence for Australia’s most recognized brands through innovative design and strategic vision. Committed to driving creative excellence and fostering collaboration within diverse teams to achieve outstanding results.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Creative Team Lead (Design)
Queensland Health
12.2024 - Current
- Led a 9-person design team delivering cross-departmental branding and creative strategies across communications, marketing, social, and executive initiatives—positioning design as a key driver of organizational success.
- Directed resource planning and project prioritization, aligning staffing and workflows with business goals to maximize efficiency and accelerate delivery timelines.
- Built a high-performance design culture through mentoring, career development planning, and structured feedback programs that increased team capability and retention.
- Elevated brand impact by guiding cross-functional partners through end-to-end campaign development, ensuring creative alignment with organizational vision and executive priorities.
- Implemented scalable processes and operational reviews, reducing inefficiencies and improving cross-team collaboration, resulting in stronger project outcomes.
- Influenced enterprise-wide initiatives, leading cross-functional teams on complex, high-visibility projects that required executive engagement and organizational alignment.
- Established performance frameworks for staff evaluation, linking individual contributions to organizational impact and driving accountability at all levels.
Head of Art
News Corp Australia
01.2021 - 12.2024
- Directed national art operations for commercial content production, overseeing five cross-functional creative teams (NewsAmp, Roller, Suddenly) and driving high-impact brand and campaign execution across multiple business units.
- Oversaw end-to-end commercial content delivery across digital, print, and video—supporting campaign strategy, sales enablement, and branded executions for some of Australia’s most iconic brands.
- Led the production of hundreds of commercial content projects annually, including rebrands, multi-channel campaigns, activations, TVCs, animations, editorial integrations, and large-scale sales pitches.
- Managed commercial creative output across key News Corp properties—including News.com.au, The Courier Mail, Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, Vogue, The Australian, Taste, and Delicious—ensuring alignment with brand objectives while amplifying client impact.
- Built scalable systems and workflows to streamline content production, accelerate turnaround times, and minimize friction between teams, maintaining both quality and team wellbeing in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.
- Partnered with senior stakeholders across commercial, creative, editorial, and executive leadership to align branded content with strategic objectives and business growth initiatives.
- Delivered creative leadership for major brands and government clients, including Keno, Queensland Government, Suncorp, The Lott, Mater Lotteries, Foxtel, Betr, Chemist Warehouse, Rebel Sport, and the Australian Government.
- Balanced creative innovation and operational rigor, establishing a sustainable model for national commercial content delivery that consistently drove measurable results at scale.
Head of Creative
NewsAmp, News Corp Australia
12.2019 - 06.2021
- Led a team of Art Directors delivering pitch development, creative mock-ups, and full campaign executions for major Queensland brands, including Keno, Anglicare, Queensland Health, Capilano, and Aeroplane Jelly.
- Served as Creative Director for the conception and rollout of Keno’s “Play The Numbers You Know” campaign, overseeing creative direction across all assets—TVCs, editorial, print, and digital rich media.
- Directed cross-functional collaboration with production, copywriters, art directors, and client stakeholders to ensure creative alignment, seamless delivery, and measurable campaign impact.
- Drove tangible results, including a 4% brand lift in Victoria and over 2 million impressions statewide, demonstrating the power of in-house creative leadership in achieving market impact.
Creative Team Leader
Queensland Health
01.2019 - 12.2019
- Directed a 7-person creative team delivering design and AV projects for the Department of Health, overseeing branding, video, motion design, photography, and sound composition.
- Championed the Queensland Health rebrand, leading the end-to-end creative development of a major departmental identity initiative—still in use statewide as of 2025.
- Served as lead creative on high-profile projects including the “My Amazing Body” podcast, the children’s “Tooth Brush Song” campaign, and multiple internal communications programs.
- Partnered with marketing, social media, communications, and executive leadership to align creative outputs with departmental priorities and public engagement goals.
- Built a culture of continuous improvement, mentoring staff in creative best practices and fostering accountability, skill growth, and collaboration across disciplines.
- Introduced performance metrics and structured alignment practices to track team effectiveness, ensure delivery against strategic objectives, and strengthen cross-functional coordination.
Digital / Online Team Lead (3 Mths)
Queensland Health
03.2019 - 05.2019
- Acted as the manager for the digital content and development team overseeing the QH intranet, QH site and other projects.
Art Director
Queensland Health
06.2018 - 12.2018
- Provided quality assurance, technical support and learning to the internal Queensland Health creative team across print, digital, video and audio. Worked with team leader to appropriately resource and coach team members across multiple facets of the business.
Head of Creative / Head of Marketing Design
Ladbrokes Australia
01.2015 - 01.2018
- Head of Creative for national brand portfolio, leading a six-person team of digital, print, and animation designers responsible for the majority of in-market creative assets from 2015–2018.
- Directed multiple nationwide rebranding initiatives, acting as brand guardian for flagship brands in Australia as well as Betstar, Bookmaker, and several affiliate products.
- Oversaw creative execution across channels—TVC, outdoor, digital, and print—delivered in partnership with leading agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Next Thursday, and Rumble.
- Built and maintained strategic brand consistency, ensuring creative alignment across all consumer touchpoints while safeguarding brand integrity in competitive markets.
- Led collaboration with major partners and sponsorships, producing campaign artwork and activations with organizations including News Corp, the NRL, AFL, NBL, Moonee Valley Racing Club, and Melbourne Racing Club.
Senior Graphic Designer
Ladbrokes Australia
01.2013 - 01.2015
- Delivered cross-channel creative execution across motion, video, digital, and print campaigns for Ladbrokes and its affiliate brands, ensuring consistency and impact across diverse formats.
- Provided front-end design support for promotional campaigns, enhancing user experience and campaign visibility through digital activations.
- Developed scalable creative systems, implementing Adobe Creative Suite and CC Library workflows to accelerate artwork delivery across print, digital, outdoor, and motion assets—establishing foundations for rapid production at scale.
Senior Web Designer / Developer
Crockford Carlisle
01.2010 - 01.2013
- Collaborated with leadership on the scoping, budgeting, and technical architecture of advanced Magento and WordPress websites, ensuring scalable and cost-effective solutions.
- Designed and developed complex database-driven sites across eCommerce, portfolio, and brand categories, extending Magento and WordPress capabilities to meet bespoke client needs.
- Achieved Magento Developer certification, applying deep technical expertise to deliver robust, high-performing platforms.
- Administered dedicated servers to ensure uptime, security, and reliability while optimizing SEO infrastructure for maximum visibility.
- Enhanced search performance at scale, monitoring and improving SEO for hundreds of websites, driving stronger rankings and digital reach.
- Launched and maintained email server systems, strengthening client communication and marketing capabilities.
- Built strong client partnerships, liaising directly with stakeholders to align digital solutions with business objectives and sustain long-term relationships.
Education
Bachelor of Animation -
Griffith University
Brisbane, QLD01.2004
Diploma of Software Programming -
TAFE Queensland
Mount Gravatt, QLD01-2001
Skills
- Creative Direction
- Art Direction
- Branding
- Design
- Adobe Creative Suite / Figma
- HTML / CSS / JS / PHP
- Attention to detail
- Conflict resolution
- Coaching and mentoring
- Performance monitoring
- Performance improvement
- Quality control
Accomplishments
- Led the implementation of NRMA "Help Our Highway" campaign in 2024 winning the Cairns Crocodile award for print and publications. Developed the pitch, led implementation of launch and always on above the line creative. Collaborated with internal ad operations, production and editorial teams.
- Led the development of the Keno "Play The Numbers You Know" campaign in 2023 across broadcast TV and radio, cinema, rich media display and outdoor on News Corp, Channel 7 and 9 and Nova networks.
- Led the rebrand of "House of Wellness" collaborating with editors, art directors, writers and production staff which has since been implemented across broadcast, print, socials and point of sale materials.
- Drove the development of a brand for Queensland Health across the department including over 100,000 computers, all internal and external communications channels. Retained branding for over 5 years.
- Led the execution for multi-million dollar campaigns for Labrokes for "Up for the Challenge" (Saatch and Saatchi) and "Back Yourself" (Rumble) branding launches and campaigns.
Timeline
Creative Team Lead (Design)
Queensland Health
12.2024 - Current
Head of Art
News Corp Australia
01.2021 - 12.2024
Head of Creative
NewsAmp, News Corp Australia
12.2019 - 06.2021
Digital / Online Team Lead (3 Mths)
Queensland Health
03.2019 - 05.2019
Creative Team Leader
Queensland Health
01.2019 - 12.2019
Art Director
Queensland Health
06.2018 - 12.2018
Head of Creative / Head of Marketing Design
Ladbrokes Australia
01.2015 - 01.2018
Senior Graphic Designer
Ladbrokes Australia
01.2013 - 01.2015
Senior Web Designer / Developer
Crockford Carlisle
01.2010 - 01.2013
Bachelor of Animation -
Griffith University
Diploma of Software Programming -
TAFE Queensland
Awards
Cairns Crocodile 2025 Winner for NRMA's "Help Our Highway" campaign - Print and Publishing