Work History

Editorial Designer at Stuff, NZ
(July 2021 - Current)

I’m currently working at Stuff, with my duties specific to designing the front & feature pages of their ten daily nationwide newspapers, including The Post and The Press.
I recently rolled out the biggest responsibilty of my career so far; leading the re-branding and design overhaul of Stuff’s portfolio of 10 nationwide Metropolitan and Regional newspapers (including The Post, The Press, Waikato Times and more). The result was an elegant, refined, reader focused design system that improved visual cohesion and production efficiency. I loved training the wider team of Print Producers how to work within the new framework and be comfortable creating pages that adhered to the new Brand Philosophy.
I work to incredibly tight turnaround times in this role, with a standard day seeing between approximately nine - fifteen deadlines, often more, and timelines for individual layouts can be as tight as half an hour from briefing through to print.

In my day to day, I work to incredibly tight turnaround times in this role, with a standard day seeing between nine - fifteen deadlines, often more, and time lines for individual layouts can be as tight as half an hour from briefing through to print.

I’m also involved in rolling out consistent upskilling across our wider team of 15 print producers. I was heavily involved in training for our team with the arrival of new technology, which mostly included teaching our then team of 30 the basics of, and then getting them comfortable, in Adobe InDesign.

My biggest formal recognition in this role so far has been a nomination in the 2022 Voyager Media Awards for Best Newspaper Front Page, for my series of nationwide front pages launching the This is How it Ends series.
As well as my award nomination, I’ve consistently had the opportunity to create nationwide front pages to celebrate history making events, including Jacinda Ardern’s resignation, Trump’s 2024 Shooting, and the parliamentary riots of 2022. These pieces of work are continuous sources of pride for me in my career.

Creative Designer at Elemental Inc, Toronto, Canada
(March 2020 - October 2020)

During my time at Elemental Inc, I often worked as the sole designer on projects, as well as leading new design directions for incoming clients. I also led creative ideation for some of our local advertising campaigns, in tandem with a copywriter. I'm most proud of my time as the Design Lead for a new oncoming client, Herschel Supply Co, who were so happy with our work for them that they signed onto a longer contract with the agency. I also got the opportunity to create ongoing designs for Starbucks, Campari, and a few others.

Designer & Mac Op at Saatchi & Saatchi NZ
(March 2018 - September 2019)

Junior Designer at Woman’s Day magazine (Bauer Media)
(April-December 2017)

Design Intern at Colenso BBDO
(June- December 2016) 

Designer of Massive Magazine, Issue 8
(2015) (Completed in final year of University)

Skills

Fluent in Adobe Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop

Editorial & Layout Design

People leadership and team mentoring

Social Media Content Creation and Ideation

Art Direction

References

Contact details available upon request: Carla Amos, Production Editor, Stuff.

I was privileged to work with Ms. Nina Weil during her time in Canada on a work visa. Not only is Nina a very good designer, I found her to be a champion of positivity, happily accepting every task; all the while charging up her colleagues.
Nina first joined the agency as a contract designer on Feb 3 2020. Respective of her skills and demeanour, she was soon offered a full-time salary position. Her skills exceed the craft of manifesting a creative vision. Her ability to articulate and give reason to her thought process for each design decision she made revealed a depth of thoughtfulness at a level more mature than her years in the profession. To add weight to my unrestricted recommendation that anyone considering her for a designer role should jump at the chance of adding her to their team; in the final stages of her time in Canada, I ‘called in’ a personal favour from an Immigration lawyer friend to investigate the possibility of her remaining in my country. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at brent.wardrop@elementalinc.com

Brent Wardrop - Partner at Elemental Inc, CA. 
Written on 07/10/2020

To whom it may concern
Nina Weil has worked at Saatchi & Saatchi, Auckland, New Zealand for the last 18 months. She started as a junior and has developed into a highly capable and reliable member of the Studio Design team. Nina has worked across the entire agency clientele with eagerness to get involved and help out the wider creative and social teams. Taking on responsibilities outside of her usual day to day work, including stepping up and covering for senior team members on extended leave. She has taken ownership of regular campaigns liaising with the account service and creative teams to bring each job to life with consistent quality. I highly recommend Nina for any position she chooses to pursue that will continue to develop and challenge her. She has proven herself a great team player with exceptional communication skills and ability to work under pressure. I believe she will be an asset to any team that welcomes her aboard. 

Shane Kelly - Studio Production Manager, Saatchi & Saatchi NZ 
Written on 05/10/2019