Yale University

Nova Scotia College of Art and Design

Queen's University

Rhode Island School of Design

• I think • I write • I draw

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

THE INK SPOT is my new 60-second video art lesson covering both techniques for boosting your creativity and specific effects you can achieve on the page or screen. Let's play!

Freelance, self-employed

Art Instructor

I am the host/presenter for an ongoing series of CE-accredited webinars produced by Mapol Inc. These educational webinars cover topics related to health and wellness, employee benefits plan designs, environmental trends, and emerging new drugs, and are designed for the educational needs of individuals who work in the Canadian benefits field. Mapol Inc. is the pharmaceutical industry's leading expert on private and public payer drug plans in Canada.

Mapol Inc.

Webinar Host

Does your bitmoji express the real you (even with 1.9 septillion options)? Not in my books. Hand-drawn portrait illustrations catch the flutter of your spirit and reveal your hidden strengths way better than the frozen stare of digitized art. Email me if you’re looking for a custom illustrated About Page or social media profile picture. The form beside this post explains how to order your one-of-a-kind likeness. Choose from one of three styles: tinted brush pen, loose gestural, and the Superhero option.

PenJarProductions.com

Profile Picture Illustrator

I'm part of the Program Advisory Committee working with the  Dean and Associate Dean at the School of Media Studies and IT in developing and updating the curriculum for the Content Strategy Graduate Certificate.

Professional & Continuing Education, School of Media Studies & Information Technology Humber College

Member, Program Advisory Committee

Willful is a web series that I co-created with photographer and videographer Yann Yap. Launching in January 2017, the series tracks how artists and creative entrepreneurs work, thrive and survive by offering stories about inspiration and process, tips on how to make career pivots or transfer your skills as jobs change, and advice on the economics of being (and staying) creative. Feedback from fellow freelancers has fueled us on, but the most unexpected responses, so far, have been the thumbs up we got from Broadway producer and Grammy-Award winner Michael J. Moritz and Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning screenwriter and producer.  We have never met either of them. "Believe in your work, then go make it happen," says Haggis on his Instagram bio. Duly noted.

Willful Web Series

Host, Writer, Co-Creator

Before I was writing, I was drawing. And, boy, was I intense about it. Nothing could take me away from the squeaky markers stored in jars next to the draughting tables in my dad's architectural practice (see the slide show below for the kid pic of me in the red top). Today, I incorporate my digital and freestyle drawings and lettering skills into my two blogs. I am also an artist consultant to brands, providing a fresh perspective and competitive advantage to businesses looking to clarify their marketing message and direction. To quote Leah Lamb in Fast Company, "Who better to lead [brands] through cultural shifts in real time than someone who is actually engaged in the production of culture?"​ (Source: "Why You Should Hire An Artist As Your Next Business Consultant,"​ Sept 18, 2015)HIGHLIGHTS: Recently, one of my political illustrations, "Republican Control"​ (see below), garnered the praise of legendary graphic designer Chip Kidd and illustrator Tom Bachtell of The New Yorker. Kidd called it "a great conceptual drawing,"​ while Bachtell wrote, "A beautiful illustration. It's simple, but perfectly captures the essence of the story. Hard to do, as I well know."​ Meanwhile, the kid pic of me drawing in my dad's office (in the red top) was also the inspiration for a cult favourite poster, "Poster Making"​ by Royal Art Lodge. RAL was a Winnipeg-based art collective whose work regularly appeared in The Paris Review and McSweeney's. Lodge members Neil Farber and Michael Dumontier found my photo in an issue of Elle Canada Magazine and pushed it in a new direction. Their print has since appeared in McSweeney's Anthologies and been exhibited in art exhibitions around the world next to the drawings of Dave Eggers, Art Spiegelman and Leonard Cohen. Crazy, I know.

Pen Jar Productions

Artist & Letterer

I teach Foundations of Digital Communications Strategy and Social Media (2875), both the in-class and online versions. This course gives professionals the insights they need to formulate a strategic approach to using social networks in order to achieve business goals. Students learn how to successfully integrate digital, social and mobile platforms into a communications and marketing program and how to connect with the right influencers in an increasingly fragmented audience space.In June 2015, the certificate course won an Award of Excellence (the Program Award in Non-Credit Programming Over 48 Hours) by the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUSE).

University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies

Instructor - Online Educator/In-Class Educator

I give a 3-hour workshop for independent entrepreneurs who want up-to-date tips on how to use Social Media Marketing to push their business and gauge their influence. I use real business stories (including my own) to illustrate how it's possible to successfully adapt to the digital world. For more information, including the price and venue, email me at: <a href="mailto:alison.garwoodjones@gmail.com">alison.garwoodjones@gmail.com</a>

Freelance

Social Media Workshop Leader

I offer private and group LinkedIn coaching sessions. I find that when people have to write a summary, they freeze. Most have pretty strong ideas about what they want to say until they're faced with the blank screen. Do I use first person or third? How much do I include? This is where I come in. Using my journalistic interviewing and writing skills, I will help craft the perfect summary and profile for you. I will also demonstrate leveraging strategies that will help you to continue marketing yourself once I'm no longer in the picture. In other words, I'll teach you to fish by sharing tips on leveraging your contacts, doing advanced searches using keywords, joining group conversations, following companies and saving your best content for the top of your profile. Why is that important? Because people don't read online; their eyes dart for specifics. In fact, visitors spend an average of seven seconds on any given website. Seven seconds! You can be sure they will skip to another tab  if you don't grab them fast. Remember to also have a good profile picture. And, yes, I can PhotoShop it for you.

LinkedIn Coach

Alison is a workshop leader and conference speaker on content marketing and social media strategy and tactics for brands and freelancers. Clients have included the Ontario Colleges Higher Education Summit, the University of  Toronto's School of Continuing Studies, IABC Toronto's PIC (Professional Independent Communicators), PodCamp Toronto, OpenText, the Professional Writers Association of Canada, the Canadian Media Guild, and Bishop's University (Morris House Reading Series, SWEET).

Independent

Conference Speaker

MadCap is an ambitious ed-tech start-up co-founded in 2012 by Emmy-award-winning filmmaker David Devine and education guru Michael Fullan, special advisor to the Ontario premier and minister of education. MadCap creates a student-centred and teacher-partnered learning platform that integrates digital interactivity and pedagogy to create an easy-to-navigate curriculum based on real-life problem-solving. Principle funders include The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Pearson Publishing. Advisory Board members include Sir Michael Barber, Sir Ken Robinson and Peter Senge.

MadCap Learning Systems

Senior Social Studies Researcher (freelance)

I’m a non-union voice actor. My reel was produced by Tracey Hoyt at Pirate Voice in Toronto, and features the following voice styles: 1) Luxury goods expert (Tiffany & Holt Renfrew)2) Interior décor expert (Elte Carpets & Home)3) Bubbly teenager (Complete Contact Lens Care)4) Cosmetic scientist (Anew Skincare products)5) Health conscious fitness instructor (Eat Well)• Most recent gig: Internal Presentation Materials for Chudleigh's Ltd. I was the "Sarah," the Chudleigh's customer. My job was to explain to new staff what my likes and dislikes were,  and where the brand fit in to my life.

Voice Over Artist

Alison Garwood-Jones is an award-winning writer, blogger and a former editor at Elle Canada. Today she writes on culture, technology and design for Applied Arts Magazine, Azure and Canadian House and Home. Her blog, “Society Pages,” explores her take on human nature and creativity and was a three-time nominee in the Canadian Weblog Awards. Alison was also recently cited as a “favourite blogger” by Brazen, the Washington, D.C.-based work-related website for “next-generation professionals” profiled by 60 Minutes.As a content marketer, she helps brands tell stories that address customer questions, needs, and concerns in a fresh and compelling way. Since content marketing is a "relationship-building, awareness-making, loyalty-boosting tool," and not a direct sales tool, she demonstrates why you shouldl not be telling stories about why folks should buy your product. Old fashioned push marketing is (a) not engaging, (b) not useful to your target audience, and (c) annoying. Some of Alison's clients have included The Merchant Tavern, The Art Canada Institute, OpenText, and a growing number of former print journalists looking to pivot into content marketing.

Blogger and Content Marketer

On January 19th, I took part in a "Forum on Gender Equity" as it relates to the 2017 Toronto City Budget. I was the graphic recorder. The event, organized by Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, drew a diverse crowd who came to hear the presentations and insights of NGO’s, including the Toronto Women’s Habitat, Toronto Women’s City Alliance, Social Planning Toronto and the YWCA. Back in July 2016, City Council passed a motion to apply a gender equal lens to the 2017 budget. It was the first time in Toronto’s history that a City Council has agreed to act on the fact that women’s economic inequality is built into the system. Government policies are not,  and have never been, gender neutral.

City of Toronto

Graphic Recorder

At Lean In Canada's October event, we tackled gender bias in the workplace with Noelle Richardson, a leading thinker on diversity and inclusion in workplaces and cultures around the world. My thanks to the organizers for inviting me to participate. We haven't quite solved it yet, but our eyes are on the horizon.

Lean In Canada

Being asked to participate in this event was a testament to the power of LinkedIn's algorithm, doing what you love and showing your stuff! "Creativity is not a talent, it's a way of operating," so says John Cleese. As a result I got to collaborate with a bunch of really smart, generous women. I always hoped this is what freelancing could be. Thank you, Helena Skrinjar and Vanessa Reid!TEDxWomen 2015 is a one-day event showcasing women's voices and perspectives from around the world. While TEDxTheAnnexWomen highlights local voices in Toronto, it is part of an intercontinental network of inspiring storytelling.The goal: to share ideas and insights on creating, sustaining and recovering momentum. Then to collectively discover new perspectives on where — and why — change is happening today by exploring the innovations, ideas and individuals building momentum around the world.

TEDx The Annex Women

I taught three 3-hour workshops on social media marketing, and constantly updated the content to reflect the changing landscape:1. BRAVE NEW WORLD: How social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, SnapChat and Instagram are transforming the job hunt. 2. LINKEDIN BASICS: Designed for those who are new to LinkedIn (or avoiding it), this workshop offers step-by-step tips on optimizing each section of your profile. Your end goal is to attract the right eyes and job suggestions tailored specifically to your experience and skill set.3. LINKEDIN LEVERAGING STRATEGIES: You're signed up, so now what? This workshop shows longtime LinkedIn users how to leverage their contacts when prospecting for work, how to use (but not overuse) keywords, as well as the networking benefits of following companies, participating in groups and writing a concise and effective headline and summary.

Verity International Limited

Independent consultant

OpenFile.ca

Freelance writer

TC Transcontinental

Elle Canada Associate Editor of Beauty & Health

Toronto Life

Contributing Editor, CityGuides

Rive Gauche Media

Managing Editor, Viva Magazine

Quill & Quire

Reviewer, arts and culture

Script consultant and writer on the "Artists' Specials," six one-hour biopics on Rembrandt, Goya, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt and Winslow Homer. These first aired on HBO, then PBS and TVO.

Devine Entertainment

Writer and Historical Consultant

Head writer for <a href="http://www.devinetime.com">www.devinetime.com</a>, a science and technology timeline and series of biographies aimed at pre-teens that was part of the "Inventors' Specials" on HBO.

Head Web Writer

Taught three modules — Landscape, Portraiture, and Figure Painting — for the Centre for Continuing Education. Location: The auditorium in the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

McMaster University

Art History Instructor

Curated the retrospective on Grace Coombs, a Canadian painter who trained and exhibited with the Group of Seven. Here is a taste of my writing on Coombs: <a href="http://alisongarwoodjones.com/2005/01/jack-ladder-house/">http://alisongarwoodjones.com/2005/01/jack-ladder-house/</a>

Art Gallery of Hamilton

Guest Curator

Research Fellow working on the Cézanne retrospective, an exhibition that opened in Paris and traveled to the Tate Gallery in London (1996) and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1996).