Portrait of Michael James in the Nevada desert outside Las Vegas.

Michael James

Senior Designer

Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas

Senior designer with 10+ years of experience spanning web design, brand identity, marketing, and digital products. Built and scaled brands, websites, and creative products across startups, ecommerce, media, and SaaS. Most recently spent six years at Close leading website redesigns, design systems, and product-focused marketing initiatives.
Available for Remote Work
Experience
Senior Designer
Close
2019 – 2026

Led the 2025 Close website redesign, creating a scalable design system and 30+ pages.

Built a scalable Figma design system with reusable components and shared libraries.

Directed design across marketing, web, brand, and product initiatives.

Led creative for product launches, feature releases, and company-wide campaigns.

Created CMS-driven experiences including the blog, resource center, and integrations library.

Partnered with leadership and cross-functional teams to deliver company-wide design solutions.

Founder
Film Composite
2013 – 2016

Founded and operated a digital product company for video editors and filmmakers.

Created a proprietary product line of film emulation assets and creative resources.

Built the company’s ecommerce platform, brand identity, and marketing ecosystem.

Managed product development, website operations, automation, and customer delivery systems.

Creative Lead
PremiumBeat by Shutterstock
2013 – 2016

Developed production standards for motion graphics templates and digital products.

Led contributors in developing products for a Shutterstock-owned creative marketplace.

Produced marketing campaigns, educational content, and commercially successful motion graphics products

Creative Producer
theory11
2011 – 2013

Produced end-to-end creative campaigns for premium products sold to a global audience.

Led photography, video production, packaging, and promotional design from concept to launch.

Collaborated on commercial projects with JJ Abrams, Shepard Fairey, and Bicycle.

Created product launches, trailers, and marketing campaigns for magic’s leading brands.

Helped establish one of the industry’s most recognized premium playing card brands.

Expertise
Web Design
Product Design
Brand Identity
Motion Graphics
Video Editing
Marketing Design
Responsive Design
Design Systems
Creative Direction
Webflow Development
Tools
Figma
After Effects
Photoshop
Illustrator
Premiere
Webflow

Let's connect!

Whether you’re hiring, building a team, or simply interested in my work, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out.

Location

Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas