Melissa J. McCool
11 Old Ski Lodge Lane
Washington, Virginia 22747
703 314-6553 / 540 675-9935
mjmccool@mccool.net

Graphic Artist/Web Site Designer - 10 years experience in print graphics and web site design

• Extensive experience designing award winning, web-based Internet/Intranet graphical user interfaces, company logos, and organizational branding strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to work with a client's current design needs in order to best serve their business or communication objectives on the Internet.
• Familiar with many aspects of web page development including Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) 3.2 - 4.x, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, and form handling.
• Knowledgeable of systems development procedures including requirements analysis, compiling a creative brief, information architecture design, and quality assurance.
• Outstanding oral and written skills as well as the ability to work independently, manage a development team, or participate as a project team member.

Recent Public Site Designs Include:
www.atra.org
www.backyardjungle.org
www.natureserve.org
www.interaction.org
www.prattjazz.com
www.sandbarfarm.com
www.hennesy-art.com
www.theheadachesurvey.com/providers

Education, Training, and Certifications
B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Fine Art
May 1992
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia

Continuing Education
September 1992 - December 1994
Concentration in Fine Arts and Graphic Design
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Certification in Modeling, Animation, and Design
November 1994
AutoDesk’s 3D Studio, Photoshop, CorelDraw
School of Communication Arts
Raleigh, North Carolina

Professional Experience

Creative Design Consultant
February 2003 - Present
www.mccool.net
Washington, Virginia

• Responsible for creating and producing original designs for clients use.
• Oversee design aspects from initial client contact through delivery of services.
• Create design mock-ups.
• Collaborate with programmers, coders, and other design professionals.
• Design interface models, menu systems and navigational schemas.

Creative Director
December 1998 - February 2003
Forum One Communications
Alexandria, Virginia

• Performed as creative lead for multimedia and web site design.
• Created and directed marketing campaigns and corporate image collateral.
• Developed new business, managed vendors, and served as client liaison.
• Maintained production schedules and budgets.
• Trained, supervised, and provided art direction for junior designers.
• Managed multiple, concurrent projects.
• Designed information architecture and user interface for on-screen applications.
• Fostered development through analysis of usability studies, customer feedback and current technology analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to learn and use new technology.

Graphic Artist
December 1997 - December 1998
Olympus Group
Alexandria, Virginia

• Web site architecture, navigation, and user interface specialist.
• Responsible for web site design including all graphics, templates, layouts, style sheets, design guidelines, HTML coding.
• Responsible for search engine optimization via meta tags, content, HTML organization and site submissions.
• Created multimedia presentations for Business Development executives.

Graphic Artist
July 1996 - December 1997
WestLake Solutions, Internet Training and Consulting
Washington, DC

• Created all internal marketing materials including logos, letterhead, directories, advertisements, and displays.
• Responsible for Graphic User Interface (GUI) design of multimedia presentations and databases.
• Worked with training staff to develop courses on graphic design and the internet.
• Sourced and prepared art for corporate promotional products.

Graphic Designer II
February 1995 - July 1996
ICF Kaiser International, Inc. (now ICF Consulting, Inc.)
Vienna, Virginia

• Designed projects in print, including logos, identities, collateral, newsletters, annual reports, newspaper, magazine ads, brochures, posters, trade show booth.
• Collaborated with writers, artists, photographers and other professionals.
• Produced quality typography with high standards on type face selection, kerning, leading and readability.
• Handled all phases of production, including electronic preparation of files, proofing bluelines, color keys and press matches, and conducting press checks.
• Gained extensive knowledge of four-color printing process and printing technologies.
• Gained extensive knowledge of graphic compression for web, video and multimedia formats.

Professional Affiliations
Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington
Ad Club of Metropolitan Washington

Computer Skills & Software Knowledge
Cross-platform proficient, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Director, CorelDraw, PageMaker, QuarkExpress, AutoDesk 3D Studio, CellAssembler, Gif Animator, Dreamweaver, Homesite, HTML, & Javascript

Clearance
Secret Security Clearance - Department of Defense

Additional Interests
Talented in illustration, sculpture, photography, acrylic painting, photo re-touching, ink washes, traditional type setting, clay hand-building, paper mache, silk screening, and stained glass.

References
Available upon request