CHRISTIE BURMESTER ✹
CREATIVE DIRECTION WITH SOUL

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You have something worth sharing.

You just haven't found the words—or the courage—yet.

I help creatively curious people feel purposeful, organised, and confident through creative expression.

Work with me

HOW I CAN HELP

✹ Graphic Design ◼ Creative Direction ✹ Creative Leadership Coaching ◆ Illustration ✹Campaign Design ✱ Creative Workshop ✹ Visual Identity ◼ Creative Operations◼ Design Management ◆ Brand Positioning ✽ Brand Strategy ✹ Print Management

About me

Creating freely since 2011

Christie Burmester
Creative Director & Coach

Christie Burmester is creative director, designer, coach & artist known for transforming creative teams from the inside out. Based in Sydney, she helps businesses upgrade their engines, uplift their people, and create outstanding work—often spending her free time drawing, playing tennis, and relaxing with loved ones.

2024 → Present
As a Consultant and Fractional Creative Director, I help businesses get the best out of their creative teams.
Improving performance, retention, and output by strengthening how people think, work, and collaborate.
I work with in-house teams to sharpen skills, speed up workflows, strengthen brand execution, and reduce friction and wasted effort.
My approach blends clear structure, strategic conversation, and hands-on guidance so teams become more self-led, confident, and effective — without burnout or micromanagement.
“Christie helped our team find clarity in our roles, lifted the quality of our work, and made a real difference to how we collaborate and deliver.”
– Zoe M., Head of Communications, Stamford American International School
I coach employees, managers and executives through performance improvements and career transitions.
I’ve helped designers move from disengaged and at risk to confidently leading initiatives, up-skilling others, and owning their work — often in weeks instead of years.
“Christie helped me make sense of my jumbled brain and actually helped me get sh*t done.”
– Lou, Coaching Client
“Christie’s leadership, eye for detail, and problem-solving elevated our work and the people around her.”
– Hernan, Creative Director, Google Cloud
June – September 2025
I was brought in by Stamford American International School to lift the design quality, improve team capability, and establish industry-standard creative practices.
- Fractional Senior Art Director for in-house team over 8 week sprint
- Art Directed and Coached team through visual identity rebrand
- Team’s strengths developed and fully utilised (design, video, comms)
- Clear & repeatable workflows that improved forecasting and internal comms
2019 → 2024
- Senior Art Director on Google Cloud (Gen AI + Summit)
- Team Leader for 15 Designers across in Sydney & Manila
- Brand Guardian across 10+ Google flagship brands
- Coached 10 Junior Designers into reliable high performers
- Hired, onboarded, and managed employee performace
Clients: Google Cloud, Google Workspace, Google for Education, Android, Chrome, Cisco, VMware, Campari, LinkedIn, Australia’s Nation Brand
2015 → 2019
- Art Director and Designer across brand identity, print, email, and web
- Introduced project management systems
- Helped team grow from 2 to 6
  Mentored & managed Junior Designers, Freelancers, and Devs
- Client service management
Clients: Johnson & Johnson, Cochlear, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Oztent

About

Good People, Good Words.

“We raised our standard and knew how to keep it there.”

Christie helped us lift our creative benchmark, define our brand together as a team, introduced new ways of working, and showed us how to be inspired, organise creative thinking, to sharpen our output.

Zoe, Head of Communications

Stamford American Int’l School
📍Singapore

"Design strategies that brought out the best in my creative practice.”

Christie has pushed my design thinking, turning every project from a routine brief into an inspiring challenge. By embracing her approach to collaboration and learning to see potential beyond the obvious, I've unlocked unexpected, brilliant solutions.

Hernan
Creative Director

Google
📍Santa Cruz

“She’s a partner in the process.”

As a therapist, it’s hard to translate the science behind my work into something people can understand. Christie took the time to really get to know me and what I do, even experiencing my work firsthand. That attention and care made a huge difference. She was patient, professional, and deeply invested in getting it right.

Steven
Chiropractor

Project Rewire
📍Sydney

“Christie is unwaveringly dedicated to elevating the people around her.”

Collaborating with Christie has been an honour. She’s not just a design expert, she’s a wellspring of creative innovation and meticulousness in every project she touches. Her strategic foresight and ability to simplify complex concepts set her apart. But what stands out most is her unwavering dedication to elevating the people around her. Christie leads with heart, sharp judgement, and a genuine desire to see others succeed. Any team would be lucky to have her.

Christina
Associate Design Director

Apparent Communications
📍Sydney

“I can be my authentic self at work.”

As a designer, I tend to stay within the safety walls of guidelines, but Christie encouraged me to be playful with design — that there are so many possibilities to elevate a piece of media beyond what’s required.

She gives thoughtful feedback without ever overstepping. I always felt my creative input was respected and valued. I’m also comfortable being myself at work because of how authentically Christie shows up. She’s a creative force with deep love for the people around her and the work she does.

Justine
Graphic Designer & Illustrator

Apparent Communications
📍Manila