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Creative Director & Writer with 19+ years across editorial, agency, and global in-house brand teams. I build and scale in-house creative studios, shaping authentic brand narratives and design-efficient workflows that enable seamless execution. I bridge big-picture storytelling with day-to-day systems, guiding teams across brand positioning, copywriting, creative ops, integrated strategy, and on-set campaign direction—turning high-quality creative into measurable performance.…Creative Director & Writer with 19+ years across editorial, agency, and global in-house brand teams. I build and scale in-house creative studios, shaping authentic brand narratives and design-efficient workflows that enable seamless execution. I bridge big-picture storytelling with day-to-day systems, guiding teams across brand positioning, copywriting, creative ops, integrated strategy, and on-set campaign direction—turning high-quality creative into measurable performance.

Sonya van Heyningen

Creative Director, Art Director, Graphic Designer, +3

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Creative Director & Writer with 19+ years across editorial, agency, and global in-house brand teams. I build and scale in-house creative studios, shaping authentic brand narratives and design-efficient workflows that enable seamless execution. I bridge big-picture storytelling with day-to-day systems, guiding teams across brand positioning, copywriting, creative ops, integrated strategy, and on-set campaign direction—turning high-quality creative into measurable performance.…Creative Director & Writer with 19+ years across editorial, agency, and global in-house brand teams. I build and scale in-house creative studios, shaping authentic brand narratives and design-efficient workflows that enable seamless execution. I bridge big-picture storytelling with day-to-day systems, guiding teams across brand positioning, copywriting, creative ops, integrated strategy, and on-set campaign direction—turning high-quality creative into measurable performance.

Available to hire

Creative Director & Writer with 19+ years across editorial, agency, and global in-house brand teams. I build and scale in-house creative studios, shaping authentic brand narratives and design-efficient workflows that enable seamless execution.

I bridge big-picture storytelling with day-to-day systems, guiding teams across brand positioning, copywriting, creative ops, integrated strategy, and on-set campaign direction—turning high-quality creative into measurable performance.

Skills

Advertising Illustration

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Advertising Illustration

Intermediate

Language

English

Fluent

Work Experience

Head of Creative / Associate Creative Director at PUMA North America

September 20, 2021 - February 20, 2026

Led omnichannel creative execution for PUMA North America, driving photo, video, and copy strategy for 20–25 full-scale seasonal lifestyle and product campaigns yearly, producing 50,000+ total assets including local adaptations. Partnered with senior merchandising, eCommerce, and marketing stakeholders to deliver culturally relevant apparel and footwear narratives across paid social, connected TV, theatre pre-roll, OOH, and experiential/in-store touchpoints. Advised on production budgets up to $1.5M and coached a core team of creatives while directing 10+ others across copywriting, video, social, and design. Directed photo and video productions with multidisciplinary teams including directors, photographers, producers, stylists, choreographers, and models/athletes.

Creative Director at American Tall

April 20, 2021 - August 20, 2021

Built American Tall’s in-house creative function from the ground up, architecting an end-to-end creative operating model and streamlining production workflows with a strategic vendor onboarding plan. Led comprehensive brand transformations and established visual standards to drive full-funnel performance across marketing and eCommerce channels. Brought marketing and eCommerce creative in-house, setting new PDP visual/lighting standards and scalable brand storytelling. Scaled the creative team’s footprint by 75% through foundational SOPs, structural org design, and leadership of talent acquisition.

Associate Creative Director at A Plus Creative Agency

May 20, 2018 - February 20, 2021

Promoted from Senior Art Director & Art Director within the first 12 months. Managed a multidisciplinary team of 7 art directors and designers with operational oversight of 4+ retouchers, directing on-set freelance and in-house talent to elevate content standards. Engineered a new eCommerce production model that optimized image quality while reducing operational overhead and asset costs, cutting internal overtime by 80%. Directed creative concepting, casting, styling, on-set direction, and post-production for high-volume asset production within a $1.5M multi-brand consumer portfolio including Loblaw Digital, Shoppers Drug Mart, Joe Fresh, Knix, and Walmart. Concepted and art directed Joe Fresh’s first-ever on-location shoot dedicated to social media content.

Associate Art Director at The Kit Magazine

March 20, 2014 - May 20, 2018

Conceived, propped, styled, and art directed print and digital editorial features across fashion and beauty for weekly and monthly issues, including final page design. Developed high-performing advertorial campaigns for major retail and beauty brands including Nordstrom, HBC, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Cole Haan, and Shoppers Drug Mart. Spearheaded creative execution of two comprehensive website redesigns (2014 and 2017), building wireframes, liaising with engineering teams, and leading QA. Won the 2017 P&G Award for Best Beauty Still Life.