Resume

Michelle E. Zaffino
San Francisco, CA

General Info
15+ plus years of creative and eCommerce industry experience as an information architect, content manager, copywriter and editor; 5 years managerial experience; MLIS 2012

Freelance Contractor – Information Architect – January 2012 to Present

Collaborated on labeling and navigation for the Bare Escentuals Multi-Wrinkle microsite. Designed the entire IA for a new food website, In the Stacks.tv and the new ITS website, launching 2013. Samples upon request.

Copywriting Clients – June 2004 to Present

Bare Escentuals Wrote packaging, product names and positioning, web, email, store signage, script and collateral copy for the beauty retailer.

Men’s Wearhouse Wrote store signage, collateral, homepage, banner, category, email, taglines, social media, and product copy for the retailer. Edited the Style Advice guide and wrote captions for accompanying videos.
Wild Planet Wrote packaging product names, headlines and collateral for the toy company.
Charlotte Russe Wrote marketing messages including homepage and banner copy, emails, and product copy for the trendy fashion retailer.
TRIA Beauty Wrote web copy including homepage and category pages, print ad copy, taglines, packaging and collateral copy for the medical beauty device company.
PerriconeMD Created content for collateral, press, packaging, product and the website for the skincare retailer.
Sephora.com/LVMH (12 month contract) Wrote collections and product copy for the beauty retailer. Trained writers and helped build the product team.
Banana Republic Online (13 month contract) Wrote product copy and names for women’s apparel. Edited the site for clarity and cohesiveness.
Old Navy Online Wrote copy for brand pages using SEO optimization style.
Piperlime Wrote copy for brand pages using SEO optimization style.
Dockers.com Wrote marketing copy for Spring 2009 emails and product copy for Spring 2008 resortwear.
Lucy.com Wrote marketing messages and product copy for the website.
philosophy.com Wrote several e-mails for the cosmetics company.
LendingTree.com Wrote several e-mails for the financial company.
Gap Online Was a senior copywriter for men’s and children’s marketing messages and e-mails.

Editorial Clients
Benefit Cosmetics Edited 8 seasons of print catalogs for the beauty retailer.
Kaiser Permanente and PG&E Edited for the medical and utility companies.
Dwell Proofread the design magazine’s five-year anniversary issue.
InBox Marketing Edited web pages for several of their clients: Zirh Skincare, StubHub.com, philosophy.com.

Magazine Editorial
Marie Claire/Hearst Magazines/New York
Research Editor
December 2000 to May 2004
Edited the magazine’s editorial content for inaccuracies and potential legal problems, rewriting copy in the Marie Claire style. Managed research associates and in conjunction with them fact-checked all beauty, news, and health articles. Orchestrated and wrote features articles, including May 2002′s boyfriend makeover (**which was the inspiration for BravoTV’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy**) and the June 2002 health feature. Generated ideas regularly.

Redbook/Hearst Magazines/New York
Associate Research Editor
March 1999 to December 2000
Edited the entire publication for accuracy, rewriting copy when necessary. Researched and reported short pieces (Love column, September 1999 and q&a column with Anne Rice). Worked with Hearst Magazine lawyers for legal review of stories and managed freelanced employees.

Elle/Hachette-Filipacchi Magazines/New York
Freelance Research Associate
July 1998 to March 1999
Fact-checked all front-of-book and features articles for accuracy. Rewrote copy when needed.

Photo Editor/Jill Krementz Photography/New York
June 1997 to December 1998
Worked with photojournalist Jill Krementz, known for her black and white photographs of authors. Duties ranged from selecting photographs for print in magazines and on book jackets to maintaining order of a massive photo archive. Assisted with The Jewish Writer exhibit and lecture series.

Sports Afield/Hearst Magazines/New York
Editorial Assistant
May 1996 to May 1997
Assisted the entire editorial staff. Position entailed fact-checking and research, organization of the photo department, reviewing manuscripts, writing, and editing. Compiled the monthly Sportsman’s Calendar. **Junior editor of the Eat Like A Wild Man cookbook. Wrote all captions and edited to fit.**

Esquire/Hearst Magazines/New York
Advertising Sales Assistant
June 1995 to May 1996
Supported two advertising executives in their efforts to sell ad space for the magazine.

Penton Publishing/New York
Sales Associate
August 1994 to May 1995
Junior salesperson on the QualityAlert account.

Cleis Press/Pittsburgh
Marketing Intern
January 1994 to May 1994

Writing
Published in Marie Claire, Redbook, Sports Afield, SEEN, Double Negative, Sportswear International, IndiePlanet, Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, The Bold Italic, Her Fab Life, the Sephora blog, Eco Fashion World, Eco to the People and In the Stacks video book review. I’ve also completed three novels, which I’m currently shopping to publishers.

Education
B.A. in English Writing – Magazine concentration
Certificate in Women’s Studies
Minor in English Literature, Psychology, Anthropology
University of Pittsburgh, 1994

Masters in Library and Information Science
University of Pittsburgh Online Program
Graduated April 2012, 3.825 GPA