Maria.

Maria Ashfaq

Senior Design Manager | Art Direction & Branding Expert | Ex-Sapphire Mills & Publicis Group

Overview

Award-winning Art Director and Design Leader with over a decade of experience driving visual strategy for major brands like Sapphire Mills, Nestle, and PEL. Expert in 360-degree campaigns, retail design, and brand identity, blending traditional design mastery with AI-driven tools like Midjourney to deliver high-impact commercial results.

Lahore, Pakistan

Experience

2025

WORK

Design Head

Playsmart

Dubai, UAE (Remote)

Window display designing and executing, Outdoor Advertising, Mall display, Print media, digital signage, Storefront design etc.

•Window display designing and executing

•Outdoor Advertising

•Mall display

•Print media

•Digital signage

•Storefront design

Key Achievements

→Uses Midjourney to rapidly prototype complex window displays, generating spatial layouts, lighting treatments, and material finishes for brands like LEGO, Disney, and Crayola

→Creates precise visual storyboards using AI to align stakeholders on scale and consumer impact before physical production

→Maintains strict brand standards for global partners including LEGO, Disney, VTech, and Bratz through high-fidelity AI-assisted design iterations

→Leading visual retail strategy and window display execution across every major mall in the UAE

MidjourneyAI PrototypingVisual Storyboarding

2023 – 2025

WORK

Sn. Manager Design

Sapphire Mills

Lahore, Pakistan

B2b & B2c Campaigns, Visiual Identity, Print Ads, Magazine Ads, Art direction, Branding, Social Media.

•B2b & B2c Campaigns

•Visual Identity

•Print Ads

•Magazine Ads

•Art direction

•Branding

•Social Media

Key Achievements

→Managed visual identity for 3 years across global B2B and B2C sectors

→Led digital asset creation for international partnerships influencing hundreds of Western corporate brands

→Drove digital presence and market reach for an enterprise exporting to 35+ countries

→Created social media campaigns and digital assets for medical scrub brands reaching millions of healthcare workers

→Designed B2B digital lookbooks and launch assets for partnerships like The Lycra Company, influencing procurement for hundreds of corporate brands and hospital networks

2022 – 2023

WORK

Associate Art Director

Publicis Group

Lahore, Pakistan

Award winning 360 campaigns, Branding, Advertising design, Brands like, Nestle, PEL, Pitch Campaigns.

•Visual direction

•Food shoot management

•Cross-channel campaign execution

•Art direction

Key Achievements

→Led the 360 platform campaign for Nestlé Milkpak Cream to modernize the legacy brand for younger consumers

→Managed visual direction, food shoots, and premium macro visuals for a cohesive cross-channel look across TVCs, billboards, and social media

→Successfully navigated Nestlé's precise branding standards to deliver a high-growth campaign that defended its market-leading position

→Won top industry awards for integrated campaign excellence

→Shifted consumer habits and sparked massive digital engagement through a unified strategy

2020 – 2022

WORK

Design Lead

Karo Kuch

Lahore, Pakistan

Team manager, Branding, POSM, Social Media, 360 Campaign, Art DIrection, Retail, Print Media, Outdoor Billboards, TVCs, Social Media, Branding.

•Team manager

•Branding

•POSM

•Social Media

•360 Campaign

•Art Direction

•Retail

•Print Media

•Outdoor Billboards

•TVCs

2019 – 2020

WORK

Visualizer

United We Reach (INGO)

Lahore, Pakistan

Ui/Ux Game And App Design, Printing Books, Layouting, Typography, Awareness Campaigns, In field texting, Stratergy Writing, Branding.

•Ui/Ux Game And App Design

•Printing Books

•Layouting

•Typography

•Awareness Campaigns

•In field texting

Senior Manager Design

Social media design and management for Miles Pakistan, focusing on workwear and 'Tough Comfort' branding.

Adobe PhotoshopFigmaSocial Media Management

Live

Education

2014 – 2018

Bachelors In Fine Arts

University of the PunjabSpecialization in Graphic Design

2012 – 2014

Intermediate

Punjab CollegeSpecialization in ICS

2010 – 2012

Matric

Sacred Heart ConventSpecialization in Computer Science

Impact & Recognition

Awards

Industry Award

Integrated Campaign Excellence Award

Won for the Nestlé Milkpak Cream 360 platform campaign which modernized the legacy brand and drove massive digital engagement.

Skills & Interests

Adobe Illustrator

TOOL

Branding

TECHNICAL

Art Direction

TECHNICAL

Figma

TOOL

Microsoft Office

TOOL

UI/UX Design

TECHNICAL

Discord

TOOL

Adobe After Effects

TOOL

Adobe Premiere Pro

TOOL

Communication

Working across multiple languages, enabling global collaboration and clear technical outreach.

English

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