About

Fluent in Mac since 1989

Fluent in Mac since 1989

 

About

Hiya! My name is Mel (Melissa to my family, Mel L Cool G to Amazon.com).

While growing up in Tacoma, WA, my first foray into creative communication began with selling custom greeting cards for .50 a pop from a converted lemonade stand. After finding my passion for graphic design in high school I moved to Portland, OR in 2007 to pursue a BFA in Communication Design from Pacific Northwest College of Art and graduated with honors in 2011. 

Since that time, I’ve gained a wealth of experience through freelance advertising, branding & illustration as well as in-house-everything for a small, upscale grocery chain. 

A master of both hands-on analog creation & all things Adobe software, my style & skill set varies widely. If you’re looking for a jack-of-all-trades designer for your next project, I may just be your gal. 

In my spare time you can find me: drawing, cooking, antiquing, running, gardening, learning Spanish and playing with my dog Rita. 

 fluent-in 

  • Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign

  • Final Cut Pro & Premiere Pro video editing

  • Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel & Word)

  • Branding & identity principles

  • Print production/prepress

  • Keynote & Powerpoint presentation building

  • Digital product photography & photo editing

  • Type design & typography principles

  • Handlettering & Illustration

  • Social media management

  • Copywriting

Mid-Level

  • HTML & CSS coding Wordpress CMS
  • Motion Graphics & .gif Creation
  • Letterpress & Screenprinting
  • Email Marketing
  • Currently learning Spanish