Melissa J. Marek, ACE
Design Director
Melissa J. Marek transforms technical, mundane information into attention-grabbing communication pieces that increase understanding and spark action. She begins by understanding the message and its associated intent, then ensures it aligns with the brand promise in the most clear and concise manner possible.
With experience in branding, graphic design, typography, page layout and photo retouching, Melissa is highly skilled in Adobe Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. For more than 25 years, she has specialized in the areas of health and medicine, including academia, biotech, community outreach, continuing medical education, grants, life sciences, private practices, medical research, patient education, policy and ethics, scientific publications and wellness.
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From 1991 to 2013, Melissa managed graphic design services at the Texas Heart Institute in the world-renowned Texas Medical Center. There she was responsible for:
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Producing internal and external marketing, outreach and educational materials in multiple languages
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Compositing physician referral and scientific publications, including the internationally circulated Texas Heart Institute Journal (Vol 25[1] to 40[4])
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Managing brand identities across platforms
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Creating Project Heart and developing its vertically aligned lesson plans about cardiovascular health for grades K-6
Melissa is the Design Director of Phillips & Marek and has been the sole proprietor of Sunburst Designs since 1997. She is certified by the City of Houston as a Woman Business Enterprise and is a registered vendor.
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Since 2013, she has been the senior design consultant for clients like Baylor College of Medicine, where she is responsible for brand guardianship, design of special projects (annual reports, benefits packages, recruitment brochures, policy papers, strategic plans, wellness programs, etc.) and patient-facing communications for physician practices. In addition, Melissa has worked with health systems like The City of Houston Department of Health and Human Services, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Texas Children’s Hospital, and the University of Central Florida College of Medicine.
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Melissa has won numerous local and national awards, including ones from The Association for Women in Communications, where she served on its Houston board for 7 years. She is the recipient of the Women of Excellence Award from the Federation of Houston Professional Women, as well as the Texas Heart Institute’s President’s Service Award from Denton A. Cooley, MD.
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Melissa earned a Bachelor of Arts in radio and television communications from the University of Houston. She is a graduate of The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts with a degree in theatre, and can often be found performing on stage and volunteering as the marketing director for Dirt Dogs Theatre Co.