about
An accomplished creative director and marketing strategist with proven expertise in conceptual development, design, and implementation of projects for print, web and new media. Over 18 years’ experience working with leading companies in the legal, financial, real estate, government, healthcare and IT industries. Currently working at a fabulous software company in downtown Vancouver where I focus on generating intuitive concepts and designs that help convey our marketing message to our prospects and existing customers. From print, exhibits, web, multimedia, software demonstrations to office templates, I aim to achieve a clean and flexible look that can quickly be adapted by various internal users and channel partners around the world.
On a personal note, I am always asked as to what my name means. Some say it means calmness or serenity in Arabic, or revelation in Persian. Deep down I like a translation a friend made up once. He said “Hwayda is a place where friends meet”. Of course that was during my early days in Vancouver when I was living in a 1200 sq ft penthouse in South Granville with a large roof top patio. I used to host a lot of BBQs and house parties and friends were over very often. Since I moved downtown into a tiny condo, I tend to go out more just to see my friends and to attend business and social networking events. The gist of the story is that I love being around friends and meeting new people. I am energized by the success stories, paths taken and lessons learned.
Growing up, our home was always open to friends and family with a constant flow of visitors. When guests would come over, my dad would jokingly say his favourite line in Arabic which translates to “our motto is to please our customers”. This motto has stuck with me in many aspects of my life. I always look for what value I can provide and what I can give to make those around me happy and successful. I truly believe that it is much easier and more fulfilling to succeed if those around us are successful too.
I love to learn and do spend a lot of my free time researching various topics. To learn is to grow. If we are not growing, then we are dying. In 1991, I graduated with a degree in communications and over the years have developed strong marketing and design skills. In 2001, I went back to school to expand my skills in web and multimedia and continue that path of learning by attending live and online classes.
More recently, I have signed up for the Quantum Leap program at Peak Potentials (now part of Success Resources) to work on my personal development. Some of the seminars included in the program are Guerrilla Business School, The World’s Greatest Marketing Seminar, Ultimate Internet Boot Camp, Freedom Trader Intensive and much more. They are also known for the Millionaire Mind Intensive free events. If you haven’t had a chance to attend one yet, I highly recommend you do. You will learn a lot about yourself and what is holding you back from achieving much more, not to mention all the new friends and valuable contacts you will make. Other resources I keep an eye on are materials from Darren Hardy, Brendon Burchard and the late Jim Rohn, to name a few.
The object of this blog is to share some stories, interesting tidbits, some marketing and design tips and tricks I come across in my day to day work environment, training and online searches. It is also a way for me to keep my notes in one place I can access anywhere in the world. I hope you will stop by often and check in on me. If you have any design or marketing tips and tricks, send me a note. I would love to add your notes, articles and tips to my blog.
