Kristen Bjaastad

Kristen Bjaastad has extensive experience in the field of design and creative direction. Kristen worked at TUI UK&I as the Design Direction Lead, where they provided creative design direction and strategy for the Content Marketing team. Kristen also managed and mentored the in-house creative team across various communication channels. Prior to that, they worked at Sky Creative as the Design Director for The Sky Creative Agency. In this role, they had creative oversight of interactive design for online, product, and mobile platforms. Kristen'sresponsibilities included web and micro site design, mobile apps, social media apps, rich media campaigns, interactive TV, and research and development prototypes. Kristen also worked on 360 campaign teams and other design projects such as channel branding, internal communication projects, and promotional videos. Before joining Sky Creative, Kristen worked at Sky News as the Design Director for the Sky News Graphics team. In this position, they oversaw the creative work of a multi-disciplinary team of designers and animators. Kristen'srole involved liaising with news management and editorial staff to deliver graphic materials for promotional purposes. Additionally, they were responsible for daily news graphics, large design projects like general elections and the Iraqi War, re-branding and refreshing the channel, creating sponsorship and promo graphics. Kristen also worked as a Senior Interactive Designer at Sky News, where they focused on broadcast design, including channel branding and VR set design, as well as interactive TV applications. Notably, they directed the design of Sky News Active, the world's first interactive TV news service.

Kristen Bjaastad holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Fine Arts, specializing in Painting & Video Art from Carnegie Mellon University. Kristen also pursued Masters studies in Video Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2010, they completed a certificate course in Web Design, focusing on HTML & CSS, at Hammersmith and West London College. Additionally, Kristen has obtained several certifications, including a Marketing Leadership Masterclass from The Marketing Leadership Masterclass, Advertising on Pinterest from LinkedIn, The Fundamentals of Digital Marketing from Google Digital Garage, and UX Strategy from Bunnyfoot.