Hi, I’m ruth

and I’m not a designer

creative virtual assistant freelance typesetter artworker sydney

but wait, why are you called ruthless design then?

creative virtual assistant sydney australia indesign long document freelance typesetter

… because I did used to be a graphic designer

In 1997 I graduated from the College of Marketing and Design (in Dublin, Ireland) with a degree in Visual Communications – photography and graphic design were my majors. I set off to make my name as a photographer but the assignments I got were soul destroying (nightclub photos, ew!) so I jumped ship and decided to be a graphic designer instead.

I worked for the man for a year before going to Australia on a work and travel visa. Despite carting my wooden A2 portfolio across the world with me (while wearing 7″ platforms that were too big to pack) no one wanted to hire a graphic designer with a three month work restriction.

When I got back to Ireland I freelanced for many years as a graphic designer. I moved to Australia in 2004 and the Ruthless Design business name came with me. I signed up to freelance agencies and subsequently found my niche as a creative artworker and long document typesetter. I didn’t miss graphic design one bit!

These days I work entirely from home and I guess you’d call me a creative virtual assistant.

Experience

Apr 07 – now > Freelance Typesetter/Creative Artworker · Ruthless Design

Clients have included Yello EIG, Frost Design, Precinct, M&C Saatchi, Stella Travel Services, Dupree Design Group, Impress Design, Banjo Advertising, US and SML.

Apr 05 – Apr 07 > Senior Finished Artist · EKH Branding House

I worked in a full time freelance capacity on annual reports, prospectuses, brochures, tender documents, catalogues and ads. I have also done a small amount of packaging work. Clients included Allco Finance, APN Outdoor, Australand, Babcock & Brown, The Benevolent Society, DSRD, Film Australia, Hyundai, Insearch, Lend Lease, RTA, R.M.Williams, SBS Radio, Star City and Sydney Water.

Apr 04 – 05 > Freelance Designer/Finished Artist · Ruthless Design

My clients in Australia have included Cocojambo, TMP Worldwide, Somersault, Bang, Bella Media, Single Market Events, The Hub Agency and Mark Gowing Design. In Dublin they included BES+R Media, Pioneer Global Investments Ltd., FAI Finance Corporation, The French Embassy, True Blue Marketing and Communications.

Feb 01 – Apr 04 > Partner · Reactive Design Studio

Reactive was a design partnership based in Dublin city centre. Our clients included The Institute of Bankers, GMAC commercial mortgages, The Crafts Council of Ireland, The National Chamber Choir, Electric News and The Ark Cultural Centre for Children.

May 99 – Feb 01 > Graphic Designer · Inspiredesign

After a year spent travelling around Australia I set up my own graphic design business. My clients included Fingal Co. Council Arts Office, Tour America, Does not Compute and Gill & Macmillan Publishers. I regularly worked on-site for The Anderson Spratt Group whose clients included Merc Partners, Bank of Ireland and Finnegan Menton. I also freelanced with Brian Wallace Advertising, where I worked on Nissan and Burger King accounts.

Sept 97 – Apr 98 > Graphic Designer · Kell Marketing & Design

Dublin based below-the-line agency.

Jul 97 – Sept 97 > Graphic Designer · The Pictureworks

Dublin based free postcard company.

Relevant Education

2018 onwards > The Digital Picnic

I’ve completed several of their courses for digital marketers

* I haven’t written a resume since 2007, I can’t recall if I’ve done any other courses. I’ll come back to this if I remember!

Jan 07 > Keynote 3

Onsite training at EKH Branding House conducted by Colin from Hypermouse

Dec 04 – Jan 2005 > Adobe certified training in the Adobe Creative Suite

Dynamic Web Training Pty Ltd · 100 Miller Street · North Sydney · NSW 2060

Jun/Jul 00 > Foundation course in HTML

Arthouse · Curved Street · Temple Bar · Dublin 2

93 – 97 > Degree in Visual Communications (Photography + Graphic Design)

Dublin Institute of Technology · Mountjoy Square · Dublin 1

92 – 93 > Art, Drama and Portfolio Preparation

St Peter’s College · Killester · Dublin 17

89 – 92 > Leaving Certificate

Sutton Park School · Sutton · Dublin 13

InDesign

This is my happy place. Get your designer to create the look and feel and I can take it from there. I have the latest version of Adobe Creative Suite, I work on a Mac and have NBN.

I’m neurodivergent so hyper-focusing on completing client mark-ups is my jam. I have a keen eye for detail and follow artistic direction really well. I’ve been told I’m very fast AND very accurate.

Other Skills

I’m not going to claim to be a website designer but I do know how to make basic WordPress edits and publish blog posts.

I’m also not going to claim to be a digital marketer but I have done courses on the topic and I manage all the social media for my other businesses, including running campaigns in Meta Ads Manager.

 

FAQs

Will I work from your premises?
That’s a hard no, I’m afraid. I like my dogs too much and I despise commuting.

Where is home?
I’m in Matraville, South East of Sydney.

Rates

My virtual assistance is pre-purchased in blocks. It’s $800 +GST for ten (business) hours. After hours and weekends incur a 50% surcharge.

am I what you’re looking for? get in touch and we can chat!