Caitlin McCready

BA, 2007, Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts

Graphic Design Specialist, Indiana University Residential Programs and Services

Caitlin McCready is a creative professional working in the exciting and challenging world of marketing for higher education. In her work, there is a great focus on promotion of strong, effective and attractive branding and enforcement of brand standards for products, services and institutions. Her internships on campus at Purdue were the kindling for her creative fire. She worked with the Purdue Alumni Association for two years as a graphic design intern, gaining valuable hands-on print media development and photography skills with a high level of visibility for her product. Purdue's living alumni are a HUGE population!

A concurrent year was spent at Purdue Marketing Communications working as the Assistant to the Director of Trademarks and Licensing. Some memorable opportunities with PMC include editing and designing the life size cut out of Coach Joe Tiller for 2006 and coordinating a corps of 65 volunteer students who participated in marketing focus groups when licensed vendors visited campus, such as Nike, J. America, Riddell, Edden Gear, and Balfour. Successful results from harnessing the power of the focus groups' input were presented in Orlando at ICLA/CAMEX 2007 (National Conference of Campus Bookstores and Trademark Licensing Departments) in a talk given by Purdue's Director of Trademarks and Licensing, Caitlin, Russell Athletic, and University Bookstore. Caitlin was introduced to a licensing agency at that conference that became her first position after graduation. At Strategic Marketing Affiliates, working for fellow Boilermakers, she served as their first Creative Director and as an Associate Licensing Director, enforcing brand standards for over 100 colleges and universities as well as producing creative sales materials. She then served as Graphic Design Specialist for Music for All, Inc. (formerly Bands of America,) producing a very large volume of signage, souvenir program books, event branding and production during the first marching band competition season performing at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Living in southern Indiana with her husband (BS, 2006, Chemistry, Purdue; BME, 2009, Music Education, Indiana University), she now works for her favorite rival, Indiana University. Very proud of her Boilermaker heritage, she finds the most challenging part of working for IU is saying "we" instead of "they" when talking about Indiana. There will be no hiding who she is cheering for come any match up of the two schools.

She also owns Hold The Cheese, a creative services design company specializing in wedding print materials and baby announcements and invitations. This entrepreneurial endeavor has been a delightful merger of talent and passion for beautiful stationery.