This Is Me
Over the Years
1996-2011-2015
Education
- European School of Luxembourg – European Baccalaureate 71%
University of Surrey – BSc Sociology, with a focus in Criminology in the first two years
SEP 2013-JUN 2014
Learning & Development Trainee, Belgian Development Agency (ENABEL)
- In-house role reporting directly to the L&D officer – internship completed within the scope of a professional placement year during undergraduate studies. Responsibilities included preparing material for conflict-zone fieldwork training sessions, survey research on training impact and satisfaction, and supporting ENABEL’s activities in learn4dev – a network that links bilateral and multilateral development organisations. Achievements included coordinating the English Human Resources Focal Point training session for attendees from ENABEL’s partner countries and reworking the learn4dev communication strategy in collaboration with a fellow trainee from the European Commission. Working languages were French, English and basic Dutch.
JUN 2015
Social Media Intern, Luxembourg for Tourism GIE
- Responsibilities during this internship included Community & Digital Content Management for Luxembourg for Tourism’s social media channels, Analytics & Influencer Marketing, SEO & copywriting and French/English translation.
NOV 2016 - APR 2018
Communications Manager, Sacha Lakic Design & Blacktrack Motors
- In-house role, managing bilingual French and English communication strategies with two distinct brand personas. For Sacha Lakic Design, responsibilities included managing communications and coordinating digital assets with global press and clients such as Roche Bobois and Venturi Automobiles, maintaining and copywriting for the website in English and French, and social media management across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Achievements include maintaining a 4.10% engagement rate in 2017 and producing a 68% increase in unique visitors & a 51% increase of returning visitors for the Sacha Lakic Design website in 2017 in comparison to the previous year. Achievements with Blacktrack Motors include launching the Instagram page and obtaining a 511% increase in Instagram followers over 11 months.
APR 2018 - presENT
Independent Photographer & Webdesigner
- Freelancing in digital photography and WordPress webdesign & development. Highlights include designing a website for the first Luxembourger to the North Pole, coordinating the all-womxn photography team for TEDxLuxembourgCityWomen as well as photographing the Luxembourg Minister of Equality between Women and Men for the cover story of publication Silicon Luxembourg’s issue on gender equality and photographing the Minister of Digitalisation for the announcement of Govtech Lab – a platform to accelerate public services innovation. Silicon Luxembourg is a B2B media for startup news & digital stories in Luxembourg and a long-standing client.
Work
Hello!
I’m Kaori
Luxembourg is where I call home and it’s where I was born and raised in a bilingual Japanese and British household. I am passionate about working one-on-one with creatives, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to capture compelling visual stories and to carefully craft websites.
Alongside my business, I devote a part of my time to researching Luxembourg’s colonial history for Lëtz Rise Up, a feminist and anti-racist organisation. I have also worked with greenlight for girls (g4g) – an international non-profit that encourages girls of any age and background to consider STEM-related careers by introducing them to the world of science through hands-on workshops and activities run by volunteer role-models in STEM fields.
My favourite thing about photography is when the photo can almost be heard.
Skills
Google Workspace
Workspace has been my system of choice for the past 3 years while working independently.
Digital storytelling
Be it commercial or editorial photography projects, my main intention is to capture a story. Being able to connect with my subject is how I spark a reader or media consumer to connect visually.
Digital Asset Management
Previously with Sacha Lakic Design & Blacktrack Motors, one of my key responsibilities was managing the digital assets to be distributed to our press pool and published to our own digital media profiles.
Adobe Lightroom
Extensive experience as my go-to software in colour grading and minor edits for my commercial and editorial work the past 3 years.
Adobe Photoshop
The software I favour for more complex edits. It’s where the fun really happens. Exhibit A below.
Webdesign
Experience in visually designing and developing WordPress websites with multilingual accessibility.
Social Media Management
My previous career and the first half of my freelancing career largely focused on social media management and tracking social media trends. As a mid-range millennial, I’m having a hard time letting go of the cry-laughing emoji.
Languages
English: Native proficiency
French: Native proficiency
Japanese: Native proficiency (informal)
Italian: Elementary proficiency
One Meeting Away.
Me in a nutshell
DOGS
doggo /ˈdɒɡəʊ/ noun
an affectionate term for a dog.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my 2.5 dogs (the 0.5 of a dog is about 2kg and is a smol boi). You can find me most active in the r/peepingpooch and r/chihuahua subreddits
Christmas
Can it be a hobby?
When sourcing and reconnaissance on gift ideas turns into a year-round thing with colour coded spreadsheet for two families….
TLDR: Yes.
FOOD
Snack Monster
Picking a favourite snack is not an easy one to tackle. Sweet or savory? Crispy or chewy? It all depends on the occassion, but if I had to choose it would be popcorn, pizza and stroopwaffels.
