Who am I?
Michael James
A friendly, down to earth, web designer
South African
Raised in the sunny city of Durban
College Degree from Vega
The School of Branding, specialising in Multimedia Design
A Creative
I love using my creative juices and being inspired to make art. I am most happy when I am silently working on a project that both challenges and inspires me.
A Nerd
I love exploring fantasy and sci-fi worlds through the various forms of media, and discussing the latest breakthroughs in technology and the various sciences.
A Gamer
I love the challenge of gaming and making use of my problem solving skills to overcome the various challenges that the games throws my way. I also love that gaming allows us to escape to different worlds or time periods.
Skills
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe XD
- Blog Writing
- Website content
- Article Writing
- Creative Writing
- Logo Design
- Logo Builds
- Visual Identity Design
- Brand Strategy Planning
- Social media images
- Social media post content
- Short video content
- Social media ads
Work History
Web Designer and Digital Marketer: October 2019 – Present
Astral Marketing is a Digital Marketing Agency, offering websites and digital marketing packages. I was heavily involved in the day to day running of the business, resource management, budgeting and all business decisions. I was also involved in all website design, website hosting and digital marketing jobs. I was involved in every aspect of the business and have an understanding of the business from the ground up. My typical workload involved the following tasks:
- Designing and building websites from start to finish
- Creating and generating social media content for various clients
- Help with graphic design and rebranding projects
- Have meetings with clients and propose solutions to their marketing needs
Web Designer and Systems Tester: September 2016 – October 2019
Beyond Commerce, or BCOM for short, is a small web systems and mobile app development company. I was heavily involved in everything web design related and created many sites for businesses while working at BCOM. I also had hands on experience with software testing, graphic design and digital marketing. BCOM are also the creators of the very successful time and attendance application called EDMA Systems
- Designed and built websites from start to finish
- Helped with graphic design and rebranding projects
- Tested mobile apps and web systems
Marketing Manager: January 2013 – October 2013
The South African Beer Pong League allowed all Beer Pong enthusiasts to participate in local and provincial tournaments. If players made it through the rounds, they would have the opportunity to fight for the right to call themselves “South African Beer Pong Champions.” Winners were flown to Las Vegas to participate in the World Series of Beer Pong to be crowned the Next World Champions. I was in charge of organising the marketing material and communicating with the Sun International casino managers to organise the events and qualifiers.
- Organising events at Sun International casinos
- Planning the branding and marketing events
- Organising with local celebs and radio DJ’s to promote events and make appearances