RESUME
JESSICA BROWN
Royal Oak, MI 48073 | 248.761.2250
APPEARANCE QUALITY & MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT | PRODUCT INNOVATION
COLOR, MATERIAL & FINISH (CMF) LEADER
SENIOR DEVELOPER, DESIGNER & CMF LEADER who perfectly balances creative vision, material science, appearance quality, and production execution. Transforms ambitious color and material concepts into precisely mastered, production ready solutions across automotive, apparel, and consumer products. Pairs sophisticated visual judgment with uncommon technical depth spanning color mastery, material performance, supplier development, and multisource consistency. A discerning problem-solver who detects what others miss, resolves deviations at their source, and protects design intent from concept through final approval.
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT IMPACT:
- 300 to 400 Styles Governed Per Season | Directed color, material, graphic, print, plaid, and supplier development across demanding 6-month product cycles.
- 2% Margin Gain | Multimillion-Dollar Product | Reengineered development choices to improve product economics while preserving quality, aesthetics, and consumer experience.
- Season Critical Quality Issue Recovered | Diagnosed graphic fading and rapidly converted discharge printing to silicone, preserving hand feel while improving color stability and durability.
- Product Standards Architecture Built | Formalized previously fragmented color, fabric, print, plaid, graphic, and supplier standards into disciplined development library.
- Automotive CMF Expertise Reactivated | Developed and mastered color across leather, plastics, fabrics, vinyl, dashboards, consoles, and other dissimilar vehicle interior substrates.
- Global Supplier Execution | Worked directly with mills and vendors to resolve color, material, manufacturing, and appearance challenges from development through production approval.
- National Brand & OEM Exposure | Product development experience spanning Carhartt and automotive programs connected to Nissan, Infiniti, GM, Ford, Chrysler, and Toyota.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Color, Material & Pattern Development • Appearance Quality • Color Development & Mastering • Material Development • Production Approval Standards • Color Matching & Visual Assessment • Design Intent Translation • Supplier Development • Multi-Source Development • Material Performance & Quality Validation • Production Readiness • Material & Color Standards • Trend & Consumer Research • Sustainable Materials • Cross-Functional Product Development • Project & Program Management
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
SENIOR PRODUCT DEVELOPER – GRAPHICS, PLAIDS & PRINTS | CARHARTT | 9.2014 – 8.2026
Advanced through increasingly expansive product development assignments spanning color, materials, graphics, plaids, prints, patches, embroidery, and accessories across men’s and women’s apparel. Managed development activity across 300 and 400 styles per season. Governed material and color approvals, supplier submissions, production standards, durability testing, costing, and factory execution. Protected exacting expectations for performance, appearance, consistency, margin, and consumer experience.
- Generated 2% margin improvement on multimillion-dollar product, preserved product integrity while protecting product economics via astute development decisions, evaluating material, graphic, and supplier alternatives.
- Averted seasonal graphics performance issue after unearthing fading concerns with discharge printing. Diagnosed technical limitation and pivoted development to silicone graphic solution that retained desired hand feel with greater color stability and durability.
- Commanded development of 300 to 400 styles each season, navigating multiple colorways, product categories, materials, graphics, prints, plaids, patches, and embroidery while maintaining 6-month development calendars.
- Orchestrated consistency across dual- and multi-source production, including styles manufactured by 4 to 5 vendors. Scrutinized color, print execution, materials, grain, appearance, and production standards to confirm uniformity.
- Troubleshot dye methods, print techniques, color discrepancies, quality concerns, and production challenges while determining the best supplier-to-style placement for quality and commercial performance.
- Accelerated factory approvals via 2x travel to Guatemalan mills, working with cross-functional teams and suppliers to evaluate and approve graphics, resolve production issues, and eliminate avoidable approval and shipping delays.
- Removed ambiguity across internal teams and external partners, institutionalizing product development standards. Formalized standards library and established clearer protocols for fabric resourcing, print and graphic development, plaid development, color standards, and supplier submissions.
- Brought voice of the consumer directly into product development, observing how consumers worked, uncover unmet functional needs, and convert insights into future product and seasonal design considerations.
- Shaped seasonal color direction via trend exploration and annual palette development, connecting emerging aesthetic direction with Carhartt’s brand identity, product architecture, and practical expectations of its consumer.
SENIOR TEXTILE DESIGNER | ARDEN COMPANIES | 4.2009 – 9.2014
Directed textile design and development for outdoor living collections sold through major national retailers including Target, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Kmart/Sears, and JCPenney. Partnered with Merchandising and overseas mills to navigate original artwork creation, purchased art adaptation, color development, engraving approvals, printing, and production execution.
- Created 10+ seasonal pattern concepts per customer, building differentiated assortments for national retail programs.
- Distilled trend research, emerging color direction, and retailer specific aesthetics into compelling seasonal color palettes, pattern concepts, and presentation narratives.
- Redefined color consistency across overseas production, collaborating extensively with a Taiwan based mill to refine color execution, evaluate submissions, and reconcile variations between creative intent and production output.
- Navigated print and woven development from concept through approval. Reviewed color, engraving, artwork, and production submissions to preserve design integrity as creative concepts moved into manufacturing.
- Interpreted retailer and merchandising direction with precision, adapting original and purchased artwork to complement each seasonal color plates, assortment strategy, and distinct visual identity.
- Transformed design concepts into manufacturable textiles appropriate for high-volume national retail programs. Balanced creativity with production realities, manipulating artwork and refining patterns.
COLOR & TRIM DESIGNER | NISSAN DESIGN AMERICA | 7.2008 – 4.2009
Contributed to automotive Color, Material & Finish development, decoding consumer insights, competitive intelligence, and trend direction into cohesive vehicle interior concepts. Partnered with designers, clay modelers, research teams, suppliers, and other technical stakeholders to develop and master fabrics, leather, plastics, vinyls, colors, and finishes, with particular emphasis on color matching, material specification, physical execution, and design-intent preservation across Nissan and Infiniti programs.
- Served as vehicle lead for 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show program. Coordinated execution of show vehicle with designers, clay modelers, and dozens of specialty vendors. Reconciled creative vision with fabrication requirements.
- Pioneered sustainable materials research library during emerging shift toward lower impact materials, investigating bamboo, cork, vinyl alternatives, renewable resources, and other prospective interior applications.
- Mastered color across dissimilar automotive substrates, reconciling appearance differences among leather, fabrics, plastics, dashboards, center consoles, and other components. Produced cohesive interior environment.
- Codified CMF design intent via inclusive material storyboards and specification references, consolidating fabrics, plastics, colors, and finishes into accessible guides for program execution.
- Conducted competitive vehicle benchmarking to inform Nissan and Infiniti development decisions, examining comparable models for color, material, finish, and interior design direction.
EARLY CAREER HISTORY
Senior Designer (GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota & Nissan) | Canadian General Tower
Color and Trim Designer (X-Terra, Pathfinder, & Frontier) | Nissan Design America
Color and Trim Designer | Lear Corporation
Color and Trim Designer | Visteon Corporation
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Crafts | COLLEGE FOR CREATIVE STUDIES – Detroit, MI
- Concentration in Textile Design
