Meet Delanie West: A Champion of the Creative and Faber­-Castell USA VP Of Product Development

CLEVELAND - March 5, 2015 - PRLog -- As Vice President of Product Development & Creative at Faber­Castell USA (http://www.fabercastell.com), Delanie West, is responsible for leading a team responsible for ideating and launch of exciting new products. Under her leadership is the Creativity Center, which is the development, design, and creative services hub of Faber­Castell, USA, Design Memory Craft, Creative Studio, and Creativity for Kid’s brands.

Delanie West has had a major influence in the development of adult and children creative consumer products in retail chains such as Walmart, Target, Michael’s Crafts and Best Buy. Her experience includes development of creative products for licensed brands such as Toy’s R Us, American Girl, Michael’s Recollections (Private Label), Martha Stewart Crafts, Disney, iHome and Sesame Street to name a few. West also worked closely with the co-founders of Black Girls RUN! to develop a design language & aesthetic that would drive the brand in it’s growth to become one of the leading fitness organizations for women.  Delanie also serves as Executive Director for Black Creatives, responsible for managing the Midwest region. Many have tapped into West's brand & product development expertise. Her blog, Delanie West Design (delaniewest.com), is widely read and toasted as a wealth of creative product development and design information.

West stresses the importance of responding to the fast moving global market. “Product development teams in the last 10 years have had to adapt and churn out uber-fast solutions which are not only innovative and creative, but ones with solid ideas which have surfaced via measured levels of process and idea disruption.”

“Crowd sourced funding, the maker community and social media have nudged development timelines to become increasingly shorter, we have to be fast and right,” says West.  “For agencies and in-house creative teams, a proven process blueprint combined with a culture of support for calculated creative risk is the ideal environment for your most exciting results,” notes West.  “ I am very fortunate to have an amazing group of professional creatives in my department who are quite talented at what they do. “

Faber­Castell, one of the world's largest and oldest manufacturers of pens, pencils, other office supplies, and art supplies, is not only a well-established brand; it’s an industry trendsetter. And under West's leadership, the company's offerings are venturing into new arenas. Not only does she have to ensure all new products live up to the Faber­Castell reputation for quality goods, but she has also been inventive in introducing new products that will attract a broader audience and new customers.

"Our creative teams are introducing exciting new concepts and product categories.  For the new product launching at CHA 2015 (Craft and Hobby Association trade event).  The brand’s products speak to the crafter who want to try art crafting without being intimidated because she thinks our products are only for professional artists." The Faber­Castell product line offers products for premium writing, fine artists, educational crafts for children and art crafting for adults.

West closely managed the project team for Design Memory Craft’s Gelatos Colors re-launch.” The redesign has increased the Gelatos shelf life and aesthetic appeal. There is no other pigment like it on the market, and the re-design improves on the products already outstanding qualities” says West, who is credited with creating the world’s first adhesive gem sticker collection as well as the first epoxy embellishment collection. The processes she developed have become standard mainstays in the development processes for stationery and craft product.

“The Creativity Center team and I are also very much looking forward to the February Creativity for Kids and Faber-Castell Premium Children’s Art new product launches at 2015 Toy Fair in New York.”

“Official trade show launches for product developers and designers are “the big reveal”. My team and I pretty much work the entire year under a cover of secrecy and silence, trade show launches are an exciting time, our teams have an enormous sense of pride in finally being able to show and talk about our work.”

West obviously understands the evolving market. "What I think is important is taking calculated risks, and the ability to propel the brand forward creatively via measured disruptive innovation” says the award winning creative executive. Her Faber­Castell Product Development and Design team at has won awards as well; in December 2013, the group was awarded the Consumer Product Packaging Award.

To germinate new ideas, West finds inspiration all around her. "When I travel I make the effort to venture out to look at product, packaging, merchandising. Art exhibitions and opening nights are a fabulous time to communicate with other creatives to find out what happening in their industries," says West, who has tapped into Cleveland's resurgence and thriving arts community. She is a member of the Cleveland Museum of Art. "There is an excitement and it’s infectious; it's one of the hottest destinations. The city has a brand new energy. It is inspiring."

Learn more about Delanie West, view her portfolio: www.delaniewest.com. Follow west on Twitter @DelanieWest To schedule a media interview with West, contact Karen Taylor Bass, kt@taylormademediapr.com, 917­509­3061.