Rich Kershner

About Rich Kershner

When I was a kid, I wanted to be Evel Knievel. Right up until I broke my collarbone trying to jump over six Tonka trucks on my Schwinn. Turns out broken bones hurt. A lot. So I chose a much safer, but just as thrilling, career in publishing and communications. Sure, I’ve had some nasty paper cuts in my day (and there was that one X-Acto knife incident), but usually people don’t injure themselves too seriously designing and producing magazines and books and websites. I find my work just as exciting as a motorcycle jump. Creating, presenting, and managing content has been my passion ever since. Working with any content is awesome, but I’ve had the great fortune to work with content that really matters to people—from financial advice, to lifestyle hints and health tips, to incredible storytelling. It doesn’t get any better than making a tangible difference in someone’s life. And I’ve been lucky to work on some of the world’s most powerful media brands with some amazingly talented professionals. I especially love working at the intersection of words and images—that’s where meaning truly comes alive. I’ve even made the jump from paper to pixels with only a few minor bumps and bruises. Today I’m a veteran media daredevil, specializing in: • content creation, development, presentation, manipulation, and management • visual problem-solving with a focus on editorial and promotional art direction and design • business operations such as staff direction, budget administration, and vendor relations • technical solutions including evaluating, testing, and troubleshooting content applications as well as directing custom software development • Identifying and implementing workflow and process improvements, and leading change My career has been thrilling, though it hasn’t made me famous like my childhood hero. But man it’s fun and I love it. A lot.

Experience

1. Manager Content Applications & Digital Workflow Development (Aka the Font Guy)

   Penguin Random House

   May 2013 — Present · New York, NY, US

   Administer, develop, and maintain all aspects of a centralized font management program for the world’s largest trade book publisher. Key contributions include:• Negotiating large-scale font licensing agreements: Interact with vendors; consult with legal and finance teams; manage budgets exceeding per year • Leading change: Advise PRH Global Font Council; plan strategies; craft policies and best-practices; conduct presentations and meetings with stakeholders including executive vice presidents, publishers, and creative directors• Creating tools and solutions: Direct software developers and IT teams, serve on Mac Steering Committee

Education

• Noble Desktop

  Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, Dreamweaver, Flash

  2010 — 2011

• Oregon State University

  B.S.

  1985 — 1990

Skills

• Photography
• Concept Development
• Illustrator
• Pre-Press
• Windows 7
• Epublishing
• Illustration
• Online Publishing
• Graphic Design
• Microsoft Office
• Catalogs
• Brochures
• Editorial
• Mac
• Direct Mail
• Posters
• Web Design
• Html/Css
• Publishing
• Layout
• Typography
• Creative Direction
• Quarkxpress
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Magazines
• Books
• Magazine Design