Digital Circular Automation
Page Build + Image + Export Automation
Led a hybrid workflow and tool customization that turned a near-canceled automation rollout into a scalable production system - giving a lean team the effective bandwidth of a team ~2× our size.
The Challenge
Third-party circular automation software didn’t fit our real workflow out of the box and required too much lift from Merchandising. The initiative was at risk of being abandoned due to the workload and complexity on the Merch side.
My Role
Led the charge as the cross-functional driver — aligning Merch, Creative, and the vendor on ownership, requirements, and a workable hybrid process. I also implemented additional production automation (export + image prep) to increase throughput end-to-end.
Snapshot
• Role: Senior Manager, Design Studio (process lead, stakeholder alignment, team leadership)
• Scope: Page build automation, template logic, batch PDF export workflow, new production cadence
• Partners: Merchants, Circular Production, Proofing, Comosoft team, Design Studio
• Outputs: Automated templates and logic, new process and schedule, batch PDF script workflow, documentation/training
• Impact: Designer throughput doubled and PDF export time reduced by about 50%
What I Did
1) Made the page automation workable
• Aligned stakeholders (Merch + Creative + vendor) on a hybrid workflow that reduced Merch effort while protecting accuracy and speed Defined rules, exceptions, and handoffs; drove the tool customizations needed to match our process
• Ensured the output was designer-ready (formatted copy placed, core structure built)
Results
• Prevented a near-canceled implementation and turned it into a repeatable, scalable weekly system
• Major time savings across page build + export + image prep
• Enabled a short-staffed team to produce more than ever — effectively giving us the bandwidth of a team about twice as large
• Improved consistency and reduced avoidable errors through standardized rules and formatting
The System | Automated Page Build + Batch Export
•We implemented third-party circular automation software, but out-of-the-box it didn’t fit our workflow and required too much lift from Merchandising. I led the charge — aligning Merch, Creative, and the vendor around a hybrid process and the right tool customizations, which removed the blockers so teams could use it and prevented the project from being abandoned. This work turned a near-canceled implementation into a scalable automation win.”
Template (Before)
Locked grid + style rules → built for scale.
→
Auto-populated (System Pass)
Products, pricing and formatted copy auto-populate. Designers can focus their time on making it making it visually polished.
→
Final Page (Customer-Ready)
Finished layout with clean hierarchy, strong storytelling, and consistent offer presentation.
Speed Layers (Bonus Automation)
• Photoshop Action: path → clipping path + crop + correct resolution (minutes → ~1 sec)
• Batch PDF export script: faster proofing/publishing
Result: lean team output with the bandwidth of a team ~2× our size
Batch PDF Exporter Script
Batch-exports the base and every required version at once - faster handoffs, fewer missed files.
Photoshop Action
One-click image prep that turns a multi-minute process into seconds — consistent output every time.