Erica Tracey Hirshfeld: From Animation Producer to Media Branding Executive

Erica Tracey Hirshfeld has spent nearly two decades building a career across animation production and media branding. She currently serves as Head of Production at Trollbäck + Company, a New York-based design and branding firm, where she oversees visual identity projects for entertainment and media clients.

Her path from managing animation projects like Polly Pocket and Barbie to leading brand production teams showcases her understanding of visual storytelling across different media.

Education and Early Career

Erica Tracey Hirshfeld studied Communication and Media Studies at the University of Michigan, where she built foundational knowledge in media production and visual communication.

Her undergraduate work focused on production management, media strategy, and digital storytelling. These skills became the building blocks for her work in both animation pipelines and brand development projects.

After graduation, she entered the animation industry, where production coordination and team management became her primary focus areas.

Animation Career

Hirshfeld’s early career centered on animation production, where she handled project coordination and workflow management. She worked on children’s entertainment properties, managing schedules and coordinating between creative and technical teams.

Production roles in animation require balancing creative vision with practical constraints like deadlines, budgets, and technical limitations. Her experience in these areas laid the groundwork for her later transition into broader media production.

1. Polly Pocket: Lunar Eclipse (2004)

As Production Manager for Polly Pocket: Lunar Eclipse, Hirshfeld oversaw the animation pipeline from pre-production through final delivery. The role involved coordinating animators, voice talent, and technical staff while managing production schedules.

This project required her to understand every stage of the animation process, from storyboarding to final rendering. Managing these complex workflows helped her develop the organizational skills she later applied to branding projects.

2. My Scene Goes Hollywood: The Movie (2005)

Hirshfeld contributed to My Scene Goes Hollywood as part of the production crew, supporting various aspects of the film’s development. The project blended fashion elements with storytelling, targeting a specific demographic within children’s entertainment.

Her involvement gave her exposure to how media franchises maintain visual consistency while telling new stories. This understanding of brand continuity would become valuable in her later branding work.

3. PollyWorld (2006)

Returning to the Polly Pocket franchise as Production Manager on PollyWorld, Hirshfeld coordinated creative and technical teams through the production cycle. The role demanded maintaining the franchise’s visual style while introducing new storytelling elements.

By this point in her career, she had developed systems for managing animation teams efficiently. Her ability to keep projects on schedule while preserving quality became a professional trademark.

4. Barbie Diaries (2006)

As a post-production assistant on Barbie Diaries, Hirshfeld worked in the final stages of the animation pipeline. This role involved editing, finalizing sequences, and ensuring visual consistency across the film.

Post-production work deepened her technical understanding of how animation comes together. She learned how small adjustments in editing and effects could significantly affect the final product’s quality.

Transition to Media Branding

After establishing herself in animation, Hirshfeld expanded into media branding and strategic production. This shift allowed her to apply her production management skills to a broader range of visual content.

In 2009, she joined Trollbäck + Company, where she began focusing on how design and branding function within the media landscape. The transition from entertainment animation to brand identity work required adapting her skills to new contexts.

Leading Production at Trollbäck + Company

Since 2009, Hirshfeld has held production leadership positions at Trollbäck + Company, currently serving as Head of Production and Executive Producer. She oversees projects including platform identities, motion graphics, and brand campaigns for media and entertainment clients.

Her responsibilities include managing production teams, coordinating with creative directors, and ensuring projects meet both creative and business objectives. She handles everything from initial concept development through final delivery.

The firm works with entertainment networks, streaming platforms, and media companies to develop visual identities that connect with audiences. Hirshfeld’s role involves translating brand strategy into tangible visual assets.

Her background in animation informs her approach to motion design and branded content. Understanding how audiences respond to visual storytelling helps her team create brand identities that resonate.

She manages projects that incorporate emerging technologies, including AI-assisted design tools and new animation techniques. Staying current with industry developments allows her team to offer clients contemporary solutions.

1. What makes animation experience valuable in branding? Animation production teaches you to think in sequences and understand how visual elements work together over time. This matters in branding because modern brand identities often include motion elements, social media content, and video assets that require the same sequential thinking.
2. How has media branding changed since 2009? The shift from traditional broadcast to streaming platforms has transformed how brands need to present themselves. Brand identities now need to work across multiple screen sizes, social platforms, and interactive environments, requiring more flexible design systems than traditional broadcast packages.

Personal Life

Hirshfeld married Peter Schrager, a sports journalist with NFL Network and Fox Sports, on June 22, 2013. They have a son named Mel. Despite her husband’s public profile in sports media, she maintains focus on her own professional work.

She supports causes related to education and mentors young professionals entering the media and design industries. This mentorship allows her to share insights from her career transitions with others navigating similar paths.

Hirshfeld keeps her personal life relatively private, preferring to let her professional work speak for itself. This approach allows her to maintain boundaries between her public role and private life.

Career Insights and Professional Approach

Hirshfeld’s career demonstrates how skills transfer between related fields. Production management abilities she developed in animation—coordinating teams, managing workflows, solving creative problems—apply directly to brand production work.

Her experience across both animation and branding gives her a unique perspective on visual communication. She understands how to tell stories through both long-form content and condensed brand expressions.

The shift from entertainment properties to corporate branding required adapting her creative process while maintaining the same attention to detail and quality standards. Both fields demand precision, but they serve different purposes and audiences.

Career Path Tips:

• Build strong fundamentals in one area before expanding to related fields
• Develop transferable skills like project management and team coordination
• Stay current with industry tools and techniques as technology changes
• Understand that career transitions often build on existing expertise rather than replacing it

Hirshfeld’s work continues to shape how entertainment brands present themselves visually. Her combination of animation background and branding expertise positions her to handle projects that require both storytelling sensibility and strategic brand thinking.