— About
James is a Freelance Creative Director/Art director/Writer with 20+ years experience working for small, start-up agencies and mega-huge agencies in New York, Boston, and Minneapolis.
Places he's freelanced: Barton F. Graf, Wieden + Kennedy, Droga5, BBH, Goodby Silverstein, Crispin Porter Bogusky, Apple, JWT, BBDO, McCann-Erickson, Martin Agency, Mullen, Mother, Strawberry Frog, Deutsch, HUGE, TBWA/Chiat Day, Arnold, Ogilvy & Mather, Publicis, FCB, SS&K, and a few others.
Before freelancing, James spent nine years at BBDO in New York, rising to EVP/Senior Creative Director. There, he worked on HBO, AT&T, FedEx, eBay, Chrysler (Smart Car), Havaianas flip flops, The Economist, Twix, Foot Locker, Best Buy, Red Stripe, The Special Olympics, and many others.
Prior to that, he spent four years at Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis, and before that, six years at a small start-up agency in Boston that no longer exists (not his fault).
James has worked in virtually every category over the course of his career, and has won gold at all the big shows (One Show, Cannes, New York Art Directors Club, Andy Awards, Clios), and has been asked to serve on the juries of D&AD (three times), The One Show, The Clios, The New York Art Directors Club, The Boston Hatch Awards, The Minneapolis "Show", The Canadian Advertising Awards, and Communication Arts.
In 2009, James was listed as the most awarded art director in the US, according to "The Big Won," which tallies performance at all the big shows, and was named as a "designer to watch" by Graphic Design USA magazine. Also that year, he was featured as a "Creative To Know" (along with partner Kara Goodrich).
In 2011, he founded (and continues to be the sole writer and designer for), the beloved parenting parody newspaper/blog, The Parenteer (theparenteer.com).
James lives a 25-minute train ride away from Grand Central Station - in the mobbed-up town of Pelham, with his wife Lisa and their two kids, Jimmy (9), and Marcelle (6).
General Inquiries
— I’d love to hear from you