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Currently, I'm working in New York City as a Web Designer, Project Manager and Creative Director. I'm responsible for Newtek Business Services corporate web properties and over 500 alliance partner business services portals.
I’ve been working in the field of communications for many years filling the following roles in design, traditional and internet marketing: Web Designer, Interaction Designer, Print Designer, Animator, Art Director, SEO, Affiliate Marketing, and Analytics. My diverse experience working for government contractors, video production, multimedia, marketing, broadcast, and event companies helps me understand the marketing needs for many industries. I work with high level marketing concepts and create eye-catching, effective visual communication from scratch for products, services and branding. I meet with the Marketing or Communications Director to discuss the vision and concepts for promoting services, products or branding. I excel at being creative, it’s what I’m passionate about and I love getting results for my clients.
I've used all media outlets for my clients. I have developed interactive training for the military using 3D animation and Flash animation. I have created animation and graphics for broadcast TV, websites, CDs, presentations and industrial videos. I worked as Art Director with the creative team at Wizard Studios International event company to create award winning experience design. Projects include, theme interiors for large corporate events, the interior for the WWF Restaurant in Times Square, the Doral Golf Village’s Millennium Celebration with Earth, Wind and Fire, Lager’s Old World Grill logo and interiors, Outback Steakhouse’s Clubhouse Tent for Golf, and Bush Gardens Haunted Trail. For seven years in a row, I created the graphics, slides, and video presentations for the annual awards presentation for Outback Steakhouse. I’ve lived through small to mid-size company growing pains and mid-size to large company growing pains. All my former employers have provided and still will provide excellent references for me.
Brenda Kato's Bio
Brenda Roberts Kato was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She discovered her artistic talent as a child, winning various art contests as early as the first grade. In high school, she entered the commercial arts program at the Westside Skills Center, vocational school, where she learned the basics of graphic design, illustration, sign painting, silk-screen printing, airbrushing, and 3D displays. She won many awards during this time, including first place in the state and second place in the nation for a VICA (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America) 3D display celebrating the Constitution, and first place in Duval County's "Just Say No To Drugs" poster contest. Continental Cablevision even turned her poster's slogan "Wanna Grow? Just Say No" into a TV commercial.
After graduation, Brenda entered the Graphic Design program at the Savannah College of Art and Design, but soon discovered computers in her elective classes. Her first animation was on an Amiga with Aegis Animator. After a year and a half at SCAD, she transferred to Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida where she studied illustration, painting, photography, animation and art history. Brenda's work was included in the RSAD senior show and their annual publication.
After college, Brenda returned to Jacksonville and helped form a local arts group called The City of Expression. Boasting a membership of around 150, this group created opportunities for artists to get community exposure; the group produced monthly art shows in parks, coffee shops, and storefronts, and produced a magazine for the next two years.
In 1992 Brenda taught art at an inner-city high school, but lack of support and respect for the arts department led her decision to leave teaching. Brenda wanted to become an animator and joined a large government contractor, Logistic Services International. There, she gained experience with several animation packages including WICAT, Animator Pro, and 3D Studio MAX. She also fell in love with Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator. During this time, Brenda served on the board of the Beaches Fine Arts Guild. She was asked to participate in many fine art shows, showcasing her series of "Green People" acrylic surrealist paintings.
Later, Brenda joined the commercial video and multimedia department at Orlando's JHT Multimedia. She was soon promoted to Art Director illustrating storyboards, producing graphics, animation, and user interfaces for CD-ROMs and web sites. She worked with such clients as NASA, The Army, ORMC (Orlando Regional Medical Center), and Olive Garden, Watermelon Board, FedEx and EDS. In 1995 her 3D animation made the Siggraph reel for the use of a new effect in 3D Studio MAX. She animated the open for an Orlando housing convention, which showed a pop-up book with a neighborhood, and the sun rising in the back was an orange with a bunch of ribbons twirling around.
In 1997, Brenda became the Art Director for a live television talk show for Paxson Communications in Clearwater, Florida. Paxson Communications used her background elements in the overall look and feel for the launch of the entire PAX Network. Next, Brenda became a full-time freelancer, accepting work from several Tampa production facilities, including Tampa Digital, Island Media, Magic Studios, Edit Suites, and Digital Video Arts. She was soon offered a full time Art Director position with Wizard Studios, a large themed-event company. Brenda was part of a creative team that handled conceptualization, illustration, fabrication, painting, and lighting. She specifically, helped theme the interior of the WWF Restaurant in New York, designed "Country Club" style tents for Outback Steakhouse, created the FedEx/Doral Resort's Millennium Celebration water-screen video, and designed the logo for Lager's Old World Grill.
In 2000, Brenda moved back to Jacksonville to open Digital Chemistry Inc., a Multimedia Design Alliance. She worked on several projects with this alliance of marketing and design professionals. In 2001 she rejoined her friends at Logistic Services International to work on the ASE contract for the Navy. As lead artist she managed a team of artist to create distant learning courses using the latest Flash technology. In 2003 she joined Emergency Debt Relief Inc. as their Art Director and was part of a marketing team providing EDR with excellent marketing materials. She left EDR in March 2004 to join forces with PRO DESIGN LABS a local marketing and web development company. She began showing her acrylic painting series of contortionist females in several venues in Downtown Jacksonville's First Wednesday Art Walk and was the featured artist at the Karpeles Manuscript Museum for the month of October 2004.
In November 2004, she became Art Director for SkyeTec Environmental Building Solutions and helped them transition from a small mom-n-pop inspection company to a thriving mid-size indoor environmental solutions provider. During this time she had several art shows in bars and restaurants in Jacksonville, Florida and her first art show in New York City at a Russian Tearoom. She was one of 12 artist selected to show at Art After Dark, April 21st, 2006 at The Florida Theatre in downtown Jacksonville. This art show is an annual charity event for the theatre.
She moved north to work in Manhattan for Newtek Business Services, now called The Small Business Authority, as a web designer and projects manager in August of 2007. Her political art show called "I Love Big Brother" hung in October 2008 at TenEleven Pub on the lower east side, NYC. Brenda redesigned the website for New York Hardcore Tattoos and in 2008, she launched a community site called NYHC4LIFE.com to help promote the music community. She also redesigned the website for the band Murphy’s Law who is fronted by hardcore legend Jimmy Gestapo. Working with her favorite bands in the NYHC community was a dream come true. She joined Web Grrls International a technology group for women and AIGA the New York chapter for graphic designers. In March of 2009, she joined Art-Trope, a new arts group in NYC with the mission to help artist show in high exposure venues in the city. Brenda started drawing cubist portraits for Wizard Studios, a NYC event company. She created a quick portrait much like a street sketch artist would in about 10 to 15 min for event or party guest. Then she decided to take more time and paint them with acrylic paints as well as the watercolor markers she was using for the quick ones.
In 2010 she organized the first annual NYHC4LIFE ART SHOW hosted by TenEleven Pub and featuring two hardcore artist legends, Gary Gilmore and Sean Taggart along with new artist Craig Holloway, Brenda and photographers Chris Roque and Samma Jamma. The show featured album covers, flyers, paintings, and photos of hardcore punk bands. Still working in New York for Newtek, The Small Business Authority, Brenda, decided to work remotely and moved back to her hometown in Jacksonville, Florida to be near her elderly parents and large family. In April of 2010 she opened a fine art gallery downtown in The Jacksonville Landing called the Bee Gallery & Studio with 2 artist partners. Bee Gallery participates in First Wednesday Art Walk and features contemporary work by local and guest artist. Having a studio space has allowed Brenda to work on her modern batik, sculpture, and large paintings. Brenda participated in the community art project called Imagination Squared and submitted her cubist self portrait which is now on permanent display in the downtown public library.
The 2011 NYHC4LIFE ART SHOW was hosted by Live Fast NYC at 57 Clinton Street in the Lower East Side and ran from May till the end of August. It featured artist Gary Gilmore, Craig Holloway, Adam Finnegan, and Brenda’s new Hardcore Legends Skateboard designs. Brenda showcased her new Day Of The Dead paintings, batiks and hand carved skulls in the October art show at Bee Gallery called “Haunted Hallows Eve” featuring Horror Artist Jerrod Brown. She also continued her cubist portrait series of drawings and paintings.
Brenda continues to work as a web designer and marketing professional for The Small Business Authority and spends her time off at the Bee Gallery making art.
